Two banal-sounding inventions and developments of the Mautner Markhofs – on the one hand the press yeast in 1846 and on the other hand the Hesperidenessig vinegar in 1927 – gave impulses to the entire food industry.
In the beginning the family, which belonged to the industrial nobility of the monarchy, was successful with beer, yeast and spirits. In 1913 gourmet food was added to the range. Vinegar and mustard marked Mautner Markhof’s success story, so that every table in Austria was set with these family business products. After 1945, the range was expanded to include horseradish and syrup. Mautner Markhof was the leading Austrian food brand, known under the double letter MM. In 2001 the gourmet food section was spun off from the family and sold to the Bavarian company Develey, which still successfully manages it under the old brand name. The second large family property, the Schwechater share in the Brau Union, finally went to Heineken.