Fragrance house

Susanne Kaufmann

Susanne Kaufmann founded her eponymous skincare brand in 2003, drawing on spa treatments she developed at her family’s Hotel Post in Bezau, in Austria’s Bregenzerwald. The first 24 products, created with longtime collaborator Ingo Metzler, were developed for the hotel’s spa. The brand evolved from that hotel-spa line into an independent international skincare business, combining Alpine plant knowledge and spa practice with modern scientific research and a holistic approach to wellbeing. On 18 October 2019, Manzanita US Investments LP acquired a majority stake in Susanne Kaufmann Kosmetik in a transaction intended to bring the brand to global markets; Kaufmann remained responsible for creative work and product development. A two-year refresh completed around 2021 updated the product branding and packaging, with the aim of improving sustainability and effectiveness. In 2023, Kaufmann collaborated with Byredo founder Ben Gorham on two limited-edition oils, including a Bregenzerwald Fragrance Oil, expressing the brand’s Alpine regional identity through scent.