A small confectioner's shop in Zurich
In 1836, confectioner David Sprüngli-Schwarz and his son Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann took over a small confectioner’s shop in the old town of Zurich and formed a partnership called Sprüngli & Son. Driven by young Rudolf’s ambitions, the company began producing high-quality chocolate in 1845. In no time, Zurich’s high society was so delighted by this exotic new delicacy that the small shop could no longer keep up with demand.
Expansion to Horgen
The growing demand for their chocolate and confectionery products made it necessary to switch from manual to machine production. In Horgen on Lake Zurich, not far from their Zurich base, Sprüngli established a new factory near the water source. They bought the land with the water rights and invested in machinery to increase production capacity. Business was so good that within a few years, the company needed to expand again.
The move back to Zurich
The company’s continued success, which required the opening of a second confectionery in Zurich in 1859, soon proved to be too much for the Horgen factory. The entire operation was then moved back to Zurich, to the centrally located "Werdmühle" mill. The new complex consisted of a main factory building with a steam oven chimney, cold storage buildings, a large confectioner’s shop and a pastry kitchen, all equipped with modern machinery.
However, the rapid expansion of the city of Zurich and the resulting changes in the surrounding landscape soon made the much-needed expansion of the Werdmühle factory impossible.
Kilchberg - the ideal long-term location for the Lindt & Sprüngli factory was found
The perfect site was found on Lake Zurich, this time in the village of Kilchberg, and the construction of a large, modern factory began in 1898. The estimated one and a half million Swiss francs needed to finance the project was raised by converting the company into a stock corporation. The company has remained on the western shore of Lake Zurich ever since.
That same year, the newly formed Chocolat Sprüngli AG purchased Rodolphe Lindt’s famous chocolate factory in Berne, along with his well-guarded chocolate processing secret and brand name.
This new Lindt & Sprüngli factory in Kilchberg, named Aktiengesellschaft Vereinigte Berner und Zürcher Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli, was operating at full capacity soon after this pivotal acquisition.
Today, Lindt & Sprüngli is a global leader in the premium chocolate segment. As a Swiss company, Lindt & Sprüngli maintains strong ties to Kilchberg, where its headquarters are located. The various locations in Switzerland focus on different aspects of chocolate production and distribution. There is a logistics hub in Altendorf, the Olten factory where cocoa mass is produced, and the main production site in Kilchberg. Nevertheless, the local processing and refining of Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate must meet strict Swiss standards in all factories around the world.
