# Laetitia ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1992 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Adelsdorf | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Germany | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/ | Laetitia, also marketed as Laetitia Naturprodukte, is a German natural-health brand founded in 1992 by the Munich naturopath and author Hannelore Fischer-Reska [2]. It is best known for Bitterstern, a herbal bitters preparation sold as drops, a spray and lozenges, and its range also takes in alkaline mineral powders, chocolate truffles filled with Bitterstern, books and a single personal-care product, the Basisches UrDeo deodorant roll-on. The name is the Latin word for joy. Since September 2019 the brand has belonged to Dr. C. Soldan, a family-owned company in Adelsdorf, Bavaria, best known for the Em-eukal brand [9]. Laetitia now operates as what its owner calls an independent start-up unit within that group, and it remains active, with a live web shop and pharmacy distribution in Germany and Austria. ## Origin & founders Hannelore Fischer-Reska worked as a *Heilpraktikerin*, or naturopath, and also wrote books. According to the company, she spent eight years developing and testing a blend of 17 herbs before bringing it to market as Bitterstern in 1992, the same year she founded Laetitia [2]. The about page marks her name with a cross, indicating that she has since died. Two years later, in 1994, the physician Andreas Hammering joined the firm. He was trained in conventional medicine and also practised as a doctor for naturopathic treatment. The company's own pages differ slightly on his role. The about page describes Laetitia as founded by Fischer-Reska alone, with Hammering joining later, while the page introducing the brand's experts says the brand was founded by the naturopath and the doctor together [4]. A 2019 report in the German pharmacy trade publication APOTHEKE ADHOC follows the first version on the founding, but credits both of them with developing the Bitterstern herbal bitter [9]. The company presents this pairing of a naturopath and a conventionally trained physician as the core of its approach. It says their combined experience allowed findings from natural science and medicine to be brought together with traditional and experience-based healing throughout product development. ## History & milestones For most of its first three decades Laetitia was a small, founder-led business built around a single product. Bitterstern, according to the 2019 trade report, is based on a monastic recipe associated with the circle of Hildegard von Bingen [9]. The same report lists its 17 herbs, among them lavender, galangal, yarrow, angelica, caraway, cinnamon, fennel, gentian, dandelion, marjoram, ginger, bitter orange, clove, zedoary, cardamom, Iceland moss and coriander, extracted at an alcohol content of 59 per cent. The drops are declared as a food rather than a medicine and are taken on the tongue. In 2019 Andreas Hammering retired and, in the company's words, placed Laetitia in the hands of the family firm Dr. C. SOLDAN Natur- und Gesundheitsprodukte. APOTHEKE ADHOC reported in October 2019 that Bitterstern, by then on the market for more than 25 years, had changed owner as of September that year [9]. Today the brand's web shop groups its products into bitters, chocolate truffles, alkaline powders and literature, and it publishes articles on bitter substances, acid–base balance and herbal lore. The brand marks its age with the line "Expertise seit 30 Jahren" (expertise for 30 years), a milestone reached in 2022. ## Ownership Laetitia is owned by Dr. C. Soldan. The legal notice on the brand's website names the operating company as Dr. C. SOLDAN Natur- und Gesundheitsprodukte GmbH, based in Adelsdorf and managed by Perry Soldan [5]. The careers page describes Laetitia as an independent start-up company of the mid-sized family business, with close exchange between its team and the parent group's teams [6]. The parent company has a long history of its own. According to APOTHEKE ADHOC, Dr. C. Soldan was founded in 1899 by the pharmacist Dr. Carl Soldan and introduced the Em-eukal brand in 1923 [9]. The same report said that in the year before the Laetitia deal the group had about 220 employees and roughly €77.6 million in revenue, and that Perry Soldan runs the business in the fourth generation. At the time of the acquisition he said the company's sales and marketing expertise would be used to strengthen the brand. The brand's location is given in two ways. Its registered address is the Soldan headquarters in Adelsdorf, while the careers page says the Laetitia team works from an office in the centre of Nuremberg [6]. ## Philosophy & positioning Laetitia's tagline is "Wir stärken. Was in uns steckt." (roughly, "We strengthen what is within us"). The company says it believes physical and mental well-being form the basis of a happy life, and that its aim is to accompany people on their way to a life in balance. It describes its products as combining natural ingredients, chiefly herbs and minerals, with modern science, and says they are developed together with conventional doctors, naturopathic physicians and naturopaths. According to the brand, it offers only products it considers a sensible complement to a healthy lifestyle, and it says it avoids synthetic preservatives and additives. The products are made in Germany. The brand positions itself mainly through pharmacies. On its careers page it calls Bitterstern a market-leading bitters brand held in high regard by naturopaths and pharmacists, and says it is represented in thousands of pharmacies in Germany and Austria [6]. Alongside pharmacy distribution, it sells directly through its own online shop. ## Products & innovation The Bitterstern line is the centre of the range. In 2019 the original drops were sold in 10 ml and 50 ml bottles; the current range also includes an alcohol-free spray and lozenges sold as "Bitterfein". The homepage suggests combining the formats across the day, with a lozenge in the morning, drops after lunch and the spray when out and about. The Bitterstern chocolate truffles are an unusual extension of the line. APOTHEKE ADHOC described them as having a shell of 75 per cent cocoa with a Bitterstern filling, and quoted Perry Soldan as saying they are rolled by hand. The brand sells them in seasonal editions, including spring and winter versions. A second product family is built around the idea of acid–base balance. It includes the Urbase alkaline mineral powders and a combined set. The brand's one cosmetic product belongs to this family: the Basisches UrDeo, an alkaline deodorant roll-on. The website's educational pages also include one on bitter substances and the skin. No third-party certifications, awards or patents are documented for the brand. ## Current status Laetitia is active. In September 2026 its homepage was running an autumn campaign for the chocolate truffles and announcing the return of the UrDeo deodorant. The brand said a small deviation in the production process had occasionally caused the roller ball to stick, and that it had stopped briefly to re-examine the raw materials and manufacturing process before relaunching it. As of September 2026, the careers page stated that the team was working on a rebranding, new product ranges and a new digital presence for Laetitia, including a redesign of the brand and its packaging and an expansion of social media and e-commerce [6]. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1992 | Laetitia founded by Munich naturopath and author Hannelore Fischer-Reska; Bitterstern bitter drops brought to market the same year. | https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/pages/ueber-uns | | 1994 | Physician for naturopathic medicine Andreas Hammering joins the firm. | https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/pages/ueber-uns | | 2019 | Andreas Hammering retires and hands Laetitia over to the family company Dr. C. SOLDAN Natur- und Gesundheitsprodukte (Adelsdorf). | https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/pages/ueber-uns | | 2019 | Bitterstern / Laetitia changed owner as of September 2019, from Laetitia to Dr. C. Soldan (maker of Em-eukal, Adelsdorf), per APOTHEKE ADHOC, 14 October 2019. | https://www.apotheke-adhoc.de/nachrichten/detail/markt/bitterstern-von-laetitia-zu-dr-c-soldan-uebernahme/ | | — | Rebranding, new product ranges and a new digital presence in progress (undated statement on the careers page). | https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/pages/laetitia-dna | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Bitterstern Bittertropfen (bitter drops, food supplement)** — Wir bieten dir sinnvolle Naturprodukte und Nahrungsergänzungsmittel wie unsere seit 30 Jahren bewährten Bitterstern Bittertropfen. — https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/ - **Basisches UrDeo (alkaline deodorant roll-on)** — Das UrDeo ist zurück! — https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/ - **Bitterstern Schokoladentrüffel (chocolate truffles filled with Bitterstern)** — Der Sommer war lang. Zu lang, wenn man unsere Schokoladentrüffel fragt. — https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} herbs (17-herb Bitterstern blend) · minerals Source: https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **APOTHEKE ADHOC** (2019) — German pharmacy trade-press report (Nadine Tröbitscher, 14.10.2019) on the takeover of Bitterstern/Laetitia by Dr. C. Soldan, with background on the founders, the 17-herb recipe and the Bitterstern chocolate truffles. — https://www.apotheke-adhoc.de/nachrichten/detail/markt/bitterstern-von-laetitia-zu-dr-c-soldan-uebernahme/ ## Sources 2. (T1) https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/pages/ueber-uns 4. (T2) https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/pages/laetitia-experten 5. (T2) https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/policies/legal-notice 6. (T2) https://www.laetitia-naturprodukte.de/pages/laetitia-dna 9. (T3) https://www.apotheke-adhoc.de/nachrichten/detail/markt/bitterstern-von-laetitia-zu-dr-c-soldan-uebernahme/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-09-30 Please cite with a link to the article URL.