In 1866, the 26-year-old pharmacist Dr. Willmar Schwabe laid the cornerstone for the success of his company: he founded a "manufacturing facility for dispensing medicines." His goal was to research and produce premium medicines at a standardized and consistent quality.

From the very beginning, Dr. Willmar Schwabe pursued a global vision for the company. In 1871, he established the first international depot in Geneva. In the following years, the company continued to expand, reaching as far as India by 1890.

Dr. Schwabe published his Pharmacopoeia Homoeopathica Polyglottica in German, English and French. This reference work was the predecessor of what is now the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia and the homeopathic section of the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.). In the same year, a witch-hazel extract was first marketed as a phytopharmaceutical product. Over time it evolved into Hametum® ointment.

Schwabe, as one of the first pharmaceutical companies in Germany, starts with the production of tablets as a new dosage form.

The Dutch Schwabe depot, opened in 1899 in Zaandam, became the company’s first production site outside Germany in 1909. In 1926, Schwabe also opened its first overseas production facility in São Paulo, Brazil.

The company, which had grown to a staff of 300 employees, moved into a new facility in the Paunsdorf neighbourhood of Leipzig. Greenhouses and fields for medicinal plants were also established there. By that time, Schwabe was present all around the globe, including the Indian subcontinent as well as the Transvaal (now part of South Africa), Brazil and Mexico.

As of the early 1930’s, Schwabe, while still driving the homeopathic business, takes up the systematic research on and development of phyto-medicines, Prostagutt® and Plantival®, amongst others. During this time, Schwabe develops path-breaking analytical methods.

The hawthorn-leaf product Crataegutt® was marketed. It contained a standardised hawthorn extract and served as a pioneer in terms of how research was conducted on other herbal special extracts.

Especially at its new site in Karlsruhe-Durlach, from 1946 onward the company focussed more and more on research and development of phytopharmaceuticals which fulfilled the standards of western medicine. In the years that followed, Schwabe built new buildings for administration, research and production.

Deutsche Homöopathie-Union (DHU) was established as an independent company within the Schwabe Group. To this day it specialises in developing, manufacturing and distributing homeopathic drugs. The company Dr. Willmar Schwabe Arzneimittel concentrated on research and development of phytopharmaceuticals.

Tebonin® liquidum was marketed. It was followed in 1967 by Tebonin® film-coated tablets as well as Tebonin® sustained-release film-coated tablets. The ginkgo special extract EGb 761® in Tebonin® is now considered the world's most thoroughly researched and best-documented herbal extract.

At a site near Karlsruhe, Schwabe began organically growing the medicinal plants needed to manufacture its proprietary products. Terra Medica, as the area is called, has been organically certified since 1998. But: In 1979, the Schwabe company was already been awarded the “Silver Plant” by the Foundation for the Protection of Endangered Plants for its endeavours to cultivate protected plant species. The visitor centre embedded in the complex was nominated for the Baden Architecture Prize in 2022.

Dr. Wolf-Dietrich Schwabe (left), who studied business, and Dr. Klaus-Peter Schwabe, a trained biochemist, became members of the company's senior management in 1976 and 1977. In 1986, Norbert Keller was appointed to the executive board as well. From that time onward, Dr. Willmar Schwabe Arzneimittel gradually became today's globally active Schwabe Group by founding companies as well as acquiring other businesses and becoming shareholders.

In 1980, Schwabe began cultivating ginkgo in the United States and, shortly thereafter, in France, developing its own innovative cultivation methods—still unique worldwide today—for sustainable and efficient production.

With the acquisition of a third of Murdoch Holding Company (USA), Schwabe opens up the business unit of food supplements within the Group. In 2001, Schwabe becomes the sole proprietor of the American subsidiary. In the subsequent years, the company – which is named Nature’s Way – grows to be a major generator of sales.

In 2003, the Schwabe Group's portfolio expanded horizontally. The business sectors of phytopharmaceuticals and homeopathic drugs grew to include premium-quality nutritional supplements, which were distributed in North America only until 2021.

In 2016, Olaf Schwabe, the great-great grandson of the company founder Dr. Willmar Schwabe, took on leadership of the corporate group. As the CEO, Olaf Schwabe is also the head of a four-member Group Executive Team (GET) which is responsible for the Group’s global strategy and its business management. The other members of the GET are Dr. Anke Balzer, Oliver Schulz,  Joachim Thole and Dr. Frank Waimer.

The acquisition of ETI (Enzymatic Therapies) marks the beginning of the success story of Probiotic Pearls^® und Alive!^® on mass market.

The Schwabe Group expands its social engagement: the Umckaloabo Foundation supports educational projects for children and young people in southern Africa. Its first project is the construction of the Scout Center in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Building on the positive experience in the North American market, the Schwabe Group expanded its portfolio in Europe in 2021 by establishing Nature’s Way Europe. The company now offers high-quality dietary supplements, initially focusing on online marketplaces.

The Schwabe Group becomes the majority shareholder of Braineffect, a Berlin-based start-up founded in 2016 with strong potential for innovation and growth. With this acquisition, another leading brand for mental and physical well-being, supported by a team of over 60 employees, becomes part of the Schwabe Group.