Austria's Best Sacher Torte: What the 2026 VKI Test Really Shows

The test at a glance

In issue 5/2026 of its Taste:Check series, Austria's Verein für Konsumenteninformation (VKI) had a jury blind-taste ten Sacher tortes from Austrian food retail — that is, with no visible packaging or brand name. The jury assessed appearance, aroma, texture and taste, among other criteria.

Of the ten products tested, only two received an overall rating of “good”. Both come from the production of Reisenberger Food GmbH, the company behind the Salzburg Patisserie brand:

What's notable: 1st and 2nd place don't come from two competing manufacturers, but from the very same kitchen — regardless of whether the torte sits on the shelf as “S-BUDGET” at SPAR or as “Finest Bakery” at Hofer.

Why these two came out on top

Both test winners are made using a classic Sacher recipe: chocolate sponge layers filled with apricot jam and coated in a dark Sacher glaze. The fact that these particular private-label products come out ahead in a blind test shows one thing above all — in an anonymised tasting, what counts is the recipe and the craftsmanship, not the label or brand name on the box.

For retailers, the result is concrete proof of quality: a private label doesn't have to hide behind well-known names on taste, provided it comes from an experienced producer.

A brief history of the Sacher torte

For almost 200 years, the Sacher torte has been one of Austria's most famous pastries. According to tradition, it was invented in 1832 by sixteen-year-old apprentice pastry chef Franz Sacher in Vienna, when he had to prepare a dessert for Austrian State Chancellor Prince Klemens von Metternich because the head chef had fallen ill.

The torte became famous above all through Sacher's son Eduard, who later served it at the Hotel Sacher he founded. The question of who was entitled to call their cake the “Original Sacher-Torte” was fought over for decades in court between Hotel Sacher and the Demel patisserie — a legal dispute only settled in 1963. Today, the Sacher torte is a fixture of Austrian patisserie tradition, found in countless variations from hotel kitchens to private-label products on supermarket shelves.

Private label versus the overall market

According to industry estimates, private-label Sacher tortes such as S-BUDGET and Finest Bakery account for a significant share of the Austrian supermarket shelf. Add in the private labels produced by Reisenberger Food GmbH under the Salzburg Patisserie name (including Sacher Torte and Esterházy Torte), and these estimates suggest that roughly one third to two thirds of packaged, frozen Sacher tortes in Austrian food retail come from the same production:

Figures are industry estimates for packaged, frozen Sacher tortes in Austrian food retail, not officially verified market research data.

The 2026 VKI test is also not the first independent comparison in which a private-label Sacher torte from this production has performed well: back in 2024, a tasting by Der Standard also rated a product of the same origin positively.

Where to find the test winners

S-BUDGET Sachertorte is available in SPAR's freezer section, and Finest Bakery Sacher Torte at Hofer — both in 500 g packages. If you'd rather buy the classic recipe directly under the Salzburg Patisserie name, you'll find the Sacher Torte in our collection, also available in 500 g and 1,000 g sizes.