It all began with a gluten-free cake recipe,
the nougat-marzipan praline, and white chocolate.
Moist, fresh cakes from Vienna—
shipped around the world daily since 1850.
For over 175 years, all our products and brands have originated from the same entrepreneurial family:
Hauer, Leiningen, Lorenz, Schmid, and Lehner.
Leconte Chocolatiers was founded in 1994 in Vienna’s Josefstadt district to consolidate all the chocolate brands and products stemming from a family tradition dating back to 1850.
With this heritage, our company has stood for innovative, premium-quality products since 1850—elegantly blending tradition with the demands of the times.
the story of the nougat-marzipan ball and the gluten-free chocolate cake.
...are the core of Leconte Chocolatiers' business and brand.
1900 - 1934
The 2nd Generation.
After Theresia Hauer's death in 1900, the company was successfully continued by her two daughters, Anna Lorenz in Vienna and Christine Gräfin zu Leiningen in Munich.
1934 - 1960
The 3rd Generation.
Theresia Hauer’s granddaughter, Emilie Lorenz, then took the helm and steered the company through the difficult war and post-war years at its original location in Vienna’s Josefstadt district.
1960 -2003
The 4th Generation.
From 1960 onwards, Annemarie Lehner-Schmid—Theresia Hauer’s great-granddaughter—continued to steer the fortunes of the family business as part of the fourth generation.
1999
The trademark, registered for chocolate products as early as 1954
in 1999, it was expanded internationally and incorporated into our product range as a brand name, especially for
...adopted in order to combine it with our company’s traditional products—linking back to its historical origins in the mid-19th century, when it first emerged as a nickname for the white cakes and spheres.
In the years that followed, the brand became perfectly aligned with our tradition of white chocolate—particularly the gluten-free LIPIZZANER® CAKES and the LIPIZZANER® BALLS.
In 2000, the LIPIZZANER® brand was internationalized for confectionery and other food and non-food products.
2003
The 5th Generation.
Since 2004, the Theresia Hauer and Lipizzaner brand divisions have been managed by the fifth generation—Theresia Hauer’s great-great-grandson, Wolfgang Robert Lehner.
2004
Production & Distribution Ltd.
The first factory sale at the production site was followed by...
with a broader range of quality food and non-food products, starting in 2004 with the branch
In 2005, the LIPIZZANER® FLAGSHIP STORE reopened in Vienna’s city center at the same location—Stephansplatz 6, within the Archbishop's Palace—featuring the same product range as in 1875–1890 and retaining its original 1890s façade and interior furnishings.
In 2012, this historic site—where Theresia Hauer had already operated a patisserie and confectionery branch as early as 1875—unfortunately fell complete victim to radical renovations aimed at integrating it into the Archdiocese of Vienna’s Cathedral Museum located behind it; this resulted in the loss of its architecture, including the Old Viennese façade and the interior fittings dating back to 1890.
International Presence.
which spans the historical arc back to the beginnings of our history in 1850. The following is...
Our presence at international trade fairs—particularly those for the food industry—has brought our products into the global market since 1999.
2014
With the shop located in the premises of the “Old Cocoa Comptoir” at Florianigasse 48 / Feldgasse 1, a LIPIZZANER® IN THE JOSEFSTADT branch is once again opening at the very spot where our company history began in 1850.
2019
2020
170th Anniversary
Theresia Hauer Cakes and Chocolates—the oldest brand division of the LECON INDUSTRIES GROUP—celebrates its 170th anniversary, marking a long-standing tradition.
.
2025
175 Years
25 Years
international Brand LIPIZZANER®.
THE HOMAGE
Our renowned international brand products, LIPIZZANER® CAKE and LIPIZZANER® BALLS, proudly bear the name of the woman who created their recipes in 1850:
The flagship stores since 1875.
Love, Wedding, Travel,
Wedding Cake, traveler´s cake.
The unique 1890 love story of Karl Count of Leiningen and Christine—daughter of THERESIA HAUER—has left a lasting mark on the LIPIZZANER® brand, known for its white cakes and spheres: ever since, the brand has stood not merely for the color white (white chocolate)—as it did initially—but for pure romance.
1850 / 2026
To this day, our traditional company remains family-owned. In this way, we keep the spirit of our ancestors alive while always staying at the forefront of modern trends.
We continue to channel our commitment to innovation into the products we have been crafting for over 175 years, constantly discovering fascinating new possibilities and exceeding expectations regarding taste, nutrition, and well-being.
Prime examples of this include the MOZART CHÜGELI® (introduced in 2023 and designed as a snack for on-the-go), the heartwarming Rum-Coconut FRIESENNERZKUGEL® (launched in 2025), and our PHYTO CHOCOLATE® range—continuously refined since 1960 for those who value their health without wanting to compromise on indulgence.
The potential combinations of flavor-enhancing elements and wellness-boosting active ingredients seem limitless. Crucially, not only the chocolate but also every ingredient and active component is of the highest quality.
Join us in enjoying the diverse chocolate and cocoa creations born of five generations of innovation and experience dating back to 1850 and our timeless "chocolate stars"—foremost among them our nougat-marzipan pralines and gluten-free chocolate cakes—whose recipes have remained unchanged for over 175 years, inviting you to dream of a more beautiful world.