Loacker, wafers and chocolate specialties from South Tyrol since 1925
Loacker is a South Tyrolean family business that has been producing wafers and chocolate specialties since 1925; today, it is run by the third generation at two locations at an altitude of approximately 1,000 meters. The company is famous for its Napolitaner wafer with hazelnut cream, bite-sized Quadratini, and Tortina, a round wafer pastry coated in chocolate.
Loacker is the wafer baker from Renon, the high plateau above Bolzano, and has been family-owned for one hundred years. What began as a small pastry shop has grown into a company, and Loacker wafers are now enjoyed in over one hundred countries. What has remained is the founder's vision: to fill a light, crispy wafer sheet with a cream made from genuine hazelnuts. To this day, the recipes use Italian hazelnuts, milk from the Alps, and Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar.
A small pastry shop at the Dominikanerplatz in Bolzano
In 1925, pastry chef Alfons Loacker began baking his first wafers in his small bakery on Dominikanerplatz in Bolzano. In the 1920s, the business had three employees, and its most famous pastry was simply called the Bolzano wafer.
Back then, a wafer was a product of fine pastry craft—thinly baked, coated with cream, layered, and cut. Alfons Loacker carefully selected his ingredients and refused to compromise on quality and taste, a principle that the company still follows as a guiding guideline today.
In 1958, his son Armin joined the business and took charge of the recipes and products. Ten years later, Armin's sister Christine followed, taking over administration and sales. Under the siblings, the bakery outgrew the old town of Bolzano. In 1974, production moved up to Auna di Sotto on the Renon, because the old site had become too small.
In 1999, a second plant was added in Heinfels in East Tyrol, on the Austrian side of the Alps. Today, the third generation runs the company: Armin's sons Andreas and Martin Loacker and their cousin Ulrich Zuenelli, Christine's son. In 2025, the family celebrated the centenary of their company.
From the Napolitaner wafer to the Tortina
The heart of the assortment is the classic Loacker wafer: three crispy, light wafer sheets with two layers of cream in between. The most famous variety is the Classic Napolitaner, the cream of which is blended with hazelnuts, a little cocoa, and vanilla. In addition, Loacker bakes the Classic wafer with vanilla, cocoa, and lemon cream, dark chocolate, or strawberry, among others.
The Napolitaner is available in many sizes, from the individually wrapped mini wafer weighing just over three grams to the bulk pack for the whole family. Other formats have been developed from the same concept, such as Quadratini, bite-sized wafer cubes for sharing. In the Gardena, the hazelnut wafer is coated in chocolate. What they all have in common is the thin wafer sheet, which is meant to remain crispy, airy, and light. This ensures there is a suitable size for every coffee break, school bag, or hiking backpack.
The company's fine patisserie range includes the Tortina, which means "little cake" in Italian; it is a round pastry made of two wafer sheets and hazelnut cream, entirely enveloped in chocolate. It is available as Tortina Original in milk chocolate, Tortina Dark in dark chocolate, and Tortina White in white chocolate. For the Tortina's milk and dark chocolate, Loacker uses premium cocoa from Ecuador.
Hazelnuts, Alpine milk, and genuine vanilla
For its creams, Loacker uses Italian hazelnuts that are roasted in-house. The company grows some of them itself on its own plantations in Tuscany. The freshly roasted nuts go directly into the cream, and it is this short supply chain that gives the Napolitaner cream its full, warm nutty flavor.
The milk for the creams and chocolates comes from the Alps and is processed at a dedicated dairy production facility in South Tyrol. The company sources its vanilla directly from small farmers in Madagascar, using the actual bean. Our product guide explains what distinguishes Bourbon vanilla from other vanilla. For cocoa, there is a dedicated cultivation program that supports the farmers and their families.
Loacker consciously avoids the use of added flavors, colors, or preservatives. The taste is meant to come from the ingredients themselves—the nut, the cocoa, the milk, and the vanilla bean. That is why a Loacker hazelnut wafer tastes like roasted nuts, and a vanilla wafer tastes like the bean itself.
From the Renon to the world
Both plants, Auna di Sotto in South Tyrol and Heinfels in East Tyrol, are located at an altitude of about 1,000 meters, and from there, Loacker wafers are sent to more than one hundred countries. Alongside Italy, the most important markets include Saudi Arabia, Israel, the USA, and China, and the same quality standard applies everywhere as it does back home.
In 2024, Loacker produced more than one billion pieces, totaling nearly 38,000 tons of wafers and chocolate specialties. The three employees from the 1920s have turned into more than a thousand. Throughout this growth, the company headquarters has remained the same since 1974: Auna di Sotto on the Renon, on the high plateau above Bolzano.
Anyone who vacations in South Tyrol knows the name from mountain huts and village shops, and for years, many have brought Loacker wafers home as souvenirs. For them, the red lettering on the package is a piece of holiday memory that can, fortunately, be repurchased between vacations.
Small formats for espresso, backpacks, and guest plates
With us, you can find Loacker in small, individually wrapped formats that fit into any bag. The 21g Tortina belongs next to an espresso cup, light as Original or dark as Dark. The 45g Classic Napolitaner pack is a companion for on the go, whether for a coffee break at the office or a rest on the mountain. On a picnic blanket, such a pack is usually emptied faster than the thermos.
Mixed in a bowl, the three varieties make a wonderful guest plate from which everyone can pick their favorite. Because each piece is wrapped, the remainder stays fresh for the next visit. During Advent, the little cakes find their way into St. Nicholas stockings and the pouches of self-filled advent calendars. Stored in a cool, dry place, the wafers retain their crunch and the chocolate its shine.
If you would like to continue your South Tyrolean experience at the breakfast table, you will find fruit spreads from the Braies Valley by Alpe Pragas and much more in our selection from South Tyrol. Further sweet pastries for the coffee table are available right alongside, from Breton Crêpes Dentelle to Aachener Printen. And the wafer from the Renon tastes just as good in the lowlands.
