Maria Treben

Maria Treben is an Austrian brand of herbal products built around Schwedenbitter, or Swedish bitters: an alcohol-based herbal blend that is drunk diluted and also applied to the skin. The name and the recipe come from Maria Treben (1907–1991), an Austrian herbalist and writer [6]. She did not found the company that sells her name today. The trademark "Original nach Maria Treben" ("original, after Maria Treben") belongs to a small family business in Kössen, Tyrol, registered as Maria Treben Naturprodukte GmbH and renamed MT Naturprodukte GmbH in 2022 [8].

Alongside the bitters, the range covers herbal balms, a face cream, a shower gel and shampoos made with extracts of the same "Swedish herbs". The products are made in Austria and reach other markets through partners: an exclusive licensee in Germany since 2010 and a general distributor in Switzerland since 2017. The brand is active.

The brand's story starts with its namesake. Maria Treben was a self-taught herbalist who practised in Austria and Germany in the tradition of Sebastian Kneipp, alongside other alternative methods of treatment. She became best known for her work with Swedish bitters. According to the brand's Swiss distributor, which draws on Wikipedia for this account, her practice rested on the rediscovery of a recipe attributed to the Swedish physician Claus Samst, who in turn traced it back to Urban Hjärne (1641–1724). Treben wrote about the bitters in her book Gesundheit aus der Apotheke Gottes ("Health from God's Pharmacy"), where, the distributor notes, she describes 42 ways of using it.

The company behind the brand is a much later creation. A 2016 report in the regional news site MeinBezirk described a business that began in 2003 as a one-person operation on the Achenweg in Kössen and had since grown into a family business with four employees [7]. The Austrian company register dates the limited company itself to 24 December 2014 [8]. The two dates describe different things rather than competing claims: 2003 is when the trading business began, according to the regional report, and 2014 is when the current legal entity was registered. No founder is named in public sources. The 2016 report shows Rosi and Kathrin Nothegger of the Nothegger family running the business and quotes them as proud owners of the "Original nach Maria Treben" trademark.

An earlier company with almost the same name also existed. A "Maria Treben Naturprodukte Gesellschaft m.b.H." based in Bad Schallerbach was first recorded in the Austrian company register on 20 July 1994 and deleted by the court on 29 May 2013 [9]. Its relationship, if any, to the Kössen company has not been established.

The central date in the brand's own telling is 1989. According to the Swiss distributor's product page, the "Original nach Maria Treben" Swedish bitters uses exclusively the last version of Treben's recipe, which she adapted in 1989. The company says this version survives only in handwriting and was never published [1]. The brand also states that its bitters has been made in Austria for more than 30 years [2].

In 2010 the brand gained its first dedicated partner in Germany. Elke Braeunig, who had discovered the products as a customer, secured the exclusive licence for the German market, and her online shop, Naturprodukte Europa, opened in September 2010 [11]. In her own account, she first dealt with Rosi Nothegger and later worked with Nothegger's daughter and successor, Kathrin Tremmel. On 1 June 2022, Carsten Ziegenbein took over the German licensee company in full.

In November 2016 the Austrian company moved to a new site at Hüttfeldstraße 37 in Kössen, marking the occasion with two open days on 10 and 11 November. The regional report described a building with a shop, offices for administration and sales, and storage and dispatch rooms. Kathrin Nothegger told the paper that most online orders were shipped daily across Europe [7].

Switzerland followed in 2017, when LOFT EIGHT GmbH, a trading company in Salez in the canton of St. Gallen, began importing the bitters as the brand's exclusive general distributor [3]. It runs the Swiss website under the Maria Treben name and says it works closely with the Austrian manufacturer on product quality.

The most recent changes are corporate. In April 2022 the owning company changed its registered name from Maria Treben Naturprodukte GmbH to MT Naturprodukte GmbH, and in July 2023 the word and figurative mark "MT NATURPRODUKTE ORIGINAL SCHWEDENBITTER" was published for it, together with a mark "Original nach" [8]. The German licensee's shop now lists the bitters and the Swedish-herbs balm under the MT Naturprodukte name, while still describing the bitters as made to Maria Treben's original recipe.

Maria Treben is not part of a larger beauty group. The brand-owning company is MT Naturprodukte GmbH (formerly Maria Treben Naturprodukte GmbH), a small family-run firm whose registered seat is Kössen in Tyrol, Austria [8]. The Swiss distributor names Maria Treben Naturprodukte GmbH in Austria as the owner of the "Original nach Maria Treben" trademark; the company register confirms that both names belong to the same entity, with the change taking effect on 22 April 2022.

The two foreign partners are separate businesses. Naturprodukte Europa holds the exclusive licence for Germany and is owned by Carsten Ziegenbein. LOFT EIGHT GmbH acts as the exclusive general importer for Switzerland. No acquisitions or sister brands are documented.

The brand presents itself as the keeper of a tradition rather than as a modern beauty label. Its Swiss website calls Maria Treben a pioneer of Swedish bitters and herbal knowledge who spoke about the bitters and the so-called Swedish herbs to an ever larger audience. The product line extends that idea: the balms, creams and cleansers are all built on extracts of the same herbs used in the bitters.

The bitters is framed as a traditional herbal elixir that is rich in bitter substances, with uses both internal and external. According to the brand, it "can help your digestion", and it suggests two tablespoons a day, taken neat or diluted with juice, tea or water. The company also states plainly that using Swedish bitters does not replace a visit to a doctor, and it advises people with health conditions or on medication to consult their doctor first because of possible interactions.

Distribution follows a pharmacy-and-drugstore model in Switzerland, where the Swiss distributor says the products are available in pharmacies and drugstores as well as through online partners. Elsewhere the products are sold online through the German licensee and, according to the 2016 report, directly by the Austrian owner.

The core product is the Original Schwedenbitter, a herbal blend with 32 percent alcohol by volume, sold in 500, 200 and 20 ml bottles. The brand lists saffron, ginger, gentian, manna, zedoary, galangal and camphor among its ingredients, and its product description also names wormwood. The company describes the bitters as vegan.

An alcohol-free version is made, the company says, through a special process. It contains no camphor and is recommended by the brand for people who cannot or should not take alcohol, and for children. For external use, the brand points customers back to the alcoholic version.

The skincare and bodycare products carry the Swedish-herbs theme onto the skin:

- Schwedenkräuter-Balsam (Swedish-herbs balm) is made without added fragrance. The brand suggests it as a day and night cream, says its ingredients help soothe blemished skin, and notes that it can also be used externally for tension, like the bitters. The company adds that customers also use it on pets. - Schwedenkräuter-Gesichtscreme (Swedish-herbs face cream) is described as suitable for daily care and every skin type, combining herb extracts with oils and a light scent. - Ringelblumen-Balsam (calendula balm) is aimed, according to the brand, at very dry and cracked skin, including on the feet and face, and at babies' nappy areas. The company says it does not dry the skin. - Aloe Vera Pflege-Balsam is a care balm built on aloe vera. - Schwedenkräuter-Duschbad is a mild shower gel with the herbs of the bitters, lightly scented to match the brand's Swedish-herbs lotion.

Hair care consists of two pH-neutral shampoos: a nettle shampoo made for fine hair, and a burdock-root shampoo with birch that the brand says strengthens hair and adds volume.

One product stands apart from the herbal line. The Synergetic Cream, subtitled "The essence of Beauty", is presented as a product with high-tech components. Its description names branded active ingredients such as SYN-AKE, which the brand says works against expression lines, and SYN-TACKS.

No third-party certifications, such as organic or cruelty-free labels, are documented for the range. The vegan statement is made for the Swedish bitters only, not for the whole range.

Maria Treben is an active brand. The owning company, MT Naturprodukte GmbH, filed its annual report for the 2025 financial year on 14 July 2026 [8]. As of September 2026, both the Swiss distributor's website and the German licensee's shop were operating and selling the products. No product launches or news from the previous 12 months are documented. The shift of the owning company's name and trademarks toward "MT Naturprodukte" is the most visible recent change.