What are Manner wafers made of? When were they invented? Where can you buy them? What is the famous advertising slogan of the Manner company? Where is the headquarters of this traditional Viennese company located?
An ideal sweet souvenir from Vienna are the Manner wafers, which are great to take home. When the Viennese go on a trip, they also like to take Manner Schnitten with them as provisions. How did it come to the invention of these delicious and crunchy slices with the slogan
“Manner – you just like it”
Manner is the name of both the Schnitten and the company founder Josef Manner. It all started with a small store in the middle of the city on Stephansplatz. Josef Manner sold chocolates and fig coffee there. As he did not like the chocolate supplied, he began to produce it himself.
On March 1, 1890 , he founded the “Chocoladenfabrik Josef Manner” . From 1889 , the Vienna St. Stephen’s Cathedral became the trademark that you can still see on the pink packaging . In return, Manner will pay the wage costs for a stonemason from the St. Stephen’s Cathedral construction lodge. That’s why this stonemason is wearing a nice pink Manner work overall.
The company grew continuously and settled in Vienna-Hernals . Around 1897 it had already
100 employees. Nowadays “Josef Manner & Comp.AG” is the largest confectionery manufacturer in Austria . It is a joint stock company listed on the stock exchange, whose shares are owned by the family. The recipe for success could be that the majority owners are always from the family .
So what are the original Manner wafers made of?
In 1898, the original Manner Neopolitaner Schnitte No. 239 was first mentioned in a document . The filling requires hazelnuts, coconut fat, cocoa powder and sugar . Why is it called Neapolitan slice? Because the hazelnuts come from Naples . The size is accurate at 49x17x17 millimeters and it consists of four layers of spread between five layers of wafer. The weight is also standardized at 7.5 grams per cut. This basic recipe is still valid today. In the beginning, the slices were also sold loose , so that one could afford this pleasure more often. Traditionally, there are two rows of five in the pink package and they are eaten up faster than you would like.
The world’s largest wafer oven is located in Hernals and has a capacity to produce 49 tons of wafers and 450 slices daily.
Napoli (Drageekeksi), Casali (Rum-Kokos), Viktor Schmidt (Ildefonso, Austria-Mozartkugeln) and Heller (Schokobane, Wiener Zuckerl) are nowpart of the Manner Group . Since 2004 , Manner has operated a flagship store on Stephansplatz in the Archbishop’s Palace, near the place where it all began. You will also find a Manner store at the airport, which is very convenient when flying home to bring something typical for the country to your loved ones.
Manner also expanded into the East with subsidiaries in Germany, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. Salzburg has had its own Manner store on Residenzplatz since 2010. The products are exported to 50 countries worldwide.
Nowadays, there are many different varieties of Manner products, including something for vegans.
The Manner logo is often used as a design, e.g. for the Vienna streetcar, for KTM bicycles. Also as product placement, e.g. in the American series “Friends”, Manner slices were placed in Central Park Café.
Time Travel Tip: You can get the original Manner wafers just about everywhere in Vienna, whether in the souvenir store, of course in the original Manner store on Stephansplatz or most cheaply in any supermarket.
