S. Hirzel Verlag

What S. Hirzel Verlag does

S. Hirzel Verlag GmbH is a Stuttgart-based German book publisher operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag (a diversified pharmaceutical media group). The company publishes German-language nonfiction and academic content through two principal catalogs: Sachbücher (general nonfiction covering ethics, evolution, history, health, ecology, philosophy, and religion) and Fachwissen (specialist/academic publications in Germanistik, pharmaceutical botany, philosophy, physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, history of science, and related disciplines). Its product portfolio spans print (hardcover, paperback), digital (PDF, ePUB) and audiobook formats, alongside the recurring Scheidewege annual journal series dedicated to philosophical and critical discourse.

The publisher operates its own e-commerce platform (hirzel.de) for direct-to-consumer sales with delivery limited to Germany, and the eLibrary platform (elibrary.hirzel.de) which serves academic and public libraries as well as private digital customers. It also distributes through physical bookstores and book trade channels in the German-speaking region, and extends international reach via a Foreign Rights & Licensing program. Infrastructure includes the DAViD single-sign-on system shared across the parent media group, BiblioScout discovery integration for library systems, and standard third-party services for payment processing (PayPal, Saferpay), email marketing (NewBooks Solutions), logistics (Müller Die lila Logistik, DHL), and analytics (Matomo, Google Analytics).

Revenue is generated through one-time book sales (physical and digital), recurring journal subscriptions (€25 standard, €22 student for Scheidewege), and licensing royalties from foreign rights deals. Customer segments are diversified across general educated readers, academic and specialist professionals, healthcare professionals and patients, and libraries/institutions. Marketing channels include the company website, email newsletters, social media (Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram), author events and book tours, print catalogs, and press/media relations.

Name

S. Hirzel Verlag

Legal name

S. Hirzel Verlag GmbH

Website

https://hirzel.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

S. Hirzel Verlag GmbH is a Stuttgart-based German publisher of science and social nonfiction books (Sachbücher) and academic/specialist publications (Fachwissen), serving general readers, academics, healthcare professionals, and libraries through print, e-books, audiobooks, and the eLibrary digital platform, with international reach via foreign rights licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic and Nonfiction Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAE), Health, Wellness & Fitness Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAL)

Keywords

• Academic book publishing
• Nonfiction publishing
• Scientific publishing
• Journal subscriptions
• E-book distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Physical Book Sales: Sale of printed hardcover, paperback, and audiobook editions of nonfiction and academic books through the company's own e-commerce platform and through physical bookstore distribution.
2. E-Book Sales: Sale of digital books in PDF and ePUB formats through the eLibrary platform (elibrary.hirzel.de) and the main website, serving both library and private customers.
3. Journal Subscriptions: Annual subscription model for academic journals (e.g., Scheidewege series) with student discount pricing and optional automatic continuation. Individual journal articles also available for purchase.
4. Foreign Rights & Licensing: The publisher manages foreign rights and licensing of its book catalog to international publishers and markets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

S. Hirzel Verlag GmbH is a Stuttgart-based German publishing house that produces and sells nonfiction (Sachbücher) and academic/specialist books (Fachwissen) in print, e-book, and audiobook formats across topics including science, philosophy, health, history, German studies, pharmacy, and ethics. The publisher also issues the annual Scheidewege book series and operates the eLibrary digital platform that delivers e-books and e-journals to libraries and private customers, complemented by foreign rights licensing to international publishers.

Product overview

S. Hirzel Verlag GmbH is a German academic and nonfiction publishing house operating as part of the Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag. The company's product portfolio centers on physical nonfiction books (Sachbücher) and academic/specialized publications (Fachwissen), with a growing digital component through its eLibrary platform providing e-books and e-journals for libraries and private customers. Key subject areas include health, philosophy, history, natural sciences, nutrition, and ethics. The company also publishes the annual Scheidewege book series and operates the BiblioScout discovery service. Books are available in multiple formats including print (hardcover, paperback), digital (PDF, ePUB), and audio (with audioguides). The company serves both retail consumers and institutional customers including libraries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• eLibrary: Digital platform offering E-Books and E-Journals for libraries and private users.

Products and services

• Sachbücher (Nonfiction Books) Trade nonfiction catalog covering Understanding the World, Nutrition, Ethics and Responsibility, Evolution, History, Health, Teaching and Learning, Natural Knowledge, Phenomenon of Time, Advice, Religion and Religious Criticism, and Ecology and Energy, aimed at the general educated German-speaking reader and sold in hardcover, paperback, e-book, and audiobook editions.
• Fachwissen (Academic and Specialist Knowledge) Academic and specialist catalog covering pharmaceutical botany, linguistics, medieval studies, philosophy, physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, law, history of science, and related disciplines, targeted at university professors, researchers, students, and other professional specialist readers and distributed through physical bookstores and library channels.
• eLibrary des S. Hirzel Verlags Digital platform offering the publisher's e-books and e-journals in PDF and ePUB to academic and public libraries as well as individual subscribers, providing DRM-protected institutional and personal digital access to the catalog.
• Scheidewege – Schriften für Skepsis und Kritik Annual subscription book series providing a recurring interdisciplinary publication platform for philosophical, ethical, and social discourse, available by annual subscription (standard and reduced student rates) with automatic continuation.
• BiblioScout Digital content discovery service integrated with library systems, enabling libraries and end users to search and access the publisher's titles and journal content.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker VerlagcoreOthersS. Hirzel Verlag GmbH is an enterprise/company of the Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag (Deutscher Apotheker Verlag Dr. Roland Schmiedel GmbH & Co. KG). This corporate affiliation provides the publisher with institutional backing, shared services (including data management via the DAV-eigenes Single-Sign-On-Verfahren 'DAViD'), and access to a broader media distribution network including pharmacy channels and related professional audiences.
• Müller - Die lila Logistik Fulfillment SolutionsminorOthersThe publisher uses Müller - Die lila Logistik Fulfillment Solutions (based in Blaufelden) for returns processing. Returns are shipped to this fulfillment partner at Am Buchberg 8, 74572 Blaufelden.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• J.B. Metzler: J.B. Metzler is a Stuttgart-based publisher of academic and reference works in linguistics, literary studies, philosophy, and the humanities. It is highly comparable to S. Hirzel Verlag's Fachwissen academic catalog, particularly its Germanistik and philosophy subcategories, and operates in the same German-language scholarly market.
• Karl Alber Verlag: Karl Alber Verlag specializes in philosophy, ethics, and social theory publications. Its subject focus closely mirrors S. Hirzel Verlag's philosophy and ethics titles within both the Sachbücher and Fachwissen catalogs, and it serves overlapping academic and general educated reader audiences.
• Schattauer Verlag: Schattauer is a medical and health sciences publisher operating within the same Deutscher Apotheker Verlag media group as S. Hirzel Verlag. Its medical and healthcare professional catalog directly overlaps with Hirzel's health, medicine, and pharmacy titles, and it shares the same parent-group distribution infrastructure.
• Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht publishes academic books and journals in humanities, theology, and social sciences. Its catalog intersects with S. Hirzel Verlag's Fachwissen offerings in philosophy, history, and Germanistik, and it serves similar academic library and specialist reader segments.
• Mohr Siebeck: Mohr Siebeck is a Tübingen-based academic publisher specializing in law, philosophy, religious studies, and social sciences. It competes with S. Hirzel Verlag for German-language academic authorship and library acquisitions in philosophy and the humanities.
• Frommann-Holzboog: Frommann-Holzboog publishes philosophy, history of philosophy, and theoretical works, closely mirroring S. Hirzel Verlag's philosophy subcategory and contributing authors to the Scheidewege series. Its targeted academic and educated-reader audience is highly comparable.
• Klett-Cotta: Klett-Cotta publishes academic and nonfiction titles in philosophy, psychology, and the humanities, with comparable subject coverage to S. Hirzel Verlag. It serves overlapping academic and professional audiences in the German-speaking market.
• Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (wbg): wbg is a German academic publishing and membership organization producing nonfiction and academic books across humanities and sciences. Its catalog and library/academic membership model parallel S. Hirzel Verlag's dual trade-academic positioning and reader base.

Broad incumbents

• Verlag C.H.Beck: C.H. Beck is one of Germany's largest publishers of academic, legal, and nonfiction titles with broad subject coverage. It overlaps with S. Hirzel Verlag in philosophy, history, and political nonfiction but operates at materially greater scale across both trade and academic segments.
• De Gruyter: De Gruyter is a leading international academic publisher with strong humanities and sciences coverage. It overlaps with S. Hirzel Verlag's Fachwissen catalog and competes for the same German and European library and academic customers, but at far greater scale and with broader digital infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HirzelVerlag
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCfhjqFxG1YrMG7RSQIE08tw
• Facebookfacebook.com/HirzelVerlag
• Instagraminstagram.com/hirzel_sachbuch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hirzel-verlag

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about S. Hirzel Verlag