Note: While there is a historical connection between Langnese ice cream and Langnese Honey, they developed along different corporate paths and should not be treated as a single current company.2

The brand’s story begins with Karl Rolf Seyferth, a Hamburg businessman and importer. In 1925, Seyferth purchased approximately 5,000 kg of Californian honey at the Hamburg Stock Exchange to develop a honey business. As demand grew, he sought an established name suitable for branding.2

He acquired the name Langnese from businessman Viktor Emil Heinrich Langnese. The Langnese name was already linked to a Hamburg biscuit factory known for quality. According to Langnese’s historical account, Seyferth acquired the V.E.H. Langnese company in 1927, establishing the Langnese Honey brand.2

This sequence highlights that the Langnese name originally became associated with honey before gaining fame for ice cream.

Langnese Honey has been marketed since 1927 and has become one of Germany’s most recognisable honey brands. The company describes itself as a market leader in quality honey within Germany.2

A defining feature of the brand is its hexagonal glass jar, introduced in the 1930s. The shape evokes a honeycomb, while the slanted golden Langnese lettering remains a key element of the visual identity.2

Expansion after World War II

Following the war, Langnese focused on standardising honey into a consistent branded product despite natural variations between harvests. The company implemented quality-control systems and built relationships with beekeepers and honey-producing regions. By 1958, Langnese Honey had become the market leader in Germany, according to the company’s history.2

In 1985, Langnese introduced specialty honeys. In 1997, it launched Flotte Biene, a squeezable honey dispenser designed for easier and cleaner use. The company states this was the world’s first honey packaged in a practical top-down squeeze dispenser.2

Since 1965, Langnese honey has been bottled in Bargteheide, near Hamburg. The brand is currently sold in more than 50 countries.2

The ice-cream division of Langnese developed later than the honey business.

In 1935, Karl Seyferth imported the first ice cream on a stick from Denmark to Hamburg. In 1936, the business was formally registered as Langnese-Eiskrem GmbH. By the following year, Langnese was reportedly producing around 20 million ice lollies.4

The rapid growth of the ice-cream sector transformed Langnese from a honey-related name into one of Germany’s major ice-cream brands.

Production was interrupted in 1940 due to raw material shortages during World War II. After the war, production resumed, and the brand expanded rapidly.4

Growth during the 1950s–1970s

The 1950s were a pivotal period for Langnese. Products such as Riesenhappen, Domino and Capri helped establish the brand in the German ice-cream market, with the company reporting a tenfold increase in sales during the decade.4

During the 1960s, Langnese expanded its portfolio with products including:

• Konfekt
• Nogger
• Cornetto
• Split

Production was moved to Heppenheim, where Langnese operated one of Europe’s largest ice-cream factories at the time.4

The 1970s introduced another generation of recognisable products, such as:

• Dolomiti
• Grünofant
• Mini Milk
• Brauner Bär

These items helped position Langnese as a highly recognisable family-oriented ice-cream brand in West Germany.4

The 1980s and advertising

Langnese gained significant prominence in German popular culture during the 1980s. Its portfolio expanded with products such as:

• Ed von Schleck
• Flutschfinger
• Calippo
• Viennetta
• Nogger Choc

In 1985, Langnese launched the famous advertising campaign “Like Ice in the Sunshine.” This campaign became strongly associated with the brand and the carefree summer imagery characteristic of 1980s Germany.4

The 1990s

During the 1990s, Langnese’s advertising identity increasingly focused on summer and leisure themes.

Its slogan “So schmeckt der Sommer” (“That’s what summer tastes like”) became particularly associated with the brand in Germany. Beach imagery, sunshine, and youthful enjoyment became central elements of Langnese’s marketing.4

This reinforced Langnese’s brand positioning: it was marketed not simply as frozen food, but as a symbol of summer, fun, and shared enjoyment.

The heart logo

Around the beginning of the 2000s, Langnese introduced its recognisable heart logo as part of its visual identity. The company describes the heart as a symbol intended to be understood by children and adults worldwide.4

The heart logo provided a common visual identity across a large portfolio of ice-cream products.

Today, the German Langnese ice-cream portfolio includes numerous products and brands. The official German Langnese site currently lists 44 products, including:4

Capri

Capri is an orange-flavoured fruit ice cream and one of Langnese’s long-running products. The brand describes it as having been part of the Langnese portfolio since the 1950s.4

Nogger

Nogger is a classic chocolate-and-vanilla ice-cream bar introduced in 1964. The original combines vanilla ice cream with a chocolate coating and nut/cocoa components.3

Cornetto

Cornetto is one of the most internationally recognisable ice-cream products associated with the Langnese portfolio in Germany. It combines ice cream, a wafer cone, and chocolate-related toppings or sauce. Current varieties include Cornetto King Cone Vanilla.4

Calippo

Calippo is a frozen ice treat traditionally consumed directly from its tube-shaped package. It has been part of Langnese’s portfolio for decades and is particularly associated with summer consumption.4

Viennetta

Viennetta is a layered frozen dessert characterised by creamy ice cream and crisp chocolate layers. It became part of Langnese’s product history during the 1980s.1

Flutschfinger

Flutschfinger is a colourful ice lolly launched in the 1980s. It became one of the recognisable children’s products in the Langnese range.4

Mini Milk

Mini Milk is a small milk-based ice cream aimed particularly at children and families. Current Langnese products include strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate varieties.4

Langnese’s corporate history involves two distinct paths for its ice-cream and honey businesses.

The ice-cream business developed into a major German operation and became associated with Unilever. Historically, the Langnese ice-cream brand in Germany was part of Unilever’s ice-cream division. This business has since been separated from Unilever into the Magnum Ice Cream Company, under which Langnese is now positioned.4

Meanwhile, Langnese Honig GmbH & Co. KG operates the honey business from Bargteheide. Its current corporate information lists the company at Hammoorer Weg 25, 22941 Bargteheide, Germany.2

Therefore, “Langnese” exists today as a historic brand name in two major food categories, rather than as a single unified company producing all Langnese-branded goods.

Langnese’s identity features several recurring themes.

Summer and happiness

The ice-cream brand has spent decades connecting itself with summer, sunshine, holidays, and enjoyment. Campaigns such as “Like Ice in the Sunshine” and “So schmeckt der Sommer” made this positioning prominent.4

Family

Many Langnese products are designed for broad family appeal, ranging from children’s ice lollies to larger sharing desserts.

Nostalgia

Products such as Nogger, Capri, Flutschfinger, and Viennetta have existed for decades. Consequently, Langnese holds strong nostalgic value among generations of German consumers.

Recognisable visual symbols

The ice-cream business is strongly associated with its heart logo, while Langnese Honey is strongly associated with its golden lettering and hexagonal honeycomb-inspired jar.1

Langnese Honey states that its honey comes from selected regions in Europe, North, Central and South America, and New Zealand. The company works with beekeepers and evaluates honey from its origin through to bottling.5

Each honey undergoes multiple quality checks and is bottled in Bargteheide. The company’s stated philosophy is to maintain the natural characteristics of honey without adding or removing ingredients.5

Its portfolio includes products such as:

• Acacia honey
• Acacia honey with honeycomb
• Forest honey
• Black Forest honey
• White honey
• Various blossom and specialty honeys
• Flotte Biene dispenser products2

Langnese occupies a notable position in German consumer culture. Few ice-cream brands have maintained such a long association with summer and childhood memories.

The company’s history spans pre-war Germany, the post-war economic boom, the television era of the 1970s and 1980s, reunified Germany, and the modern multinational food industry.

For many German consumers, Langnese products represent more than ordinary frozen desserts. Classic items are often remembered through associations with childhood, holidays, swimming pools, kiosks, beaches, and summer vacations.

This long history contributes to the nostalgic and cultural significance of products that might otherwise appear simple, such as a chocolate-coated ice cream bar or a fruit ice lolly.

Although Langnese is particularly associated with Germany, its products and associated brands have an international footprint.

Langnese Honey states that its products are available in more than 50 countries.2

The ice-cream portfolio is also part of a broader international ice-cream business, with products such as Cornetto, Calippo, and Viennetta appearing in various markets, sometimes under different local brand names.

1. Die Geschichte von Langnese | Langnese
2. Langnese Honey: a real success story
3. Nogger
4. Langnese (Eismarke
5. Qualität & Herkunft – Landingpage | Langnese Honig