# Frau Tonis Parfum ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 2009 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Berlin | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Grasse, France, Berlin, Germany | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/ | Frau Tonis Parfum is an independent perfume house based in Berlin, Germany, founded in 2009 by Stefanie Hanssen and Christoph Niedermeier [11]. It makes and sells a range of around 36 niche fragrances, almost all of them unisex, from a combined workshop and shop on Zimmerstraße near the former Checkpoint Charlie border crossing. The perfumes are hand-filled in Berlin, and the company names Grasse in southern France and Berlin as its production locations. The brand is named after Hanssen's grandmother, Toni-Luise, a woman from Germany's Ruhr coal-mining region. Its public identity rests on a few recurring ideas: that fragrance should not be sorted into "for men" and "for women", that a niche perfume need not come from Paris to matter, and that what is in the bottle counts for more than the bottle itself. The company remains active, with a regular online magazine and new collaborations in 2026. ## Origin & founders Frau Tonis Parfum dates its beginnings to 2009, a year it still uses in its tagline, "Unisex. Unangepasst. Seit 2009." ("Unisex. Nonconformist. Since 2009.") [3]. According to the company's own account, the founders spent that year looking for the perfume shop they had in mind and found only overstretched sales staff and mainstream scents sold through heavy marketing. They gave up the search and started their own brand instead. Hanssen has told a more personal version of the same story. In a 2020 piece published under her name, she described being struck by a fragrance worn by a woman at a concert in the Berlin Philharmonie, failing to track it down, and asking herself why no one offered something as intimate as perfume "with a bit of sensitivity and passion" [12]. In her telling, the shop opened six months later. The two founders are named together in an interview with the German lifestyle magazine Haus von Eden, which states that Hanssen and Niedermeier entered the perfume business in 2009. The company describes its team as people from creative trades rather than laboratories: photographers, artists, writers and strategists whose work had always been "creating images, words, and emotions". It presents the move into perfume as a change of medium rather than of craft. The name is a tribute to Toni-Luise, whom the brand portrays as a woman of strong personal style living "amidst smoking chimneys and the harsh reality of coal mining". The company contrasts this deliberately with the French aristocratic names common in perfumery: it has no title of nobility, it says, only the Ruhrgebiet. ## History & milestones The company says it turned the initial idea into a working brand within six months and without outside investors [3]. From the start the business was built around a single physical shop in Berlin, which also serves as the brand's workshop. A 2014 post on the expat lifestyle blog UnDiplomatic Wife described the store's décor as "serene and relaxed" and called it "the hottest place for perfume in Berlin right now" [13]. The same post mentioned custom perfume creation, a set of three small bottles called the Scent Box, and fragrance workshops, all of which remain part of the offer. Vegan fragrances entered the range in 2014, according to the company's sustainability page. The brand is also stocked by KaDeWe, the Berlin department store, and a range made with the store was covered by the design magazine Wallpaper* under the heading "KaDeWe X Frau Tonis Parfum fragrance range". The company's online magazine records a steady run of projects in 2026 [9]. These include a collaboration titled "SELVA HUYGENS x FRAU TONIS", published in July 2026 and presented as unconventional art from Berlin, and a joint project with a Berlin menswear retailer in June 2026. In August 2026 the brand announced an olfactory artwork for the POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair, held the following month. The magazine also runs interviews about scent with figures from Berlin culture, among them chef Tim Raue and actress Leonie Benesch. ## Ownership Frau Tonis Parfum has no named parent company. The founders describe the business as having been built without investors, with "no investor drama, no compromises" [3]. No acquisitions involving the brand are documented. ## Philosophy & positioning The company frames perfume as storytelling rather than chemistry. "For us, a fragrance isn't chemistry, but the most intense form of storytelling," its English about page says, adding that the team creates "art that you don't see, but smell". A related line on the German site rejects the idea of perfume as a seduction aid: scent, it says, is a means of expression, not a means to an end. Gender neutrality is central to how the brand presents itself. According to Frau Tonis Parfum, its fragrances are not divided into masculine and feminine categories, and with few exceptions the 36 scents are sold as unisex. The company sums this up as "No gender stereotypes. No labels." In the Haus von Eden interview, the brand's values were given as tolerance, diversity, a mix of generations and truthfulness [11]. A second theme is a challenge to the conventions of high-end perfumery. The brand argues that niche fragrances "don't have to be unaffordable or come from Paris to be relevant", and it says it puts the contents ahead of "the golden cap or eccentric glass bottle". It also leans on local history, describing Berlin as having once been a world capital of fragrance, full of small and daring manufacturers, and presenting itself as reviving that past for the present day. Hanssen has said that her own travels shape new scents, and that the brand aims to offer niche fragrances "as unique as the character of the person who wears them". In the same piece she wrote that the shop is considered "Berlin's most beautiful perfumery". ## Products & innovation Perfume is the core of the business, alongside home fragrances, accessories, scent sets and gift cards. The company says its range covers four scent families: floral, citrus, green and oriental. The perfumes are numbered, and they are offered as Eau de Parfum and Parfum Intense, concentrations the brand describes as lasting through the day and into the night. The brand's centrepiece, by its own description, is No. 37 Veilchen (Violet). The company presents it as an eccentric scent from the Roaring Twenties that "once turned Marlene Dietrich's head", and says it still produces it unchanged today [3]. The Dietrich link is the brand's own account and is not independently documented. Other scents the company highlights include No. 19 Oud Weiss, with notes of incense and bergamot, and No. 18 Bogota Berlin, built around fig, vetiver and pink pepper. Hanssen has written that No. 30 Thé Arabique was her attempt to capture the feeling of a trip on the Nile. Press pieces listed by the brand mention further scents, including No. 16 Jardin Vertical, No. 44 Feige, No. 08 Été Éternel, Linde Berlin and an "Edgy Berlin" collection sold in laboratory-style bottles. Personalised perfume is a second line of business. Visitors to the Berlin workshop can book sessions in which they create a signature scent under guidance, and the company says it archives each customer's formula. For online shoppers who cannot smell the products, the brand offers a digital scent test and sample sets. ## Sustainability Frau Tonis Parfum says its perfumes are produced in Europe using organically farmed raw materials, and that they are processed and filled by hand in Berlin. Its sustainability page names Grasse and Berlin as the places of production [4], while a separate "8 facts" page describes the brand as combining "Berlin edge" with French and Swiss craftsmanship [5]. According to the company, all bottles and packaging are made in France and Germany, can be recycled, and contain no plastic; only sustainable materials are used to protect products in its shipping boxes. The company's two pages give different figures for its vegan range. The sustainability page states that vegan fragrances have been part of the portfolio since 2014 and now number 14 [4]. The "8 facts" page says that 13 of the fragrances are fully vegan [5]. Both figures describe part of the range rather than all of it. The company stresses that its vegan scents include orientals and gourmands, not only fresh green fragrances. The brand also describes its fragrances as cruelty-free, a point repeated in the Haus von Eden interview. No third-party certification for either the vegan or the cruelty-free claim is documented. ## Recognition The company maintains a press page listing coverage from a wide range of outlets [6]. Among the entries are a Vogue line calling it "unique for fragrance aficionados from around the world", a Wall Street Journal feature headlined "Berlin in a Bottle" that profiled Hanssen, and a Women's Wear Daily item that called the store "a little sliver of a perfumery". The list also includes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which reviewed No. 16 Jardin Vertical, as well as Süddeutsche Zeitung, Zeit Magazin, ELLE, InStyle, the broadcaster ZDF and Indian titles such as The Hindu and The New Indian Express. These articles are presented by the brand itself; the selection and quotes are its own. Independent coverage in the available sources is limited to smaller outlets. The 2014 UnDiplomatic Wife post and the Haus von Eden interview, titled "how Frau Tonis Parfum is clearing out the clichés of the beauty industry", are among them. No industry awards are documented. ## Current status Frau Tonis Parfum is active. Its Berlin workshop and shop on Zimmerstraße 13 lists current opening hours, workshop bookings are open, and the brand's online magazine published around ten posts between late May and late August 2026, the most recent dated 24 August 2026. Outside its own store, the only physical stockist the company names is KaDeWe in Berlin. It also sells through its own online shop, which runs in German, English and Chinese. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 2009 | Brand founded and Berlin perfumery started; per brand, idea turned into a functioning brand in six months without investors. | https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/en/about-us/ | | 2014 | First vegan fragrances added to the portfolio (14 vegan fragrances per sustainability page). | https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/nachhaltigkeit-vegan/ | | 2026 | Collaboration SELVA HUYGENS x FRAU TONIS published on brand magazine (14 July 2026). | https://blog.frau-tonis-parfum.com/ | | 2026 | Olfactory artwork for the POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair (blog post 24 August 2026). | https://blog.frau-tonis-parfum.com/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **No. 37 Veilchen (Violet)** — Our centerpiece: the legendary "No. 37 Violet." An eccentric fragrance from the Roaring Twenties that once turned Marlene Dietrich's head. — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/en/about-us/ - **No. 19 Oud Weiss** — das kostbare No.19 Oud Weiss mit Noten von Weihrauch und Bergamotte — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/ - **No. 18 Bogota Berlin** — No.18 Bogota Berlin mit Feigen, Vetiver und Rosa Pfeffer — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/ - **No. 30 Thé Arabique** — I am inspired by my travels. With our _No. 30 Thé Arabique_ I translated the feeling that I had during my trip on the Nile. — https://system.social/journal/savouring-simplicity-with-berlin-based-frau-tonis-parfum ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **Vogue (Germany)** — Quoted on brand site and press page: "Einzigartig für Duft‑Aficionados aus aller Welt". Brand-curated quote; original article not fetched. — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/pressestimmen/pressestimmen/ - **The Wall Street Journal** — Headline "Berlin in a Bottle", featuring founder Stefanie Hanssen (as listed on brand's press page; original article not fetched). — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/pressestimmen/pressestimmen/ - **Women's Wear Daily** — "Berlin Preview Shop Hop" — described the shop as "a little sliver of a perfumery" (as listed on brand's press page). — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/pressestimmen/pressestimmen/ - **Wallpaper*** — "KaDeWe X Frau Tonis Parfum fragrance range" (as listed on brand's English press page). — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/en/pressestimmen/ - **Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung** — "Spaziergang im Reisfeld" — review of No. 16 Jardin Vertical (as listed on brand's press page). — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/pressestimmen/pressestimmen/ - **ELLE City Guide** — "Der Duft der Stadt" (as listed on brand's press page). — https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/pressestimmen/pressestimmen/ - **Haus von Eden** — Interview with founder Stefanie Hanssen: "Wie Frau Tonis Parfum mit den Klischees der Beautybranche aufräumt" (date not stated). — https://www.hausvoneden.de/lifestyle/interview-stefanie-hanssen/ - **UnDiplomatic Wife (blog)** (2014) — "Berlin Finds" shop review calling it "the hottest place for perfume in Berlin right now" (18 June 2014). — https://undiplomaticwife.com/berlin-finds-frau-tonis-parfum/ ## Sources 3. (T2) https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/en/about-us/ 4. (T2) https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/nachhaltigkeit-vegan/ 5. (T2) https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/8-fakten/ 6. (T2) https://www.frau-tonis-parfum.com/pressestimmen/pressestimmen/ 9. (T2) https://blog.frau-tonis-parfum.com/ 11. (T3) https://www.hausvoneden.de/lifestyle/interview-stefanie-hanssen/ 12. (T3) https://system.social/journal/savouring-simplicity-with-berlin-based-frau-tonis-parfum 13. (T3) https://undiplomaticwife.com/berlin-finds-frau-tonis-parfum/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-01 Please cite with a link to the article URL.