# Olfactive Pharmacy ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 2020 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Waldbröl | | Owner | Lab.44 GmbH | | Status | Dormant | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/ | Olfactive Pharmacy is a German niche fragrance brand founded in 2020 by the Cologne pharmacists Oliver and Holger Dubben [1]. Each of its perfumes is built around a single medicinal plant, an idea the founders tie to their background in pharmacognosy, the study of medicines derived from plants. The line consists of four unisex eaux de parfum: Betula, Salvia, Tilia and Thymus. The brand is currently dormant. Its most recent launch, Thymus, dates from 2024, and no new fragrances or news have surfaced since then. It has not been discontinued, however: the brand's website remains online with a list of stockists, and its fragrances were still offered by retailers in late 2026. ## Origin & founders Oliver and Holger Dubben established Olfactive Pharmacy in Cologne, a city they present as the home of German perfumery. The company's own account invokes the names Farina and Kölnisch Wasser, and recalls that Napoleon and Goethe valued the city's scents. Writing for Fragrantica, the perfume critic Matvey Yudov made the same connection, noting that the Italian Giovanni Maria Farina founded a manufactory in Cologne in 1709 that still lays claim to being the oldest perfume production [5]. Yudov described the two founders as passionate perfume lovers and experts in the history of herbal medicine. In his account, they see themselves as keepers of the Cologne tradition while aiming for a modern product that meets current tastes as well as safety and environmental requirements [5]. The brand's home city and its legal address differ. Olfactive Pharmacy presents itself as a Cologne brand, and its tagline reads "Parfum de Santé – Wohlgerüche aus Köln" (roughly, "fragrances of health – pleasant scents from Cologne") [1]. The operating company behind it, Lab.44 GmbH, is registered in Waldbröl and is represented by Oliver Dubben [4]. The two locations do not contradict each other: one describes where the brand comes from, the other where its company is formally based. ## History & milestones The brand launched in 2020 with three fragrances. Betula, based on birch, and Tilia, based on linden blossom, were composed by the perfumer Mark Buxton. Salvia, based on sage, was created by David Chieze, whom Fragrantica describes as Buxton's former student and colleague. A fourth fragrance followed in 2024. Thymus, centred on thyme, was composed by the Lithuanian perfumer Aistis Mickevičius, known for his work on the brand FUMparFUM. Its style differs noticeably from the first three: Yudov found the thyme set against a dense amber and labdanum accord with a distinct chypre character, rather than the more realistic plant portraits of the original trio [5]. That same year, Olfactive Pharmacy presented its collection at Esxence, the niche perfumery fair held in Milan. Fragrantica reported on the stand on 25 March 2024, reviewing all four fragrances [5]. ## Ownership Olfactive Pharmacy is owned and operated by Lab.44 GmbH, a small private company rather than a beauty group or conglomerate. The company holds the copyright to the brand's website and is registered with the local court in Siegburg [4]. No acquisitions, investors or sister brands are documented. ## Philosophy & positioning According to the company, its approach links traditional knowledge from plant medicine with "modern alchemy" and contemporary luxury. It defines that luxury as one of wellbeing, self-awareness and appreciation of the environment and nature, and calls its fragrances "Parfums de Santé", or perfumes of health [1]. Each scent is dedicated to one plant whose bark, flowers, fruit or roots, the brand says, are credited with healing properties. The fragrance is meant to capture the smell of that plant, either literally or as an emotional impression [1]. These health associations belong to the source plants and their traditional uses. The company makes no claim that the perfumes themselves have a medical effect. The product texts, for example, describe birch bark as astringent, cleansing and antiseptic, and linden blossom tea as soothing for the airways and calming under stress [2]. Packaging carries the same apothecary theme. The bottles are based on traditional amber-glass pharmacy flasks. A purpose-designed cap combines a hexagonal stopper with what would normally be the bottle's neck, so that the whole imitates the silhouette of an old pharmacy vial. Each bottle bears a white lithograph-style illustration of its plant. Yudov compared these drawings to the plates in Köhler's herbal, a long-standing reference work on medicinal plants. Fragrantica grouped Olfactive Pharmacy with other "pharmacy"-themed niche brands, while remarking that its name is easy to confuse with many similar labels. ## Products & innovation The range comprises four fragrances, all sold in 100 ml bottles and listed as unisex. - **Betula** (2020, Mark Buxton) pairs birch leaves and cedrat with a base of birch tar, vetiver and arnica absolute. Fragrantica traced its birch note to a perfumery base originally developed for sauna and birch-broom scents, softened here by small amounts of tar. - **Salvia** (2020, David Chieze) combines clary sage, sage and citrus with mate absolute, lily of the valley and a base of ambergris, musk and tonka bean. Yudov named it his favourite of the collection and described it as a fougère, one of perfumery's classic fragrance families, showing the medicinal, culinary and sensual sides of sage. - **Tilia** (2020, Mark Buxton) centres on linden blossom with beeswax, Bulgarian rose oil and jasmine sambac over amber and tonka bean. - **Thymus** (2024, Aistis Mickevičius) sets thyme alongside white pepper, yuzu and juniper berry, with jasmine and neroli at the heart and labdanum, vetiver, tree moss and pine in the base. No third-party certifications, patents or manufacturing locations are documented for the brand. ## Current status Olfactive Pharmacy is dormant. The last documented launch is Thymus in 2024, and the copyright line on the brand's website runs from 2020 to 2024. No launches or news from 2025 or 2026 have been found. The brand nonetheless remains on sale. It does not run its own online shop and refers consumer enquiries to its stockists. These are a small group of independent niche perfumeries in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Mexico, plus one pharmacy [3]. Where no stockist exists, the company offers to arrange shipping within the European Union. In October 2026, the retailer Aus Liebe zum Duft still listed all four fragrances [10]. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 2020 | Brand founded in Cologne by pharmacists Oliver and Holger Dubben; debut with three fragrances: Betula and Tilia (perfumer Mark Buxton) and Salvia (perfumer David Chieze). | https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Esxence-2024-Olfactive-Pharmacy-20048.html | | 2024 | Presented at Esxence 2024 (Milan niche perfumery fair), covered by Fragrantica on March 25, 2024. | https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Esxence-2024-Olfactive-Pharmacy-20048.html | | 2024 | Fourth fragrance Thymus launched, created by Lithuanian perfumer Aistis Mickevičius (FUMparFUM); 100 ml. | https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Esxence-2024-Olfactive-Pharmacy-20048.html | | 2024 | Exhibitor at Pitti Immagine Fragranze, edition 22 (year from the page's asset path FRAGRANZE/2024_22). | https://fragranze.pittimmagine.com/22/exhibitors/O/olfactive-pharmacy | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Betula (perfumer: Mark Buxton)** — Diese unvergleichliche Wirkung von Heilung und Belebung, Reinigung und Energie strahlt der Duft Betula von Olfactive Pharmacy in uns hinein, und wir strahlen diese aus. — https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/produkte - **Salvia (perfumer: David Chieze)** — Salvia von Olfactive Pharmacy transportiert das Glücksgefühl des Wandelns im ewigen Kräutergarten eines alten Klosters — https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/produkte - **Tilia (perfumer: Mark Buxton)** — Mit feinsinniger Süße und dezent blumiger Honignote lässt Tilia von Olfactive Pharmacy Köln jeden Stress abperlen. — https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/produkte - **Thymus (perfumer: Aistis Mickevičius)** — "Thymus" von Olfactive Pharmacy verbindet den ausdrucksstarken Thymian mit umschmeichelnden Noten von Yuzu, Gewürzen und üppigem Amber. — https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/produkte ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} Birch (Betula): birch bark, birch leaves, birch tar · Sage (Salvia): clary sage, sage · Linden blossom (Tilia) · Thyme (Thymus) Source: https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **Fragrantica (article by Matvey Yudov, 'Esxence 2024: Olfactive Pharmacy')** (2024) — Esxence 2024 report reviewing all four fragrances; the author names Salvia his personal favourite and closes: 'Each of the four fragrances appealed greatly to me'. — https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Esxence-2024-Olfactive-Pharmacy-20048.html - **Parfumo (Mikayla's Perfume Blog, News)** (2024) — Launch news for Thymus: 'An Ode to Thyme: The New Perfume "Thymus" From Olfactive Pharmacy', dated 06/03/2024. — https://www.parfumo.com/Users/Mikayla/Blog/Article/an-ode-to-thyme-the-new-perfume-thymus-from-olfactive-pharmacy ## Sources 1. (T1) https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/ 2. (T2) https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/produkte 3. (T2) https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/haendler 4. (T2) https://www.olfactive-pharmacy.de/impressum 5. (T3) https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Esxence-2024-Olfactive-Pharmacy-20048.html 10. (T4) https://www.ausliebezumduft.de/en/collections/olfactive-pharmacy --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-17 Please cite with a link to the article URL.