Two milestones, one passion: 60 years backaldrin and 40 years Kornspitz®

The international family business backaldrin International The Kornspitz Company was founded by the Augendopler family in Vienna in 1964. In 1968, because of its rapid growth, the company headquarters moved to Asten in Upper Austria, where around 350 employees are now employed. Today, about 1000 employees work in more than 100 countries worldwide to develop bread ideas and high-quality baking ingredients.  

The employees at backaldrin work on bread and pastries every day. Where the original Kornspitz was invented in 1984, the bread and pastries of tomorrow are worked on today. “We see ourselves not only as manufacturers of high-quality raw baking materials, but we also develop new types of bread and pastries for our customers,” says backaldrin owner and Kornspitz inventor Peter Augendopler.  

From Upper Austria into the wide world 

Over the course of its 60-year history, the company has continued to expand to the point where the export ratio is over 80 percent. In addition to the production site in Austria, there are seven others: in Amman (Jordan), in Winterthur (Switzerland), in Toluca (Mexico), in Cape Town (South Africa), in Kiev (Ukraine), in Moscow (Russia) and, since 2018, in Guangzhou (China). backaldrin also has subsidiaries in 15 countries and is represented by sales partners in many other markets on all continents. 

All over the world and in many cultures, bread plays an important role, which speaks for the growing expansion, as backaldrin Managing Director Harald Deller explains: “Markets where we have the feeling that bread is valued and where we can still achieve something by contributing to the bread culture are always of interest to us.” 

It is not only country-specific differences, but also social changes and nutritional trends that are considered drivers for further development. Besides variety, enjoyment and quality, the focus is also on dough management and modern production methods. backaldrin's master bakers and confectioners constantly put their know-how into creating new products. The family business is proud of all its innovations, but of one in particular: the Original Kornspitz. 

A crispy component of every bread basket for 40 years: the Original Kornspitz 

“Crispy, savoury, rich in fibre” – this is how backaldrin’s flagship brand and export hit has presented itself for 40 years now. The bread roll is eaten in more than 70 countries worldwide. The original recipe remains unchanged and the original Kornspitz tastes as good as ever. “As with all of our products, the most important secret recipe is guaranteed consistent quality,” emphasizes Peter Augendopler. The crispiest ambassador celebrated its world premiere at the Austrian Bakers' Exhibition in 1984, where its steep rise began. Since 1995, the original Kornspitz has also been baked in organic quality. 

Even today it is clear that the Augendopler family was ahead of their time with their invention; the classic is still on-trend, as the Kornspitz has been vegan since its birth. It contains a balanced mix of high-quality raw materials from predominantly regional cultivation: rye and wheat flour, rye, wheat and soybean meal, wheat malt meal, linseed and salt. Due to the high proportion of crushed cereal grains, the Original Kornspitz offers all the goodness of the grain. With a fibre content of six percent, this is higher than many breakfast cereals. The rolls also contain plenty of B-vitamins, minerals and trace elements (e.g. iron, copper, manganese and zinc). 

Kornspitz birthday artwork 

To mark the two anniversaries, renowned Austrian artist Erwin Wurm formed a granite Kornspitz, which has been standing in front of the main entrance to backaldrin's headquarters in Asten since February 2024. Including the base, the impressive monument is around 4.5 metres tall and weighs an impressive eight tonnes. In creating a realistic monument of Austria’s crispiest ambassador, Wurm paid great attention to detail during the creation of the artwork.