Lindt history

In 1859, Sprüngli and Son open a second and larger confectionery on Zurich’s Paradeplatz.

In 1862 David Sprüngli died at age 86 and Rudolf Sprüngli, formerly the junior boss, took over management of the entire business.

The chocolate production was moved again in 1870 to the Werdmühle in Zurich, a much bigger facility in a central location that included workshop buildings, warehouses, a canal that supplied water to the complex, and a residence for the Sprüngli family.

(1) Probably the oldest poster (1880) by Sprüngli comes presumably from Paris, where poster art developed from artistic drawings.

By 1882 Sprüngli chocolate bars, pastilles, croquettes, and pralines were exported to Germany, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Rumania, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Turkey, and even eastern India.

(3) As early as the Belle Époque, chocolate was recommend to holiday guests and travellers. (1890).

When Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann stepped down, he divided the company between his two sons, Johann Rudolf Sprünli-Schifferli and David Robert Sprüngli-Baud in 1892.

After his father died in 1897, Johann Rudolf Sprüngli-Schiffeli realized that the Werdermühle facility was still too small for his ambitious plans.

To raise the necessary finances, he converts his privately owned chocolate company into ”Chocolat Sprüngli AG” and in 1898 he and his investors meet for the first time.

In 1899 Chocolat Sprüngli acquired a small but famous Berne chocolate maker, Rod.

In the business year 1902-03, the Lindt factory in Berne produced about 40 percent of the total Lindt chocolate output, and 60 percent was made in the Sprüngli plant.

In 1905, Rodolphe Lindt and his relatives, August and Walter Lindt retire from the company.

In April 1906, August and Walter Lindt, a cousin of Rodolphe Lindt, founded their own firm in Berne, thereby breaching their contracts with the Lindt & Sprüngli company.

Rodolphe Lindt, who had died in 1909, lived on in the Lindt & Sprüngli company, however.

Lindt & Sprüngli exported 72 percent of its products to 20 countries in 1915-16.

In 1927 Lindt & Sprüngli's general agent in Germany, the company's largest export market before the war, went bankrupt.

In 1930, the company's name changed to "Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG".

1932 saw the launch of a true Swiss original the “Bâtons Kirsch” which proves until today to be a real success for Lindt & Sprüngli.

By 1937 Lindt & Sprüngli's export share had sunk to only nine percent of total sales.

Arthur Weber, Lindt & Sprüngli's first sales manager, launched an advertising campaign in 1944 to keep the Lindt brand name in customer's minds while supply and demand was rationed.

They set to work experimenting with chocolaterecipesuntil, in 1949, they came across a chocolate so luxuriously smooth it could be compared to melted gold.

The first LINDOR tablet was created in the autumn of 1950.

In 1952, the Lindt Gold Bunny first appeared.

1962 saw the introduction of the signature lace pattern on the front of LINDOR’s packaging.

In 1967, originally intended as a tree decoration for Christmas time, the success story of LINDOR truffle begins.

Finally, in 1969, Lindt & Sprüngli released the first Lindor truffles as part of a Christmas specialty.

In 1971 Lindt & Sprüngli took over the Nago Nährmittel AG. The facility in Olten later became the exclusive provider of cocoa mass in fluid form for all Lindt & Sprüngli production facilities in Switzerland, Germany, and Italy.

The next step toward building an international group was taken when Lindt & Sprüngli bought 65 percent of the share capital of the French licensee CFC Consortium Francais de Confiserie in 1977 from the Perrier mineral water group.

Before the end of the decade, in 1979, Lindt’s premium collection Connaisseur pralines were created for special gifting occasions and expanded into their own brand line.

From the Second World War until 1980, about 80 percent of Lindt & Sprüngli's production was sold in Switzerland.

In 1983 a newly built central storage and distribution center was opened in Altendorf on Lake Zurich.

In 1984, Lindt diversified the LINDOR truffle range to include LINDOR Dark, a dark chocolate truffle with a bittersweet smooth-melting filling.

In 1986 share capital was increased to CHF 14 million when Lindt & Sprüngli shares were first quoted on the Stock Exchange in Zurich.

In 1989 Lindt & Sprüngli (USA) Inc. started production in a newly built facility with storage and office spaces in Stratham, New Hampshire, a $10.5 million investment.

In 1992 the German Lindt & Sprüngli subsidiary already employed more personnel and was responsible for more sales than the Swiss parent company.

In 1993 the long-term licensee, Bulgheroni SpA of Induno Olona, Italy, was acquired by Lindt & Sprüngli and given the new name Lindt & Sprüngli SpA. Thereby, all former licensees were integrated in the Lindt & Sprüngli group as fully owned subsidiaries.

By the end of 1994, more than 80 percent of Lindt chocolates were sold abroad.

In 1998 sales in Italy and the United States contributed one quarter of the group's sales, which reached CHF 1.344 billion in that year.

Since 2008, the Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program is an expression of this commitment to sustainability.

Since its establishment in 2009, the Global Retail division has become an important contributing factor to the success of the company.In 2009, the popularity of Lindt manages to increase even more, when tennis star Roger Federer becomes the Lindt brand ambassador.

The Lindt Teddy launched in time to bring some extra magic during the festive season in 2011.

As of 2016, the entire cocoa bean supply chain from Ghana is traceable and externally verified.

In 2019 Lindt & Sprüngli launches the Lindt & Sprüngli Sustainability Strategy with 11 commitments for a better tomorrow.