# W. Spitzner Arzneimittelfabrik ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1949 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Ettlingen | | Status | Active | | Previous names | Pharmaceutical Laboratory Ettlingen | | Manufacturing | Ettlingen, Germany | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.spitzner.de/ | W. Spitzner Arzneimittelfabrik is a German pharmaceutical and wellness manufacturer based in Ettlingen, near Karlsruhe at the foot of the northern Black Forest. It was founded in 1949 by the pharmacist Professor Dr. Wolfram Spitzner as the "Pharmaceutical Laboratory Ettlingen" [3]. The company develops and produces plant-based health and wellness goods — bath additives, sauna infusions, shower foams, massage oils and body care — and also manufactures pharmaceuticals on contract for other companies. Its consumer range trades under the Spitzner name, built around what the company calls its brand essence, "health from the power of plants." Spitzner still manufactures at its original Ettlingen site and is once again an independent family business, a status it regained in 2022 after several decades under corporate ownership. ## Origin & founders The business traces its beginnings to 1949, when Wolfram Spitzner opened the Pharmaceutical Laboratory Ettlingen. According to the company, it was there that Pinimenthol, a cold and cough remedy, was first developed — the starting point for a product range founded on the medicinal use of plants [3]. Pinimenthol went on to become the young firm's best-known product [6]. The Pinimenthol brand is today held by the Schwabe Group rather than by Spitzner, but it remains central to the company's account of its own origins. Spitzner is described as a pharmacist of considerable inventiveness who built the factory into a business with an international reputation within a few years. Over his career he assembled an archive of recipes and pharmacy equipment, which the company presents as a record of the centuries-old tradition of using natural products for health and well-being. ## History & milestones From the 1960s onward, Spitzner grew into one of the established suppliers to physiotherapy and to professional wellness settings such as spas and hotels. The company describes heat therapy as a field it has long helped to shape. In 1985 the pharmaceutical factory — founded in 1949 and by then known chiefly for Pinimenthol — was taken over by the Schwabe Group, formally Dr. Schwabe Deutschland Holding [6]. It operated as a Schwabe subsidiary for the following decades. In 2022 the Schwabe Group divested the business: Spitzner was sold and became an independent family company once again [6], led by its owners and managing directors, Andreas J. Mayer and Frank Elsen [3]. Production continued without interruption at the Ettlingen facility throughout these ownership changes. By its own account, the company marks more than 75 years of activity as of the mid-2020s [1]. ## Ownership Since 2022, W. Spitzner Arzneimittelfabrik GmbH has been an independent, family-run business [3]. From 1985 until that divestment it belonged to the Schwabe Group [6]. The current owners have said their aim is to preserve the tradition of the original Spitzner factory while adding new products and processes, and to keep production in Ettlingen for the long term. ## Philosophy & positioning Spitzner positions itself around plant-based health and wellness, summed up in the tagline "Health from the power of plants" [2]. As a healthcare company, it states its aim as helping people "feel comfortable in their own skin." It markets the Spitzner name as a premium brand, while also describing its goal as making high-quality products that remain affordable. The company draws a distinction between its scale and its approach, describing itself on its homepage as "not Big Pharma – but Smart Pharma." That framing reflects a business that combines a consumer wellness brand with specialist pharmaceutical manufacturing rather than mass-market scale. ## Products & innovation The Spitzner range spans bath additives, sauna infusions, shower foams, massage and aroma oils, body care, sports rubs and heat-therapy products. The company says it has fundamentally shaped the field of heat therapy and points to items such as the Spitzner Therm Warmpack as examples of its continuing product development [2]. It reports that its oils and speciality baths are made to pharmacopoeia quality, which it links to their effectiveness. Its sauna infusions and steam-bath additives carry certification from the German Sauna Association (Deutscher Sauna-Bund), which the company associates with naturalness, transparent production and a full declaration of ingredients [2]. Products are sold both to professional users — physiotherapy practices, spas, fitness studios and hotels — and to private customers. Alongside its own brand, Spitzner works as a pharmaceutical contract manufacturer, specialising in liquids and semi-solids and describing itself as having strong phytopharmaceutical expertise. It holds EU GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification for both human and veterinary medicinal products [1], and lists further regulatory measures including serialisation under the EU Falsified Medicines Directive and manufacturing authorisation under German medicines law. All manufacturing takes place at the Ettlingen site, which the company presents under a "Made in Germany" quality claim. ## Sustainability Spitzner says it pursues sustainability in collaboration with its partners and suppliers, integrating it into both its manufacturing processes and its logistics [5]. The company frames this as part of its wider emphasis on quality and safety across the production chain. ## Current status W. Spitzner Arzneimittelfabrik is active. It operates consumer and professional webshops, manufactures at its Ettlingen facility, and — following the 2022 return to family ownership — continues as an independent company with its founding-era brand essence intact. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1949 | Pharmacist Professor Dr. Wolfram Spitzner founds the 'Pharmaceutical Laboratory Ettlingen'; the cold remedy Pinimenthol is invented there. | https://spitzner.group/en/our-history | | 1985 | Spitzner (founded 1949, best-known product Pinimenthol) is taken over by the Schwabe Group. | https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Schwabe_Deutschland_Holding | | 1985 | Acquired by the Schwabe Group (Dr. Schwabe Deutschland Holding). | https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Schwabe_Deutschland_Holding | | 2022 | Divested by the Schwabe Group; becomes an independent family business again under owners and managing directors Andreas J. Mayer and Frank Elsen. | https://spitzner.group/en/our-history | | 2022 | Sold/divested by the Schwabe Group and merged/spun out; became an independent family business again. | https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Schwabe_Deutschland_Holding | | — | Since the 1960s, becomes one of the leading providers in physiotherapy and professional wellness for SPAs and premium hotels. | https://spitzner.group/en/our-history | ## Certifications {#belagg-certifications} - **EU GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) Certification FOR Human AND Veterinary Medicinal Products** — “EU GMP certification for human and veterinary medicinal products” — https://spitzner.group/en - **German Sauna Association (Deutscher Sauna Bund) Certification FOR Sauna Infusions AND Steam Bath Additives** — “Spitzner sauna infusions and steam bath additives certified by the German Sauna Association stand for naturalness, transparent production and a complete declaration of ingredients and exclusive fragrances.” — https://spitzner.group/en/spitzner-brand ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Pinimenthol (the company's original 1949 cold/cough remedy; the Pinimenthol brand is now held by the Schwabe Group, not a current Spitzner consumer product)** — Pinimenthol, the key product for a successful and still proven product range for the treatment of colds, was invented here. — https://spitzner.group/en/our-history - **Spitzner Therm Warmpack (heat-therapy product)** — Spitzner has fundamentally shaped heat therapy and continues to set new standards with innovative products such as the Spitzner Therm Warmpack. — https://spitzner.group/en/spitzner-brand ## Sources 1. (T1) https://spitzner.group/en 2. (T1) https://spitzner.group/en/spitzner-brand 3. (T2) https://spitzner.group/en/our-history 5. (T2) https://spitzner.group/en/quality 6. (T3) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Schwabe_Deutschland_Holding --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-09-15 Please cite with a link to the article URL.