Swiss chocolate maker founded in 1845
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli AG
,
[a]
doing business as
Lindt
,
[4]
is a Swiss
chocolatier
and confectionery company founded in 1845
[5]
and known for its
chocolate truffles
and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in
Kilchberg
, where its main factory and museum are located. Lindt is one of the largest
Swiss chocolate
manufacturers.
History
[
edit
]
Founding and early years
[
edit
]
The origins of the company date back to 1836, when
David Sprungli
(1776?1862) and his son Rudolf Sprungli-Ammann (1816?1897)
[6]
bought a small confectionery shop in the old town of
Zurich
, producing chocolates under the name David Sprungli & Son. Before they moved to
Paradeplatz
in 1845, they established a small factory where they produced their chocolate in solidified form in 1838.
When Rudolf Sprungli-Ammann retired in 1892, he gave two equal parts of the business to his sons. The younger brother David Robert received two confectionery stores that became known under the name
Confiserie Sprungli
. The elder brother Johann Rudolf received the chocolate factory. To raise the necessary finances for his expansion plans, Johann Rudolf then converted his private company into "Chocolat Sprungli AG" in 1899. In that same year, he acquired the chocolate factory of
Rodolphe Lindt
(1855?1909) in
Bern
[7]
and the company changed its name to "Aktiengesellschaft Vereinigte Berner und Zurcher Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli" (United Bern and Zurich Lindt and Sprungli Chocolate Factory Ltd.).
[8]
In 1934, Lindt started to produce milk chocolate. Before, it only produced dark chocolate.
[9]
Expansion
[
edit
]
In 1994, Lindt & Sprungli acquired the Austrian chocolatier Hofbauer Osterreich and integrated it, along with its Kufferle brand, into the company. In 1997 and 1998, respectively, the company acquired the Italian chocolatier
Caffarel
and the American chocolatier
Ghirardelli
,
[10]
[11]
and integrated both of them into the company as wholly-owned subsidiaries. Since then, Lindt & Sprungli has expanded the once-regional Ghirardelli to the international market.
On 17 March 2009, Lindt announced the closure of fifty of its eighty retail boutiques in the United States because of weaker demand in the wake of the
late-2000s recession
.
[12]
Recent developments
[
edit
]
On July 14, 2014, Lindt bought
Russell Stover Candies
, maker of Whitman's Chocolate, for about $1 billion, the company's largest acquisition to date.
[13]
In November 2018, Lindt opened its first American
travel retail
store in
JFK Airport
's Terminal 1 and its flagship Canadian shop in
Yorkdale Shopping Centre
, Toronto.
[14]
[15]
In response to
Russia's invasion of Ukraine
, Lindt announced that it would halt commercial operations in Russia on a temporary basis.
[16]
In 2023, Lindt partnered with ChoViva, a German cocoa-free chocolate brand, and launched vegan chocolates using oats and sunflower seeds.
[17]
Factories
[
edit
]
Lindt & Sprungli has twelve factories:
Kilchberg
, Switzerland;
Aachen
, Germany;
Oloron-Sainte-Marie
, France;
Induno Olona
, Italy;
Gloggnitz
, Austria; and
Stratham
,
New Hampshire
, in the United States. The factory in Gloggnitz manufactures products under the Hofbauer & Kufferle brand, in addition to the Lindt brand. Caffarel's factory is located in
Luserna San Giovanni
, Italy, and Ghirardelli's factory is located in
San Leandro, California
, in the United States.
[18]
Furthermore, there are four more factories of Russell Stover in the United States, including locations in
Corsicana, Texas
;
Abilene, Kansas
; and
Iola, Kansas
.
Since 2020, the main factory of Kilchberg has included a visitor centre and museum, referred to as
Lindt Home of Chocolate
. The museum notably displays the world's largest chocolate fountain, measuring over nine metres tall and containing 1,500 litres of chocolate, flowing from a giant whisk.
[19]
The museum takes the visitor through the history of chocolate and the chocolate industry. There are plenty of opportunities to taste various kinds of chocolate at the end of the tour.
[20]
Notable products
[
edit
]
|
|
|
|
Lindt chocolate cafes and stores
[
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]
Lindt has opened over 410 chocolate cafes and shops all over the world.
[21]
[22]
The cafes' menu mostly focuses on chocolate and desserts. Lindt chocolate cafes also sell handmade chocolates, macaroons, cakes, and ice cream.
On 15 December 2014, eighteen people, including eight staff, were
held hostage
at a Lindt cafe in Sydney. Three people, including the gunman, died in the incident.
[23]
[24]
Criticism
[
edit
]
In September 2017, an investigation conducted by NGO Mighty Earth
[25]
found that a large amount of the cocoa used in chocolate produced by Lindt and other major chocolate companies was grown illegally in
national parks
and other protected areas in the
Ivory Coast
and
Ghana
,
[26]
[27]
the world's two largest
cocoa
producers.
[28]
[29]
Mighty Earth's 2019 annual "Easter Chocolate Shopping Guide" awarded The Good Egg Award to Lindt "for greatest improvement in sustainable policies".
[30]
However, in terms of agroforestry, Lindt scored only a yellow rating, the second-highest of 4, for Agroforestry and a red ('needs to catch up with the industry') for Agrochemical Management on the 2022 Chocolate Scorecard, which since 2020 is a collaboration between Mighty Earth, Be Slavery Free and other NGOs.
In August 2020, the
Federal Antimonopoly Service
of Russia (FAS) opened up an
antitrust
case against Lindt after a failed response from the company a year earlier. The regulators have found quality differences for the same Lindt products in Russia over what is being sold in Western markets without informing Russian consumers. According to the FAS, such behaviour of foreign producers can lead to a redistribution of demand in the market and lead to unjustified benefits over other competitors, as companies like Lindt can still garner Russian demand for their products through
brand recognition
alone without delivering the same quality as in Western Europe.
[31]
[32]
Lindt responded and denied that there are differences for its products sold in Russia and the EU, except for
labeling
.
[33]
In December 2022, Lindt was among one of many dark chocolate bars that have contained either high amounts of
lead
or
cadmium
metals, when compared against California's maximum daily allowable dose level, according to Consumer Reports study "Lead and Cadmium Could Be in Your Dark Chocolate".
[34]
The cadmium levels are still within the EU limit of 0.80mg/kg for dark chocolate.
[35]
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
https://reports.lindt-spruengli.com/annual-report-2023/corporate-governance/group-structure-and-shareholders.html
- ^
"Lindt & Sprungli Group Financial Key Data"
. Lindt Sprungli AG.
Archived
from the original on 23 March 2023
. Retrieved
24 March
2023
.
- ^
"Change in Group Management of Lindt & Sprungli"
. Lindt Sprungli AG. 27 June 2022.
Archived
from the original on 1 October 2022
. Retrieved
1 October
2022
.
- ^
"An Outline on the Story & Creation of Lindt | LindtUSA"
.
www.lindtusa.com
.
Archived
from the original on 19 July 2017
. Retrieved
3 May
2022
.
- ^
"Lindt & Sprungli | Company Overview & News"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
30 January
2024
.
- ^
Squicciarini, Mara P. (2016).
The Economics of Chocolate
. Oxford University Press.
- ^
"The pioneers of Switzerland's 'Chocolate Revolution'
"
.
swissinfo.ch
. 13 December 2017.
- ^
"Story of Lindt"
.
LindtUSA
.
Archived
from the original on 19 July 2017
. Retrieved
20 November
2016
.
- ^
"About Lindt"
.
Archived
from the original on 27 May 2022
. Retrieved
21 May
2022
.
- ^
"Spotlight: Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. Is Sold Again"
.
Los Angeles Times
. 13 January 1998.
Archived
from the original on 24 June 2021
. Retrieved
19 June
2020
.
- ^
"Ghirardelli Chocolate Sold"
.
AP NEWS
.
Archived
from the original on 24 June 2021
. Retrieved
19 June
2020
.
- ^
Wiggins, Jenny (17 March 2009).
"Lindt closes lid on most of its US stores"
.
Financial Times
.
Archived
from the original on 10 December 2022
. Retrieved
3 January
2016
.
(subscription required)
- ^
MacLucas, Neil (14 July 2014).
"Lindt & Spruengli to Buy Russell Stover Candies"
.
Wall Street Journal
.
Archived
from the original on 25 October 2017
. Retrieved
24 October
2017
.
(subscription required)
- ^
Madden, Chris (29 November 2018).
"Lindt & Sprungli Travel Retail sees sales jump as Master Chocolatiers debut in US"
.
DFNI Online
.
Archived
from the original on 4 December 2018
. Retrieved
3 December
2018
.
- ^
DeMontis, Rita (28 November 2018).
"Lindt flagship store lands at Yorkdale"
.
Canoe.com
. Archived from
the original
on 4 December 2018
. Retrieved
3 December
2018
.
- ^
FT Reporters (10 March 2022).
"Stay or go? Western consumer brands wrestle with Russian dilemma"
. THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD. Financial Times.
Archived
from the original on 10 December 2022
. Retrieved
12 June
2022
.
- ^
"Lindt Partners With Cocoa-Free Chocolate Brand ChoViva to Launch New Vegan Bar"
.
vegconomist
. 21 December 2023.
- ^
"Contact Us for Ghirardelli"
.
Ghirardelli
.
Archived
from the original on 24 October 2017
. Retrieved
24 October
2017
.
- ^
"Lindt has opened the world's largest chocolate museum in Zurich, complete with the largest chocolate fountain"
.
timeout.com
. 18 September 2020.
Archived
from the original on 17 May 2021
. Retrieved
7 April
2021
.
- ^
Cox, David (28 August 2023).
"Lindt Chocolate Factory"
.
Newby to Expert Traveler
. Retrieved
26 December
2023
.
- ^
"More Than 410 Own Shops Worldwide"
.
Archived
from the original on 14 May 2018
. Retrieved
7 May
2018
.
- ^
Marc Pallisco (31 May 2009).
"Flagship Lindt Chocolat Cafe to Open in Collins Street, Melbourne"
. Real Estate Source.
Archived
from the original on 6 January 2016
. Retrieved
25 November
2015
.
- ^
Doherty, Ben; Jabour, Bridie; Delaney, Brigid; Wahlquist, Calla; Davidson, Helen; Safi, Michael; Milman, Oliver; Farrell, Paul (20 December 2014).
"Sydney siege: how a day and night of terror unfolded at the Lindt cafe"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
.
Archived
from the original on 15 June 2020
. Retrieved
1 July
2020
.
- ^
"Lindt Cafe: The day international terrorism came to Australia"
.
www.9news.com.au
. 28 December 2019.
Archived
from the original on 2 July 2020
. Retrieved
1 July
2020
.
- ^
Higonett, Etelle; Bellantonio, Marisa; Hurowitz, Glenn (15 September 2017).
"Chocolate's Dark Secret"
(PDF)
.
Mighty
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 26 December 2019
. Retrieved
2 November
2017
.
- ^
"Olam to acquire global cocoa business of Archer Daniels Midland for $1.7 billion"
.
The Straits Times
. 16 December 2014.
Archived
from the original on 12 December 2019
. Retrieved
2 November
2017
.
- ^
"Olam Livelihood Charter 2016"
(PDF)
.
Olam
. September 2017. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 7 November 2017
. Retrieved
2 November
2017
.
- ^
Wessel, Marius; Quist-Wessel, P.M. Foluke (December 2015).
"Cocoa production in West Africa, a review and analysis of recent developments"
.
NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences
. 74?75: 1?7.
doi
:
10.1016/j.njas.2015.09.001
.
- ^
Harris, Nancy; Payne, Octavia; Alix Mann, Sarah (6 August 2015).
"How Much Rainforest Is in That Chocolate Bar?"
.
World Resources Institute
.
Archived
from the original on 2 November 2017
. Retrieved
2 November
2017
.
- ^
"Mighty Earth 2019 Easter Chocolate Buying Guide"
(PDF)
.
Mighty Earth
. April 2019.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 23 August 2019
. Retrieved
23 August
2019
.
- ^
"Russian antimonopoly watchdog opens case against Lindt chocolate producer"
.
Archived
from the original on 27 August 2020
. Retrieved
25 August
2020
.
- ^
"The Federal Antimonopoly service has opened a case against the manufacturer of Lindt chocolate"
. 25 August 2020.
Archived
from the original on 11 August 2023
. Retrieved
25 August
2020
.
- ^
"Lindt denies differences in the composition of chocolate sold in Russia and the EU"
.
Archived
from the original on 13 June 2021
. Retrieved
25 August
2020
.
- ^
"Lead and Cadmium Could Be in Your Dark Chocolate"
.
Consumer Reports
.
Archived
from the original on 12 January 2023
. Retrieved
16 January
2023
.
- ^
"Cadmium in chocolate, European Commission"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 14 March 2023
. Retrieved
7 March
2023
.
External links
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]
SMI MID
(SMIM) companies of Switzerland
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