Aida
Aida is a fourth-generation, family-owned Viennese café-konditorei founded in 1913, operating 26 retail locations across Austria and selling traditional Viennese pastries, signature tortes, and proprietary Arabica coffee blends through both physical cafés and an international e-commerce webshop.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1913
- HeadquartersVienna, Austria
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Aida does
Aida (Café-Konditorei Aida) is a Viennese café-konditorei founded in 1913 by Josef Prousek, claiming status as the world's first coffeehouse chain. The company is privately held and has been operated by the Prousek family for four generations, currently led by third-generation Michael Prousek and Sonja Prousek with fourth-generation Dominik Prousek active since 2015. Aida runs 26 retail locations, with 23 in Vienna, plus single locations in Innsbruck, Graz, and Vienna International Airport, serving walk-in consumers for in-store dining, takeaway pastries, and coffee. The company serves both local Viennese residents and tourists through these physical locations and additionally operates an e-commerce webshop shipping within Vienna, across Austria, and internationally via DHL.
Aida's product portfolio is centered on traditional Viennese confectionery and specialty coffee. Pastries, tortes, and signature items including the Original Mozart-Torte (invented in-house by Michael Prousek in 2005), Sachertorte, Punschkrapferl, Cremeschnitten, and macarons are produced at the Schönthalergasse production facility in Vienna's 21st district, which produces up to three tonnes daily largely by hand. The coffee program is built on proprietary Arabica blends imported directly since 1958 from Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, roasted 2-3 times per week in Vienna. The offering extends to custom celebration cakes (€40-€790) and wedding cakes (€100-€790), plus branded merchandise and gift boxes.
The business model combines café/retail store sales as the primary revenue stream, e-commerce webshop sales (one-time purchase pricing), and franchise fees from a newly launched franchise program. Pricing is transparently published online, ranging from €2.90 individual pastries to €790 bespoke multi-tier wedding cakes. Customer acquisition runs through physical store footfall, social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp), an email newsletter, press coverage in Austrian media, and the Stammkundenkarte (regular customer) loyalty program. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via owned retail, own e-commerce, and a developing franchise/licensed operator channel.
Aida firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aida
- Legal name
- Aida Produktions Ges. m. b. H & CoKG
- Website
- https://aida.at
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1913
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Aida is a fourth-generation, family-owned Viennese café-konditorei founded in 1913, operating 26 retail locations across Austria and selling traditional Viennese pastries, signature tortes, and proprietary Arabica coffee blends through both physical cafés and an international e-commerce webshop.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aida industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Viennese Café-Patisserie
- NAICS
- Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Espresso Bars & Coffee Bars (THAFADAD)
Keywords
Where Aida is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vienna
- HQ country
- Austria
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices27 records
Markets served
Aida business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Café and Retail Store Sales: In-store dining and takeaway sales at 26 café-konditorei locations across Vienna, Innsbruck, Graz, and Vienna International Airport
- E-commerce / Webshop: Online sales of pastries, tortes, coffee, gift boxes, and branded merchandise with delivery within Vienna, across Austria, and internationally via DHL
- Franchise Fees: Revenue from franchise partnerships allowing third parties to open Aida Café Konditorei locations
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Pastries and individual items |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Whole cakes and tortes |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Custom celebration cakes |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Coffee and tea products |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Branded merchandise and gift boxes |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Delivery fees |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Aida product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aida operates a network of 26 café-konditorei locations across Austria, serving Viennese coffee made from a proprietary Arabica blend, traditional Austrian pastries, tortes, custom celebration and wedding cakes, and gift items. The company also sells its products online through an e-commerce webshop with delivery within Vienna, across Austria, and internationally via DHL, and offers a franchise program for opening new locations.
Product overview
Aida is a traditional Viennese café-konditorei (café-patisserie) founded in 1913, claiming to be the world's first coffeehouse chain. The company operates 26 retail locations in Vienna and Austria, plus an e-commerce webshop for home delivery. The product portfolio centers on Viennese coffee (imported Arabica blends from Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, roasted in Vienna), traditional Austrian pastries and tortes (including signature items like Punschkrapferl, Sachertorte, and the proprietary Original Mozart-Torte invented in 2005), celebration/wedding cakes, Danish pastries/strudel, macarons, and branded merchandise including apparel and drinkware. The offering combines in-store café service with direct-to-consumer e-commerce for pastries, cakes, and gift items with worldwide shipping capability.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Aida Kaffee: The company's signature coffee blend, made from Arabica beans sourced from Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, roasted in Vienna.
Quantifiable outcome
- Production capacity of up to 3 tonnes of pastries daily
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Aida
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Aida technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Aida partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- DHLcoreLogistics partner for Austria-wide and international delivery of Aida products. DHL shipping rates are calculated at checkout based on delivery address.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Aida competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Café Hawelka: Iconic traditional Viennese coffeehouse (founded 1936) serving coffee and pastries with the same heritage positioning as Aida. Comparable in operating single-location culture versus Aida's chain model.
- Demel: Vienna's most famous traditional chocolatier and café-konditorei (founded 1786), offering comparable Viennese pastries, cakes, and coffee in a heritage setting. Most direct peer to Aida in terms of product mix and customer experience.
- Ströck Feierabend: Austrian bakery-café chain with multiple locations across Vienna, offering pastries, sandwiches, and coffee. Comparable multi-location café-bakery operating model serving similar Viennese customer base.
- Julius Meinl: Austrian coffee roaster and café chain (founded 1862) with both retail coffee shops and packaged coffee products. Directly comparable to Aida in combining café operations with branded coffee wholesale.
- Café Sacher (Hotel Sacher): Famous Viennese café at Hotel Sacher known for the Original Sacher-Torte. Comparable heritage positioning and Viennese confectionery tradition, operating both café service and packaged product sales.
- Felber bakery chain: Austrian bakery-café chain operating multiple locations in Vienna, offering traditional Austrian pastries and coffee. Comparable multi-location café-bakery concept serving similar customer segments.
Others
- illy (caffè): Italian premium coffee brand with both retail packaged coffee and café operations. Comparable in combining premium coffee manufacturing with branded café experiences, similar to Aida's blend of roasting and café operations.
- Lavazza: Italian coffee roaster with packaged products and café presence. Comparable to Aida in the coffee roasting/retail channel dimension, though primarily wholesale rather than chain café operator.
Broad incumbents
- Costa Coffee: UK-based international coffee chain operating across Europe with comparable coffee shop format, though with mass-market rather than heritage positioning. Competes for similar coffee and light snack occasions.
- Starbucks: Global specialty coffee chain with locations across Vienna competing for the same coffee-drinking customer segments. While broader in scale and modern in positioning, it competes with Aida for daily coffee occasions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Aida social profiles
Digital presenceAida financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aida leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Aida funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aida M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Aida
What does Aida do?
Aida operates a network of 26 café-konditorei locations across Austria, serving Viennese coffee made from a proprietary Arabica blend, traditional Austrian pastries, tortes, custom celebration and wedding cakes, and gift items. The company also sells its products online through an e-commerce webshop with delivery within Vienna, across Austria, and internationally via DHL, and offers a franchise program for opening new locations.
Is Aida a public or private company?
Aida is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Aida founded?
Aida was founded in 1913. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Aida based?
Aida is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, in the Europe region.
How does Aida make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Café and Retail Store Sales are the primary driver. The others are E-commerce / Webshop and franchise Fees.
Who are Aida's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Café Hawelka, Demel, Ströck Feierabend, Julius Meinl, Café Sacher (Hotel Sacher) and Felber bakery chain. Others are illy (caffè) and Lavazza. Broad incumbents are Costa Coffee and Starbucks.
Does Aida have an API?
No public API is recorded for Aida.
What industry is Aida in?
Aida's product category is Viennese Café-Patisserie. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAD, Espresso Bars & Coffee Bars. Its NAICS code is 72251 and its SIC code is 5810.