Delicatessen distributors & importers
Premium wholesalers for specialist shops, hotels and restaurants.
Fine Foods & Delicatessen importers and distributors in Austria
For owners & export directors at Central-European food producers
We book sales meetings with fine foods & delicatessen importers, distributors and retail buyers in Austria. You present your products and handle the sale.
Find your buyersSee if there are buyers for your product30 minutes, free. If we can't help, we'll say so.The Austria buyers who source fine foods & delicatessen
We do not send you a list to chase. We book meetings with Austrian buyers selected for your product and market.
Speciality retail buyers
Delicatessen shops (Feinkost), department-store food halls and premium grocers.
HoReCa wholesalers
Wholesalers who supply fine-dining restaurants and hotels.
Typical products: speciality & gourmet · delicatessen (Feinkost) · regional & premium lines
Before each meeting, you get a brief on the buyer and what they want to discuss. See an example meeting brief.
Opened across German-speaking retail and wholesale
A Central-European bakery producer got into German-speaking retail and wholesale. We booked the meetings across Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the DACH region). Distributors, retail and HoReCa were approached separately, in German. Austria's fine-food buyers are opened the same way, with the story and the presentation ready first.
A real ProspectX client — specifics covered on your first call.
What Austrian fine foods & delicatessen buyers expect before a first meeting
We check that each buyer fits what you can supply. So your first meetings are with companies you can really deliver to.
- The food-safety certificate (IFS or BRCGS) — premium does not skip it
- A true story about origin and method that stands up to questions
- German labels, specs and presentation materials
- Steady quality at small volumes — premium buyers punish changes hardest
- A price that leaves margin along the chain: wholesaler, shop, shelf
You approve each message before we contact buyers. We handle the replies and arrange the meetings. You present your products, negotiate terms and manage the sale.
Find your buyersSee if there are buyers for your product30 minutes, free. If we can't help, we'll say so.
Download the Austria buyer map (PDF)Free — no email required.
How to find fine foods & delicatessen distributors in Austria
Austrians pay well for good food. Delicatessen (Feinkost) shops, premium own-brands and food halls all buy imports. The buyer group is small, so one focused push can cover it.
In short
Fine Foods & Delicatessen importers and distributors in Austria are the companies that resell fine foods & delicatessen. They include delicatessen distributors & importers, speciality retail buyers and HoReCa wholesalers. The main buyers are Spar Österreich, Rewe Austria and Hofer (Aldi Süd). Before a first meeting, buyers want: the food-safety certificate (IFS or BRCGS) — premium does not skip it.
To find fine-food distributors in Austria, work the premium channel and its four buyer types. First, delicatessen and specialty wholesalers who supply Feinkost shops and the restaurant trade. Second, the premium programmes at the big chains. Their premium own-brands and upmarket banners buy distinctive products from abroad. Third, food halls and specialty shops in Vienna, Salzburg and the regional capitals. Fourth, suppliers to hotels, restaurants and catering (HoReCa), where imported specialties sell well on menus. Austrian premium buyers want the food-safety certificate supermarkets ask for (IFS or BRCGS). They also want German labels and materials. They want a true story about where your product comes from. And they want steady quality at small volumes. The buyer group is small and works on trust, so a prepared approach in German works. We open these talks all year, instead of waiting for the fair.
Your situation
Your product is too good for the discount shelf. It belongs in Austria's premium channel: delicatessen wholesalers, premium own-brand buyers, food halls and restaurant suppliers. Those buyers do source from abroad and they do take meetings. They want German, a clear story and specs in order. That is the gap we close.
How fine foods & delicatessen distribution works in Austria
Austria is a small grocery market that leans premium. Two groups dominate it: Spar and Rewe (Billa). Hofer and Lidl cover discount. Regional origin, quality seals and organic matter more here than in most countries. Austria has one of the highest organic shares in Europe. Premium own-brands are strong in every chain. For a Central-European producer, Austria is often the natural second step after Germany. The buying structures are similar and the distance is short. An Austrian listing is also a credible reference for German buyers.
In fine foods, Austrian restaurants open the door. A product that chefs adopt gets picked up by specialty shops afterwards. The wholesalers who supply both are often your best first meeting.
- Spar and Rewe together account for well over half of Austrian grocery (industry estimates).
- Austria has one of the EU's highest organic shares of food retail. Organic own-brands such as Ja! Natürlich and Natur*pur are normal, not niche.
- Vienna holds a large share of the restaurant and hotel demand. One city region covers much of it.
| Spar Österreich | Market-leading grocery group — supermarkets to Interspar hypermarkets |
|---|---|
| Rewe Austria | Billa and Billa Plus supermarkets + Penny discount |
| Hofer (Aldi Süd) | Hard discount — strong on premium-entry own brands |
| Lidl Österreich | Hard discount |
| Metro / Transgourmet | Cash-and-carry and delivered wholesale — the way into restaurants and hotels |
Channels that matterRetail · Premium & regional · Organic (Bio) · HoReCa
Austria’s fine foods & delicatessen buyers go to Anuga — for a few days, with years in between
We open the same buyer conversations all year. You approve each message before we approach anyone. See exactly how it works.
The hard questions, answered
How are you different from a trade agent or an export consultant?
A trade agent sells through their own contacts and takes a commission. A consultant writes you a plan and leaves you to carry it out. We put you in the room with premium buyers selected for your product and market, take no commission, and you keep the relationship.
Our volumes are small — are we even worth a distributor's time?
In fine foods, small is normal. Specialty wholesalers build their ranges from small producers. What they punish is changing quality, not low volume.
We don't speak German.
We make the first approach in German. People who sell in German write it. You can hold the meeting itself in English.
Austria prefers Austrian specialties. Why would they buy ours?
The Feinkost counter is full of imports: Italian, French, Spanish and Central-European. Regional pride and imported delicacies sit on the same shelf. Buyers ask about story and quality, not about the passport.
We've tried reaching premium buyers ourselves and got nowhere.
Reaching the right buyer, in German, at the right moment takes full-time work. We do not send more messages. We contact the few premium buyers who fit, and book only the ones who answer.
What if buyers don't reply?
You never chase silence. Only buyers who already agreed to talk reach your calendar. You spend no time on the rest.
Common questions
How do I find fine food distributors in Austria?
Work the premium channel. Delicatessen and specialty wholesalers buy imports, and so do the chains' premium own-brands. Food halls in Vienna and the regional capitals and HoReCa suppliers buy them too. The group is small and you can reach it directly, in German.
How does a specialty food producer enter the Austrian market?
Get the premium basics right first: IFS or BRCGS, a true origin story, German materials and workable pricing. Then contact the named wholesaler or premium buyer directly. Restaurants often adopt a product first and retail follows.
Are our volumes too small for Austrian retail?
For the mainstream shelf, maybe. For the Feinkost channel, no. Specialty wholesalers and premium programmes build ranges from small producers and value steady quality.
Is a trade fair the best way to meet Austrian fine-food buyers?
Fairs help in this category. But Austria's premium buyers are few enough to contact directly, in German. With the story and specs ready, you get meetings without waiting for fair week.
Other categories in Austria
Ready to meet Austria’s fine foods & delicatessen buyers?
Book a 30-minute First call. We look at your products and your buyers in Austria. If we can’t help, we’ll say so.
Find your buyersSee if there are buyers for your productFixed fee — no commission · First meetings 2–3 weeks after we start writing · Min. 10 buyer meetings in your first project, guaranteed
Reviewed by the ProspectX export team, led by founder Casper Morawski (LinkedIn) · Last reviewed July 2026.