Kasnudl: Innovating an ancient Austrian delicacy
If you’ve never had Kasnudeln, a traditional Austrian delicacy from Carinthia, picture this: Palm-sized, ultrathin pasta dumplings filled with cheese, mint and potatoes, nestling in a dish of melted butter and sprinkled with chives. For hundreds of years, Carinthians have been making this savory delicacy and evolving new forms and flavors, from meat to mushroom and from boiled to pan-fried. Some eat them plain, while others prefer a topping of buttery breadcrumbs.
Today, Kasnudl is reinventing this age-old dish for the 21st Century – and recently moved its production to Seestadt Aspern, an up-and-coming neighbourhood in Vienna and one of Europe’s largest urban development projects. Kasnudl’s “Stadtküche”, or city kitchen, allows shoppers to watch as chefs expertly fill and fold each dumpling.
We asked founder and CEO Andreas Schrittesser to tell us more about this quintessentially Austrian treat – and about why his company decided to move to the big city.
Regional, handmade and organic
“As a native Carinthian, Kasnudeln have been part of my life since childhood,” said Schrittesser. When his company first got started, they collaborated with a manufacturer in Carinthia. The cooperation was a success. But Kasnudl was committed to providing a diverse, seasonal assortment, handmade by a team with heart using only excellent organic ingredients – and soon parted ways with the Carinthian manufacturer.
“Our push to become more regional and offer 100% organic ingredients, coupled with growing demand – especially from Vienna – meant we needed to increase our production capacity,” Schrittesser explained. He started looking for a new home – one that was closer to their main market, Vienna, and that allowed them to fulfill another core value: environmental sustainability.
Kasnudl works hard to reduce its environmental impact, from increasing vegetarian and vegan options to sourcing 100% renewable energy, to partnering with Precious Plastic Vienna on a solution for fully reusable packaging. They make limited quantities of fresh food (to drastically reduce storage requirements) and sell any excess product at a steep discount, reducing the chance of it going to waste. And of course, they compensate remaining emissions – earning themselves the Zero CO2 logo. “Care for our resources, the people behind the ingredients and a fair price for our partners and customers are our top priority,” said Schrittesser.
A sustainable home in Seestadt Aspern
The company has taken their commitment to sustainability a step further by moving to Seestadt Aspern. Deliveries to Vienna (which make up half their market) are “100% Co2 neutral thanks to a cooperation with Wien Work,” which uses a bicycle delivery service for the inner districts and an electric transporter for destinations further afield.
Up next, Kasnudl is planning to collaborate with other companies to add “limited edition” Kasnudeln, as well as new, traditional products to their line – rebooted for flavor, regionality and sustainability, of course.
Company:
Kasnudl Stadtküche and Self-Service Store
Barbara-Prammer-Allee 15, 1220 Wien
Services by the Vienna Business Agency:
- Material Goods funding 2021
- Funded by the Local Supply Program 2021
- Funded by the Business Revival Program 2021
- Funded by the Home Office Program 2020
- Funded by the Internationalization Program 2019
Updated: March 2022