Kägi (chocolate bar)
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Kägi, known as Kägi fret in German-speaking countries, is a wafer specialty coated in chocolate from the Toggenburg region in Eastern Switzerland. The chocolate bars are produced by the company Kägi Söhne AG, Toggenburger Waffeln- & Biscuitfabrik in Lichtensteig in the canton of St. Gallen.
History[edit]
Company history[edit]
The company founder, Otto Kägi Senior (1890–1965),[1] purchased a restaurant and patisserie in the town of Lichtensteig in 1934 and went on to produce biscuits primarily for restaurants and direct sales.[2] To spread the word about his products, he traveled to his customers on his bicycle. The company started to produce wafers in the 1940s. This led to the gradual expansion of the business and the transition from manual to mechanical production.[3]
In 1950, Kägi purchased a larger factory building.[4] Kägi fret was launched on the market in 1958, and a significant proportion of the company’s revenue has been generated from exports ever since.[3][5][6] After the company founder passed away in 1965, his sons Otto Junior, Eugen und Alfred took control of the business.[7]
Kägi remained a family-owned company until 1996, when it was sold to the retail holding company and kiosk operator Valora. The production facility was extended five years later.[7] In 2008, ownership of Kägi was transferred to the holding company Argos Soditic.[8] In 2010, the company was sold to the Swiss holding company WM15 Holding, which is part of the Burger Söhne Holding Group.[9] As of 2021, the company had about 140 employees[10] and offered a total of 300 product variations.[11]
Product development and etymology[edit]
Otto Kägi Senior started to produce and distribute wafers in 1942.[12] In 1952, the company began to market wafers with a chocolate coating.[13] This chocolate-coated wafer product was given the name “Kägi fret” in 1958. The first part of the brand name underlined the producer’s family name, while the second was based on the final syllable of the French word “gaufrette” (meaning ‘wafer’).[14] The company started to produce its own chocolate in the early 1960s. To further refine the chocolate, it used large mixers,[15] so-called longitudinal conches.[16]
Exports and name variations[edit]
In 1956, Kägi started to export its products abroad, beginning with a delivery to the United States.[3] Although international sales only accounted for a small proportion of the revenue for many years,[17] this gradually began to change. Germany, Austria,[18] the Middle East, China and Japan all became important export destinations.[19] At the beginning of 2022, Kägi products were supplied to more than 30 countries.[20]
The wafer kept the name “Kägi fret” in German-speaking countries but was given a new global name, initially being known as “Toggi” before being renamed “Kägi” in 2013, a name that it still bears in the present day (as of 2022).[21][22][7]
Product[edit]
“The recipe (...) has remained virtually unchanged right from the start”»[8][23]: The wafer bar is comprised of four wafer layers, which are joined together by three layers of cream filling before being coated in chocolate.[14][24] A special procedure using air jets gives the chocolate coating its wave-like structure.[17] In addition to the classic version, Kägi is also available in a variety of other flavors.[15]
Miscellaneous[edit]
- Kägi fret meets the requirements of the “Swissness” legislation for Swiss-made products and is therefore permitted to have the Swiss cross printed on its packaging.[22]
- The “Kägi-Fret Bahn” cable car and chair lift runs between the village of Alt St. Johann and the “Alp Sellamatt”,[25] which is located between the Alpstein and Churfirsten mountain ranges.[26]
- Kägi fret is mentioned in a variety of novels and stories, for example in “Groschens Grab” by Franzobel,[27] in “Solothurn trägt Schwarz”[28] and “Solothurn streut Asche”[29] by Christof Gasser and in “Saubere Wäsche: Johanna di Napolis erster Fall” by Michael Herzig.[30]
- Marilyn Monroe is believed to have been a fan of Kägi fret.[24]
References[edit]
- ↑ Corina Preiswerk: Der Konditor Otto Kägi: vom Toggenburg in die Welt. In: SeniorIn, September 24, 2020.
- ↑ Karl Horat: St. Galler Süsses für die ganze Welt. In: St. Galler Bauer, May 26, 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Schweiz aktuell (2002-08-16). "Kägi fret – Geschichte und Herstellung der Schokoladewaffeln" (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2022-02-03. archived on YouTube.
- ↑ Thérèse Courvoisier (2019-06-16). "Kägi fret, l'autre saint-gallois à succès". 24 heures (in français). Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ↑ Kägi-fret – weltweit in aller Munde. 20 Minuten, September 10, 2009 (retrieved on August 21, 2013).
- ↑ Ralf Bender: Kägi will über neue Produkte wachsen. In: Lebensmittel Zeitung, May 7, 2010.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Kägi Fret – eine Spezialität aus dem Toggenburg". toggenburg24.ch. 2020-11-14. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nathalie Grand (2009-09-11). "75 Jahre Kägi-fret". Der Bund. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ↑ Thorsten Fischer (2010-02-06). "Kägi zurück in Schweizer Hand". St. Galler Tagblatt (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ↑ Elf Fragen an Raymond Nef. In: persönlich, October 12, 2021.
- ↑ "Smart Factory: So automatisiert Kägi seine Produktionsplanung für Schokowaffeln". digital-manufacturing-magazin.de (in Deutsch). 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ↑ An die Waffeln! In: NZZ am Sonntag, April 20, 2008.
- ↑ Jost Dubacher: Kägi-fret: Mehr als nur eine Schoggi-Waffel. In: Cash, May 13, 2004.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Kurt Bracharz (2016-06-13). "Vom Toggi zum Kägi". kultur-online.net (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Stéphanie Fuchs: Die Schokolade ist das Geheimnis der Kägi-fret. In: Thuner Tagblatt, December 14, 2009.
- ↑ "Kägi Söhne AG feiert 75 Jahre". foodaktuell.ch. 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Karin Iseli-Trösch: Und ewig lockt das Kägi fret. In: alimenta. Fachzeitschrift für die Lebensmittelwirtschaft, July 8, 2014.
- ↑ Christina Steinheuer: 2014 startet eigener Deutschland-Vertrieb. In: Lebensmittel Praxis, Volume 15/2013, p. 112.
- ↑ Daniel Klages: 75-jährige Tradition. In: Lebensmittel Praxis, Volume 14/2014, p. 86.
- ↑ "Raymond Nef – Der innovative Kägi-Macher in Lichtensteig". nau.ch (in Deutsch). 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ↑ Hans Strohmaier: Grosse Backleidenschaft im Herzen Toggenburgs. In: SG Sweet Global Network. Internationales Fachmagazin für die Süsswarenwirtschaft, Volume 6/2014, p. 28 f. Matthias Giger (2013-05-23). "Kägi will im Ausland wachsen". St. Galler Tagblatt (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Eugen Stamm: Blühende Geschäfte im Wüstenstaat. In: NZZ Equity, June 5, 2014, p. 36.
- ↑ See also Karin Iseli-Trösch: «Seit 80 Jahren gibt es das Kägi fret – seit 65 Jahren hat die Rezeptur nicht einmal geändert». (Und ewig lockt das Kägi fret. In: alimenta. Fachzeitschrift für die Lebensmittelwirtschaft, July 8, 2014.)
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Isobel Leybold-Johnson: The secret of a Swiss sweet success, SWI swissinfo.ch, December 18, 2009. Retrieved on February 4, 2017.
- ↑ "Berghotel Sellamatt". toggenburg.swiss (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2022-02-08.
- ↑ Description on bergwelten.com, retrieved on 8 February 2022.
- ↑ Information from Google Books (ebook version).
- ↑ Information from Google Books (ebook version).
- ↑ Information from Google Books (ebook version).
- ↑ Information from Google Books (ebook version).
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