Maybe because I have just come back from my skiing holiday and maybe because it’s one of the host countries for the European Cup this year, I thought I would take a quick look at Austria and a few Austrian brands this month.
When most people in the UK think of Austria, they think of Vienna or Salzburg, of skiing or the Sound of Music, of the blue Danube or Apfelstrudel or of Sachertorte or Lederhosen. But when we think further, we see that Austria is a land of contradiction. On the one hand, there are the years of civilization and great culture and philosophy and on the other hand there is the dark period of history last century. This is the land that produced Mozart, Strauss, Schubert and Freud as well as Arnie, DJ Ötzi and Hitler. The population is a multi-ethnic mix, but almost all speak German.
Austria has a total population of 8.2m, just a tenth of that of Germany. A quarter of these live in Vienna or its suburbs. The ethnic mix includes Hungarians, Croatians, Serbians, Bosnians, Czechs, Slovenians, Turkish, Italians and Albanians as well as the “Roma” who are an officially recognized ethnic minority. This reflects Austria’s key position in the centre of Europe and its imperial history.
Austria is one of the top 10 richest countries in the world with a very high standard of living. Employment is relatively low at under 5% (c/f Germany at 9%) and the economy shows a positive development above the EU average.
Austrian values include love of the beautiful countryside (much of Austria is mountainous), pride in traditions including food and music, love of closeness of family and friends, Gemütlichkeit (unique feeling of “cosiness”) and pride in roots and longevity. Many families in Austria have lived in the same town for generations and family firms are abundant. Although they like to think of themselves as a progressive company, Austria is woefully behind other EU countries regarding the status of women. There are precious few women in senior management or in politics (for all Germany’s backwardness in this area, at least we have “Angie”!) and there is a huge salary gap between men and women in equivalent positions. In a largely catholic country, women are not particularly encouraged to go back to work after having children and childcare facilities are inadequate.
Some Austrian Brands
Red Bull: covered in a previous Extrawurst
Some of the Austrian values are reflected in some classic Austrian brands that I have chosen to give just a little snapshot of.
ALMDUDLER
If you thought that coffee, or some nasty Schnapps was the national drink of Austria, you would be wrong: it’s Almdudler! Almdudler, for those who have not tried it is a “herbal lemonade” – actually, it tastes a bit like ginger ale. Almdudler the company has been going for over 50 years, and the website has a competition at the moment for the “best traditional costume couple”. In case you’re missing a jaunty feather hat or Edelweiss choker to go with your Dirndl, you can also buy these from the Almdudler site.
MEINL
Julius Meinl started roasting coffee on the family stove in Vienna in 1862 and popularized freshly roasted coffee. Since this time, the company has not looked back, despite excursions beyond the core competence into retail, for example. The logo of the “little coffee boy” is very well-known and reflects the history of coffee in Austria: coffee was brought to Vienna by the Turks in 1683.
HANDL
Handl sell dried bacon, ham and sausages in many varieties and make use of Tyrolean imagery on their packaging, reflecting the authentic nature of the products. They had a very interesting media idea to advertise their sausage snack products with posters at ski-lift stations in the winter season: after all, a spicy hard sausage is just the thing for those long rides in the chairlift!
GIESSWEIN
Giesswein are based not a million miles from Kitzbühel and are known world-wide for their boiled-wool jackets and slippers which are available in both traditional and fashionable styles for adults and children.
PEZ
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