Unterweger Früchteküche

Unterweger Früchteküche GmbH is an Austrian fruit-processing company with roots going back to 1931, when brothers Ignaz and Josef Unterweger founded Brüder Unterweger Obstveredelung. What began as the delivery of wild lingonberries (Preiselbeeren) in the interwar years developed into a specialist business for cooked fruit products, and the company is today known as Unterweger Früchteküche. Its production is centred on Kittsee in Burgenland, where a plant was built in 1961 to take advantage of the fresh fruit available in the region, while a second site in East Tyrol has also been maintained and expanded. The company's product range is built around fruit preparations with a deliberately high fruit content. According to its own website, it offers products with a fruit share of 40% to 70%, and the characteristic taste of its range is attributed to this high fruit proportion. The portfolio includes jams and fruit spreads (Marmeladen and Konfitüren), syrups, fruit juices, honey, compotes and fillings for baking, as well as semi-finished fruit products. A signature product is the wild lingonberry compote prepared in Tyrolean style, the item with which the business began and which it still sells today. Unterweger Früchteküche positions itself as a specialist for the processing trade, bakeries and pastry chefs, and as a reliable partner for gastronomy. It also increasingly places finished consumer products on retail shelves through the trade. The company describes itself as a contact for tailor-made fruit recipes and treats custom requests as a speciality, refining recipes to individual customer taste. Products are offered in a wide variety of packaging sizes. Ownership and management remain in family hands. The second generation, cousins Paul Unterweger and Christoph Unterweger, expanded the two production locations in East Tyrol and Burgenland. Since 2010 the company has been led in the third generation by Mag. Michaela Hysek-Unterweger. The business is privately held and operates primarily in Austria and neighbouring German-speaking markets, serving both the food-processing industry and, increasingly, end consumers.

The history of Unterweger Früchteküche begins in the difficult interwar years, when Ignaz and Josef Unterweger started delivering wild lingonberries (Preiselbeeren). The two brothers quickly recognised the opportunities offered by processing fruit from the surrounding area, and in 1931 they founded the firm Brüder Unterweger Obstveredelung. The wild lingonberry compote prepared in Tyrolean style, the product with which the company started, remains part of the range today. Continuous product development and rising demand for domestic jams made it necessary to expand the business. In 1961 Ignaz and Josef Unterweger established a production facility in Kittsee in Burgenland, allowing the company to use the fresh fruit available directly on site. Fifteen years after the Kittsee production building was erected, it was extended so that compotes and semi-finished products could be processed directly there as well. With the sons Paul Unterweger and Christoph Unterweger, the firm Brüder Unterweger passed into the second generation. The two cousins steadily expanded the company's two locations in East Tyrol and in Burgenland. Continuous optimisation of product development and production enabled the business to meet the constantly rising requirements of its customers. Over time the company developed into a specialist for the processing trade, bakeries and pastry chefs, and a reliable partner for gastronomy, while increasingly placing finished products on retail shelves through the trade. It presents itself as a contact for tailor-made fruit recipes. Since 2010 the company, now trading as Unterweger Früchteküche GmbH, has been led in the third generation by Mag. Michaela Hysek-Unterweger. The business remains family-owned and privately held, with production rooted in Austria and a customer base spanning bakeries, pastry chefs, gastronomy, food processors and, increasingly, retail consumers.

• 2010

  Mag. Michaela Hysek-Unterweger takes over the management of the company in the third generation.

• 1976

  Fifteen years after the Kittsee building was erected, it is extended to process compotes and semi-finished products directly on site.

• 1961

  A production facility is established in Kittsee, Burgenland, to use fresh fruit available on site.

• 1931

  Ignaz and Josef Unterweger found Brüder Unterweger Obstveredelung, building on their earlier delivery of wild lingonberries.

• The second generation, cousins Paul Unterweger and Christoph Unterweger, takes over and expands the two sites in East Tyrol and Burgenland.

Specialist supplier of tailor-made, high-fruit-content fruit preparations for bakeries, pastry chefs, gastronomy and the food-processing industry, with a growing presence in retail.

• Wild lingonberry compote in Tyrolean style

  The product with which the company began; still sold today and recently given a new label.

• Jams and fruit spreads (Marmeladen, Konfitüren)

  High-fruit-content spreads with 40% to 70% fruit, offered in various packaging sizes.

• Syrups

  Bottled syrup products, including currant (Ribisl) varieties.

• Fruit juices

  Fruit juices and syrups in bottles.

• Honey

  Part of the company's diverse product range.

• Baking and filling preparations

  Products for baking and filling, aimed at bakeries and pastry chefs.

• Apricot (Marille) products with 55% fruit

  Apricot-based preparations with a 55% fruit content.

1. 1Unterweger Früchteküche official websitefruechtekueche.at
2. 2Unterweger Früchteküche – Geschichtefruechtekueche.at
3. 3Unterweger Früchteküche GmbH – Wikidatawikidata.org