The history of Lindt & Sprüngli

It all began when David Sprüngli opened a small confectionery shop in Zurich’s old town. Together with his son Rudolf, they produced the first solid bar of chocolate in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The product was an instant success.

The chocolate bars – while being very different to what we know today – flew off the shelves of their shop. The father and son duo soon recognized that they needed more room to make their chocolate. Therefore, the Schleifetobel factory in Horgen opened in 1847.

David Sprüngli expanded his business and started to make a name for himself. He opened a second confectionery shop on Paradeplatz in Zurich – the famous Confiserie Sprüngli that is still there to this day.

In 1870, Rudolf Sprüngli, who had been the sole head of the company since 1862, bought the Werdmühle factory and gradually replaced the facilities in Horgen, which had become too small.

Parallel to these happenings in Zurich, in the Swiss capital city of Berne another chapter in chocolate history was being written. There, Rodolphe Lindt, a young and ambitious chocolatier, was on a mission to create a chocolate that would surpass all others in terms of texture and flavor. After years of experimentation, his endeavors led to a breakthrough in 1879, with the invention of the conching process.

In 1892, Rudolf Sprüngli reached the age of 76 and faced the task of settling the family succession. He bequeathed the chocolate production facility to his older son, Johann Rudolf Sprüngli. His younger son David Robert Sprüngli became the owner of the original shop in Marktgasse and the new premises on Paradeplatz. This led to the separation of the two arms of the Sprüngli empire, which had become synonymous with chocolate in the Zurich region.

When Rodolphe Lindt discovered the conching process in 1879, Johann Rudolf Sprüngli took notice of the success of Lindt’s smooth-melting chocolate. However, the two entrepreneurs only first met in 1899. Johann Rudolf Sprüngli had just completed the construction of a larger factory in Kilchberg, where the Lindt & Sprüngli headquarters are today, with the aim of ramping up production. Meanwhile, the high demand for Rodolphe Lindt’s creamy chocolate in Berne was starting to exert pressure on his small outdated production facilities.

When Johann Rudolf Sprüngli offered to buy the business – including the Lindt brand and secret recipe – Lindt accepted the offer on the condition that he would continue to have a say in the business. This marked the birth of the Lindt & Sprüngli company.

Lindt & Sprüngli started to expand during the 1920s, establishing general distributors in Germany and the USA. The first subsidiary was set up in Berlin in 1928, which operated its own factory manufacturing products under license.

The company adopted the name that it still carries to this day – “Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG”.

The company is developing new, innovative products: In 1949, the Lindor bar with its smooth-melting filling is created. In 1952, the famous Lindt Gold Bunny hopped into Easter baskets for the first time. And in 1967, the success story of the Lindor truffle began.

From the late 1970s onwards, Lindt & Sprüngli accelerated its international expansion by acquiring licensing partners and establishing wholly owned subsidiaries. Major milestones included new entities in Spain, Germany, France, the USA, and Hong Kong, alongside the reactivation of operations in the United States with a production site in New Hampshire. In 1986, this phase of growth was crowned by another landmark event: Lindt & Sprüngli was listed on the Swiss stock exchange for the first time.

In the early 1990s, Lindt & Sprüngli completed the acquisition of its former licensees and continued its international expansion with new subsidiaries in Poland, Canada, Australia, and Austria, which later acquired the well-known Viennese confectionery companies Hofbauer and Küfferle in 1994.

This period also marked a significant leadership transition: in 1993, Ernst Tanner was appointed CEO, and in 1994 he became Chairman of the Board.

In January 1998, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in San Francisco, USA, was acquired. This marked the beginning of a significant expansion in North America, the world’s largest chocolate market.

Also in 1998, the Lindt Master Chocolatiers became ambassadors of the Lindt brand. Not only do the Lindt Master Chocolatiers appear in our advertisements around the world, they are also the creative experts behind each Lindt creation with their profound expertise and genuine passion for chocolate.

In 2008, the Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program was launched and has since been our Responsible Sourcing Standard for cocoa. It was developed to address social and environmental impacts in our cocoa supply chain. The Farming Program aims to contribute to resilient livelihoods for cocoa farmers and their families and to promote Good Farming Practices and biodiverse landscapes.

The expansion of the global distribution of Lindt products through our own retail network marked a major milestone in Lindt & Sprüngli’s history. Since its establishment in 2009, the Global Retail division has offered an exceptional brand and chocolate experience to visitors around the world and has been an important growth driver for the entire Lindt & Sprüngli Group.

In 2009, Lindt’s popularity grew even more when tennis star Roger Federer became Lindt brand ambassador.

In 2014, Lindt & Sprüngli acquired the American chocolate manufacturer Russell Stover with its brands Whitman’s and Pangburn’s as an ideal addition to the Group’s portfolio.

Lindt & Sprüngli has been enchanting the world with chocolate for over 180 years. The long-established Swiss company is a global leader in the premium chocolate category. Lindt & Sprüngli produces quality chocolates today at its 12 factories in Europe and the USA. Its products are sold by 41 subsidiaries and branch offices in around 620 of its own stores as well as via a network of around 100 distributors around the globe.