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All about lindt chocolate
The story of Lindt, one of the world’s finest chocolate makers.
Photo Credit: Rafal Zdeb
By Heleigh Bostwick
All About Lindt Chocolate
Lindt chocolate is manufactured by Lindt & Sprungli; a Swiss based company that has been whipping up chocolate confections since 1845. Lindt is the registered trademark of Lindt & Sprungli, which holds the distinction of being one of the premiere Swiss chocolatiers.
The story of Lindt chocolate is one that begins with Rodolphe Sprungli-Ammann a candy maker, who owned a small confectionery shop in Zurich, Switzerland. He had heard about a new recipe for making solid chocolate and decided to try his hand at it. The chocolates were met with great success and after two years he started up the first chocolate factory in Zurich.
1859 he opened a second shop in downtown Zurich, and in 1870 built a larger factory also located in Zurich. Upon his death in 1892, the factories and shops were bequeathed to his two sons. One son inherited the factories and the other inherited the shops. Soon after, the son who ran the factories, also named Rodolphe, decided to acquire a small yet well-known chocolate factory owned by Rodolphe Lindt, located in Berne, Switzerland.
Lindt was one of the most famous Swiss chocolatiers of the period. In 1879, he developed a special technique for making chocolate fondant—chocolate with that melt in your mouth creamy texture that everyone loves. The secret was to use generous quantities of cocoa butter and prolong the mixing period when making the chocolate. This technique, known as conching revolutionized the chocolate industry. After acquiring Lindt’s factory, trademark and secret techniques, Sprungli renamed his company Lindt & Sprungli. Lindt became a brand name in 1899.
The period between 1900 and 1920 was a boom time for Swiss chocolatiers, including Lindt & Sprungli and they began exporting their Lindt chocolates to other countries. During the 1920s and 1930s, expansion of the company slowed considerably, but resumed growth and expansion at the end of World War II.
During the next several decades, Lindt expanded their operations into the neighboring countries of Italy, Germany, and France. In 1986 the company expanded into Asia, opening a subsidiary in Hong Kong. During the same period Lindt & Sprungli, USA was established. It acquired the famous Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in San Francisco two years later. In 1994 Lindt expanded into Austria, and into Australia in 1997.
Today, Lindt chocolates are manufactured in Europe and the United States and sold all over the world. Lindt chocolates are made with the finest ingredients including cocoa from the Caribbean and the Ivory Coast and do not use ingredients that have been genetically modified when making their famous chocolates.
Among the products sold by the Lindt chocolate company are the classic candy bar with raspberry, blueberry, caramel, and other delicious flavored fillings, truffles, kirsch batons, chocolate wafers, Swiss thins (thin wafers of chocolate), and assorted chocolates in seashell shapes.
Lindt chocolate opened their first store in New York City in 1925. The current store is located in midtown Manhattan along Fifth Avenue. If you wander in, you will often find free samples of delicious Lindor Truffles. Enjoy!
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