Manner
Manner is an Austrian confectionery brand best known for its hazelnut-cream-filled Neapolitan wafers.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Manner is an Austrian confectionery brand operated by Josef Manner & Comp. AG, a family-influenced confectionery company founded in Vienna in 1890. The brand is most closely associated with its Original Neapolitan wafers, a compact stack of thin wafers layered with hazelnut cream. The product was introduced in 1898 and became one of Austria's most recognizable packaged sweets. Its name refers to the original sourcing of hazelnuts from the Naples region of Italy, while its visual identity is anchored by Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral. Josef Manner began as a retailer on Vienna's Stephansplatz, selling chocolate and fig coffee. He and his brothers acquired the concession and premises of a small chocolate producer in Margareten and established the Josef Manner Chocolate Factory on 1 March 1890. The business moved to Hernals later that year and expanded rapidly, reaching approximately 100 employees by 1897. In 1898, the company developed the wafer product that later became known as the Manner cut or Manner Schnitte. By 1913, Manner had become a leading confectionery producer in Austria-Hungary, and its large Hernals factory was built on Wilhelminenstraße. The company was converted into a public limited company in October 1913. The brand's cathedral emblem dates from the company's early Vienna retail presence. Manner has used an image of St. Stephen's Cathedral since the late nineteenth century, linking the product to Vienna's cityscape and helping make the pink-and-red package immediately recognizable. The company and the Archdiocese of Vienna later agreed that Manner could continue using the cathedral image in exchange for support connected with stonemasonry and repair work on the cathedral. Manner's twentieth-century development included significant corporate and product changes. The company expanded its range beyond wafers into chocolate products, sweets, cocoa, long-life confectionery and seasonal goods. It acquired the Napoli and Casali businesses through a 1970 merger, broadening its portfolio and bringing the Napoli-Casali shareholder family into the wider company structure. Packaging innovation was also important: in 1960, a moisture-resistant aluminium-paper composite wrapper with the familiar red tear strip improved shelf life and product protection, contributing to renewed sales growth. The company has a difficult wartime history. During the National Socialist period and the Second World War, Manner benefited from military orders, the appropriation or 'Aryanization' of Jewish property, and the use of forced labour. It supplied confectionery to the Wehrmacht and produced Scho-Ka-Kola, known in wartime contexts as 'aviator's chocolate', for the Luftwaffe. These facts form an important part of the brand's historical record and complicate its later image as a nostalgic Viennese institution. After 1945, the company faced requisitioning of stored sugar and cocoa by Soviet occupation forces and shortages of raw materials. Postwar recovery was followed by new family leadership, packaging modernization and portfolio expansion. Carl Manner, a grandson of the founder, joined the company in 1953, entered its management board in 1970 and later became supervisory-board president. He represented the third generation of family involvement until his death in 2017. In the twenty-first century, Manner has combined industrial consolidation with retail and export development. It operates flagship shops in Vienna and Salzburg and has opened or maintained sales subsidiaries in several Central European markets, including Germany, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The company expanded and modernized its Vienna production site, including the transfer of equipment from the Perg plant and the concentration of wafer production in Vienna. A partial collapse of a factory section during renovation in October 2014 caused substantial disruption but no reported injuries. The Perg production operation was ultimately closed, with its machinery installed in Vienna; the conversion was completed in 2020. Today, Manner remains an active Austrian confectionery brand whose core identity rests on Viennese heritage, wafer expertise, distinctive packaging and a broad portfolio of everyday and seasonal sweets. Its products are exported widely, while its flagship shops and cathedral mark reinforce its connection with Vienna.
History
Josef Manner established the company that became Josef Manner & Comp. AG in Vienna on 1 March 1890 with his brothers. Before founding the factory, he ran a shop on Stephansplatz selling chocolate and fig coffee. The new business acquired a small chocolate producer in Margareten and moved to Hernals within its first year. Its workforce reached about 100 people by 1897. The company's defining product emerged in 1898. The Original Manner Neapolitan wafer was recorded as Neapolitaner Schnitte No. 239 and consisted of thin wafers with hazelnut cream filling. The early product was sold loose; standardized packs followed later. Its name reflected the original use of hazelnuts associated with Naples. The cathedral image used in the logo also dates to the company's early years and expresses the brand's Viennese identity. In 1900, Johann Georg Riedl acquired half of the company's shares, beginning a long relationship between the Manner and Riedl families. Manner became a leading confectionery producer in Austria-Hungary before the First World War. The Hernals factory on Wilhelminenstraße was built in 1913, the same year the business became a public limited company and reportedly employed around 3,000 people. The interwar period brought financial pressure. The company founder withdrew from operational management in 1935 after a reduction in share capital during the economic crisis. During the National Socialist era and the Second World War, the company received military orders, benefited from the appropriation of Jewish property and used forced labour. It supplied chocolate and biscuits to the Wehrmacht and produced Scho-Ka-Kola for military aviation. This wartime involvement is a significant and contested part of Manner's corporate history. After the war, occupying forces requisitioned stored sugar and cocoa, leaving the company with raw-material shortages for roughly two years. Josef Manner died in 1947. His grandson Carl Manner joined the company in 1953, received power of attorney in 1959 and later became a leading member of the management. A major packaging change arrived in 1960, when the wafers were placed in a moisture-resistant aluminium-paper composite wrapper with a red tear strip. The improved packaging helped protect the product and supported renewed commercial growth. The company reported record sales again in 1964, its first such result since 1914. Manner expanded through the 1970 merger with Napoli and Casali, adding new confectionery products and integrating the Napoli-Casali family interests. A proposed collaboration with Nestlé in Hungary after the fall of the Iron Curtain did not succeed. In subsequent decades, Manner pursued exports and established sales subsidiaries in Germany, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Retail became part of the brand's public presence. A flagship shop opened on Stephansplatz in 2004, followed by a Vienna Airport location in 2006 and a shop with a café in Salzburg in 2010. Further shops opened in Graz in 2018 and at the Murpark shopping centre in 2019. The company also used product placement and licensing to extend visibility beyond Austria, including appearances in Friends and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The Vienna factory remained central to the company's identity and operations. In 2005, a proposal to place the Hernals building under monument protection prompted a public dispute because management warned that economic requirements could force relocation. Manner later announced investment in the Vienna site and plans to concentrate wafer production there. A partial building collapse during renovation on 17 October 2014 led to temporary production adjustments and the relocation of machinery. Production from Perg was eventually transferred to Vienna, and the conversion was completed in 2020. The renovated facility also incorporated waste-heat recovery developed with Wien Energie. Carl Manner remained associated with the business until his death in 2017. The company continues as a publicly traded but family-influenced Austrian confectionery producer. Its portfolio extends beyond the classic wafer to chocolate, sweets, cocoa, seasonal products and the Napoli and Casali lines, while the Manner name remains closely identified with Vienna and the St. Stephen's Cathedral mark.
- 2020
Production consolidation in Vienna completed
[1]The Perg plant was closed and its equipment installed at the renovated Vienna operation.
- 2017
Carl Manner dies
[1]The third-generation family leader died on 19 April after decades in company management and oversight.
- 2014
Hernals factory section collapses during renovation
[1]A partial building collapse disrupted renovation and production logistics without reported injuries.
- 2004
Stephansplatz flagship store opens
[1]Manner opened a flagship shop near its historic Vienna retail location.
- 1970
Napoli and Casali merged into Manner
[1]The merger materially expanded the company's confectionery portfolio and shareholder family network.
- 1960
Moisture-resistant wafer packaging introduced
[1]The familiar aluminium-paper composite package and red tear strip improved protection and shelf life.
- 1913
Hernals factory built and company becomes a public limited company
[1]Manner opened the Wilhelminenstraße factory and converted its corporate form into a public limited company.
- 1898
Neapolitan wafer introduced
[1]The wafer later known as the Original Manner Neapolitan wafer was documented as Neapolitaner Schnitte No. 239.
- 1890
Josef Manner establishes the chocolate factory
[1]Josef Manner and his brothers founded the company in Vienna on 1 March, later moving operations to Hernals.
Products and positioning
Viennese heritage confectionery combining an iconic wafer format, accessible everyday pricing, distinctive pink packaging and a strong association with St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Wafer confectionery · 1898
Original Manner Neapolitan wafers
Manner's signature product consists of thin wafers layered with hazelnut cream. The classic format is sold as a compact block of ten pieces, and its pink packaging, red tear strip and St. Stephen's Cathedral logo have made it one of Austria's best-known confectionery products. The product originated in 1898 and has been sold in standardized multi-piece packaging since the twentieth century.
Filled wafer confectionery
Manner Mozart Mignon
Manner Mozart Mignon is a smaller filled-wafer product within the company's confectionery range. It became notable in the 2022 packaging dispute because a similarly sized bulk bag contained less product by weight than comparable bags.
Confectionery
Napoli
Napoli became part of the Manner portfolio through the 1970 merger with Napoli and Casali. The line broadened Manner's presence beyond the flagship wafer and remains part of the group's wider confectionery offering.
Confectionery
Casali
Casali joined the Manner house through the 1970 merger. Its inclusion expanded the company's assortment of sweets and chocolate-based confectionery beyond the traditional Manner wafer format.
Chocolate confectionery
Scho-Ka-Kola
Scho-Ka-Kola is a chocolate-based product associated with the broader Manner corporate history. During the Second World War it was produced for military aviation and became known as 'aviator's chocolate'.
Controversies
2022
Misleading-package ruling
The Vienna Commercial Court found that similarly sized bulk bags containing different quantities and varieties of wafer products could mislead consumers. The case was brought by the Association for Consumer Information on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the ruling was reported as not final.
1939
Wartime conduct and forced labour
During the National Socialist period and the Second World War, the company benefited from military supply orders, the appropriation of Jewish property and the exploitation of forced labour. It also supplied products to the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe. This history is a serious ethical issue associated with the corporate background of the brand.
Marketing campaigns
- 2014Manner wafer domino world-record event
Austria
To mark Carl Manner's 85th birthday, 8,500 packs of Manner wafers were arranged as dominoes in Vienna City Hall's ballroom and toppled in a single chain reaction.
Outcome. The event served as a highly visible Austrian brand and anniversary activation.
- 2008Manner motif commemorative postage stamp
Austria
Austrian Post issued a stamp featuring Manner's classic 1950s advertising motif, connecting the brand with Austrian popular and commercial culture.
Outcome. The issue extended the visibility of Manner's historic advertising identity.
Brand decisions
2011
Concentrate wafer production in ViennaStrategyBackground
The company was reviewing its production footprint and the future use of the Perg site.
Action taken
Manner announced expansion of the Vienna plant and a plan to concentrate wafer production there from 2015 onward.
Aftermath
Following the 2014 factory collapse and subsequent relocation work, the Perg operation was closed and its machinery was installed in Vienna; the conversion was completed in 2020.
1970
Merge with Napoli and CasaliM&ABackground
Manner sought to expand beyond its traditional wafer franchise and increase the breadth of its confectionery portfolio.
Action taken
The company merged with the Napoli and Casali businesses.
Aftermath
The product range expanded and the Napoli-Casali owner family became connected with the Manner shareholder structure.
Recent events
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