L’Erbolario: from 1978 to today

L’Erbolario was founded in Lodi in 1978 as a small artisan herbalist’s shop, but even earlier in the imagination of its founders Daniela Villa and Franco Bergamaschi, a young couple who since adolescence had shared a passion for the world of medicinal plants, spending their days in the countryside around Lodi in search of wild herbs to turn into lotions, decoctions and infusions, following ancient family recipes.
The name L’Erbolario in fact derives from the archaic erborare, which means “to go through the fields gathering herbs for study or for therapeutic use”.

Within a few years, thanks to word of mouth among the first enthusiastic Customers, what had been born as an intimate, private passion turned into a successful business, enabling Daniela and Franco to anticipate the boom in the market for plant-derived cosmetics and then to become its leading players in the years to come.

Over the years, L’Erbolario has established itself as an increasingly appreciated cosmetics brand not only in Italy but also abroad, while firmly maintaining its identity as a 100% Made in Italy family-run company.

In 2004 Franco and Daniela decided to combine L’Erbolario’s by then decade-long experience in the phyto-cosmetic field with the expertise of Dr Fausto Mearelli, an authoritative specialist in the herbal sector: from this partnership was born Erbamea, the sister company located in Umbria, in the green heart of Italy, specialising in medicinal plants and food supplements, as well as L’Erbolario’s supplier of excellence for many plant raw materials of excellent quality.

Our mission

The objective is increasingly clear: to draw the best ingredients from the plant world in order to create innovative and high-performing products.

The intrinsic pleasantness of the product, which is the real challenge of natural-derived cosmetics, is one of the constant objects of L’Erbolario research, always committed to offering cosmetics rich in plant ingredients that are effective but also pleasant and comfortable. The delicate fragrances of the products and their refined packaging, which recall the botanical plates of ancient herbals, are also an unmistakable hallmark.

Our figures

With 4,500 Points of Sale in Italy and 215 franchised Stores, 14 of which abroad*, and distribution in 42 countries worldwide, L’Erbolario is the name of an unmistakable style that evokes authenticity and timeless elegance and draws inspiration from the beauty of nature.

*Data as at 31/12/2025