Neogrün — Creativity, Naturally

Colourful Ideas. Thoughtful Ingredients. Room to Create.

Children discover the world with their hands.

They mix colours, squash, roll, draw, experiment and occasionally turn the kitchen table into an art studio without asking first. For Neogrün, that wonderfully messy curiosity deserves creative materials designed with the same care parents bring to everything else that becomes part of childhood.

The German brand creates finger paints, modelling clays, chalks and other creative materials with a simple idea at their heart: children should have the freedom to create, while parents should be able to understand what they are creating with.

That means natural ingredients, transparent formulations and plenty of room for imagination.

A Different Kind of Colour

Neogrün began from a feeling familiar to many parents: children’s creative products may look wonderfully colourful on the outside, but understanding what is actually inside them can be surprisingly difficult.

Co-founders Dr. Alexander Hilo and Enrico Nickel approached that problem from two complementary perspectives.

Alexander brought a background in natural sciences and years of research experience, while Enrico came from within the toy industry itself. Together, they set out to create play materials built around greater transparency, environmental responsibility and fewer compromises.

The result is a collection designed not simply around what children can make, but around what the materials themselves are made from.

What Counts Is What’s Inside

For Neogrün, colour does not have to begin with conventional artificial dyes.

Its creative materials use plant-based and mineral pigments, and the brand states that its products are free from microplastics, mineral oils and artificial colourants. Neogrün also avoids animal-derived ingredients and animal testing.

Its finger paints and modelling clays use natural ingredients validated under the Nature Care Product (NCP) standard. According to Neogrün, more than 95% of the unprocessed agricultural ingredients covered by the standard come from certified organic farming.

The current NCP certificate also lists key Neogrün finger-paint and modelling-clay ranges, including the MIKA Crystal Finger Paints, as certified vegan natural products.

It is a thoughtful approach to something beautifully uncomplicated: letting children get their hands into colour and simply create.

Made in Germany, Close to Home

Neogrün develops and manufactures its products in Germany, with its headquarters and own production facilities in Halberstadt. Producing in-house allows the company to work with local suppliers, shorten transport routes and maintain closer oversight of its raw materials and production process.

Sustainability runs through the smaller decisions too.

The brand uses recyclable packaging and, where plastic containers are necessary, chooses food-grade polypropylene that can be recycled. Neogrün openly acknowledges that packaging involves compromises rather than pretending there is a perfect solution—a level of transparency that fits naturally with the philosophy behind the products themselves.

There Is No Right Way to Play

Perhaps the most Gravitaly part of the Neogrün story is not the certification or the ingredients.

It is the belief that creativity needs space rather than instructions.

Neogrün describes its approach as play without boundaries: no fixed rules and no single correct result. A cardboard box can become a rocket. A piece of fabric can become a magic cape. A few colours can become something nobody else has imagined before.

Finger paints can be mixed, layered and explored. Modelling clay can become a tiny creature, an imaginary meal or simply something satisfying to roll between small hands. Chalk can turn an ordinary pavement into a temporary gallery.

The finished object matters less than the process of wondering:

What happens if I try this?

And then trying it.

Created for Little Artists with Big Ideas

Neogrün’s world is intentionally tactile.

Its finger paints have a creamy, drip-resistant consistency and use natural plant and mineral pigments. Its modelling clays are designed for shaping and open-ended creation, while its sidewalk chalk brings the same philosophy outdoors. The collection also includes sparkling Crystal Finger Paints, which use natural pigments and a mica-like shimmer that the company says is obtained without mining.

Across the collection, the idea remains wonderfully consistent:

give children appealing materials, give them freedom, and see what happens next.

No template required.

Why We Chose Neogrün for Gravitaly

At Gravitaly, we look for products that do more than occupy children.

We look for things that invite participation, curiosity and genuine play.

Neogrün stood out because its philosophy connects two things that should never have needed separating: joyful creativity and thoughtful production.

The colours are exciting. The textures invite exploration. The activities are wonderfully open-ended.

Behind them sits something quieter but equally important—a German brand asking careful questions about ingredients, manufacturing, transparency and environmental responsibility.

That balance is exactly what thoughtful childhood products can be:

fun enough for children to reach for, and considered enough for parents to choose with confidence.