About Zuckerschmuck

The first German one Diabetes Sticker Shop

Hello, I'm Sonja Spörlein. I've been living with type 1 diabetes since I was 7, and I founded Zuckerschmuck in early 2015 so that your sensor and pump suit you.

Diabetes can be beautiful

Zuckerschmuck turns diabetes technology into an accessory. It started with stickers and tapes for the FreeStyle Libre. Today, you'll find thousands of products for CGM sensors, insulin pumps, and patch pumps, plus bags, jewelry, and wipe-clean tattoos.

Many people on our team live with type 1 diabetes themselves. So we know what it feels like to wear a sensor under tight clothing and why a tape matters in summer.

2015

founded by Sonja Spörlein in Küps

46.000+

Customers

5.000+

5-star reviews

My story

How a white sensor on the upper arm became Germany's first shop for diabetes stickers.

  1. At 7 years old

    The diagnosis

    I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of seven. At first, under the strict conditions of the time, I was put on MDI therapy, with set mealtimes, prescribed carbohydrate portions, and a strict ban on eating sweets (yes, that’s how it was back then!).

    Even so, my parents taught me that diabetes is a part of me, but doesn’t determine what I can do. I still often checked my blood sugar and injected insulin secretly. Only close friends and my family knew about it.

  2. The turning point

    The insulin pump

    Switching to a new practice and insulin pump therapy changed a lot: I was finally able to eat more flexibly while improving my treatment goals at the same time.

    Despite all the advantages, I always found my insulin pump aesthetically bothersome and could never openly acknowledge it. So I continued to hide my diabetes from the public.

  3. End of 2014

    The white sensor

    When the “bloodless” glucose monitoring system FreeStyle Libre came onto the market, I absolutely wanted one. The downside: A white sensor visibly stuck to my arm. As an aerobics, Zumba, and Pilates instructor, I wore it with my workout outfit, which felt very plain and medical to my aesthetic sensibilities.

  4. Early 2015

    The idea becomes Zuckerschmuck

    What I found online was expensive and not my style. So I gathered designs, found a printing company, and had the first stickers and tapes for FreeStyle Libre printed. In a diabetes community on Facebook, they sold out within a few days.

    My idea for the Zuckerschmuck® startup was born: Diabetes should have a fashionable element. Everyone should feel comfortable and beautiful with the devices stuck to their body and be able to be open about them. I built the website myself; we launched with 15 products, soon also for insulin pump catheters, other CGM systems, and patch pumps.

  5. Today

    My goal

    From 15 products, we’ve grown to thousands, and our designs are worn by people far beyond Germany. I’m proud to have founded Zuckerschmuck®, Germany’s first online shop selling stickers and tapes to make diabetes more beautiful.

    Ultimately, my goal is to improve society’s acceptance and perception of type 1 diabetes. The great response and positive feedback from our customers make me incredibly happy!

    Dexcom G6 with camouflage tape and flower stickers on the upper arm
    Dexcom G6 with tape and flower stickers

My opinion on diabetes:

“When life gives you lemons, ask for salt and tequila!”

— Sonja Spörlein

Sonja in an interview

What drives me, who stands behind Zuckerschmuck with me, and what I wish for people with type 1 diabetes.

Excerpt from the interview “I no longer hide my diabetes” (Hyporest, June 2026)

What are your customers telling you?

Parents write to me that changing their sensor suddenly becomes more cheerful with their favorite sticker. Some prefer to wear their sensor discreetly, while others go completely colorful. There is no right way, which is exactly why our range extends from eye-catching to subtle.

Who is behind Zuckerschmuck with you?

A large part of our team also lives with type 1 diabetes, including Julia, my right-hand woman. If you ask us how a tape holds up in water or during summer, we answer from our own everyday experience, not from a data sheet.

How much of your life is reflected in the products?

A lot. I was an aerobics instructor and am a mother of two kids. The pump during exercise, the sensor under tight clothing, the demands of family and everyday life: None of it was designed on paper.

Which product are you proud of right now?

Our lace panties for women with an insulin pump. The pump should sit comfortably, not show through, and still look beautiful. Function and aesthetics go hand in hand for me.

How are you managing your diabetes today?

Technically, I use a loop consisting of an insulin pump and sensor, which takes a lot of the mental workload off my plate. But the biggest change is my attitude: I no longer hide my diabetes and I’m happy to explain what I’m wearing on my arm.

What do you wish for the future?

That kids with type 1 stay brave and adults wear their sensor openly, during sports, at work and in relationships. Diabetes is exhausting, I know that. It’s part of life, but it doesn’t define everything.

Zuckerschmuck® featured by guests and in magazines

Logo of the Zuckerjunkies podcast

Podcast, 2022

Podcast interview with the sugar junkies

With Zuckerschmuck, Sonja founded Germany's first diabetes Sticker shop: a shop with everything she had been missing during her 27 years with type 1 diabetes.

Read the entire text

With Zuckerschmuck, Sonja founded Germany’s first diabetes Sticker shop: a shop offering everything Sonja had missed during her 27 years with type 1 diabetes or had gathered ideas for to make everyday life with diabetes more beautiful and enjoyable. Sonja’s passion was born. The shop grew rapidly and today offers a wide range of products, from insulin pump cases, skin protection and adhesive residue removers to classically modern, custom-designed diabetes emergency jewelry and washable tattoos - everything a small or big heart with diabetes could wish for. The ideas keep coming.

Source: Podcast Zuckerjunkies (2022)

To the podcast
Radio EINS logo Sonja Spörlein with a Radio-EINS microphone and Zuckerschmuck stickers at the table

Radio, April 10, 2016

Radio interview on Radio EINS with Uli Noll

Sonja Spörlein from Küps talks about her life with diabetes and her fashionable Sticker and tapes, shipped under the Zuckerschmuck label.

Read the entire text

Zuckerschmuck... That’s what my Menschen show with Sonja Spörlein from Küps is about this Sunday morning. She is 34 and has been living with type 1 diabetes for almost 28 years. An incurable disease that affects many people. They all depend on insulin for life. To make modern medical aids for people with diabetes more visually appealing, Sonja developed fashionable Sticker and tapes. Under her “Zuckerschmuck” label, she ships them worldwide. Sonja Spörlein talks about her life with diabetes and her Zuckerschmuck - Sunday from 10-12 a.m. on Radio EINS.

Source: Radio EINS, Uli Noll, broadcast from 10/04/2016

To the interview
Cover page of the Focus Diabetes magazine Article page in Focus Diabetes with Sonja Spörlein and stickers on the skin

Magazine, March 2016

Report in Focus Diabetes

“If everyone can already see the sensor, it should look good too.” Sonja Spörlein, a person with type 1 diabetes and inventor of diabetes accessories.

To the magazine
Newspaper article “Sweet Ideas for a Life with Sugar” in the Neue Presse

Newspaper, 21 May 2016

Zuckerschmuck in the “Neue Presse”

The Neue Presse reported on Sonja and her idea of beautifying diabetes technology with stickers and tapes.

Impressions

Find your look for your sensor and pump

Sticker, tapes, cases and jewelry for FreeStyle Libre, Dexcom, Omnipod and many other devices.

To the product range

Who writes for the blog

I write the articles in the Zuckerschmuck blog together with Julia Becker, who also lives with type 1 diabetes. They are reviewed for accuracy by Dr. Ilka Simon-Wagner, specialist in internal medicine and diabetology.