Too expensive for everyday treats: Lindt loses buyers and replaces its chief

Lindt & Sprüngli is replacing its leadership as steep price rises put the Swiss chocolate maker under pressure. The Kilchberg-based group is selling significantly fewer products than expected this year. Earlier this week, CEO Adalbert Lechner’s immediate departure was announced after 33 years with the company. Former chief executive Dieter Weisskopf is taking over temporarily. For shoppers in Switzerland, the problem has long been visible on supermarket shelves: Lindt has become markedly more expensive, while cheaper alternatives are gaining ground.

Discounts are now prominent as Christmas trading begins. At Coop’s Bellevue branch in Zurich, the entire Lindt range is on offer at 20 per cent off, alongside large packs of own-brand chocolate coins and balls. Other shops are also cutting Lindt prices. In Germany, chocolate bars are being offered at an “introductory price” of €2.99.

When premium prices reach their limit

For decades, Lindt occupied an attractive middle ground. It promised special quality but remained affordable to a broad public. Lindor balls and Gold Bunnies were small gifts or treats for which many shoppers willingly paid a little extra. That willingness now appears to be reaching its limit.

In March, management presented a group-wide price increase of 19 per cent for the previous year. In Switzerland, the traditional Gold Bunny has become 40 per cent more expensive since 2024. Higher prices, however, cannot indefinitely compensate for weaker demand. In September, Lindt cut its sales expectations for the second time in a few months.

Stefan Vogler, a branding expert at Zurich’s University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration, does not see a wholesale rejection of quality products. Consumers remain willing to pay more for them, he says; what matters is the size of the premium. His diagnosis: “Prices are approaching those of a luxury product. That does not work for a mass-market premium product.”

The cocoa shock lingers on shelves

The price rises began with a surge in raw material costs. Between January 2024 and January 2025, the world market price of a tonne of cocoa tripled. Drought and flooding weakened harvests in West Africa, the main growing region. The shock affected the entire chocolate industry, not just Lindt.

Cocoa prices stabilised in 2025, but Lindt products remained expensive. The tension became particularly visible at Migros in autumn 2025. Unable to agree on prices, the retailer and manufacturer saw Lindt products temporarily disappear from shelves, with notices pointing to a supply interruption.

The chocolate returned to Migros and Denner branches for Christmas at unchanged retail prices. A review of purchase prices was postponed until 2026, leaving the dispute unresolved for the time being. It had, however, already drawn shoppers’ attention to the high prices.

The contrast with November 2024 shows how quickly the mood has shifted. Back then, people in thick jackets waited in camping chairs outside Lindt’s Kilchberg shop for its Dubai chocolate. A bar containing pistachio paste, sesame and fine pastry strands cost CHF14.95. Queues also formed in German cities. At that point, Lindt was successfully capitalising on a trend.

Swiss shoppers turn to own brands

The central problem now is not an overall loss of appetite for chocolate. Migros, Coop, Lidl and Aldi describe demand in Swiss retail as stable. Shoppers are, however, paying closer attention to prices. Both Coop and Migros are seeing a shift towards their own brands.

The gaps are substantial. A bar of Lindt milk chocolate costs CHF3.20 at Migros or Coop, compared with CHF2.20 for Frey and CHF1.95 for Halba. A bar from the M-Budget or Prix Garantie budget ranges costs 70 centimes; Lidl sells milk chocolate for 69 centimes. Swiss households looking to save therefore have plenty of alternatives without giving up chocolate.

Other pressures have compounded Lindt’s difficulties. Gold Bunnies remained in shops after Easter and were still being sold a month later at discounts of up to 75 per cent. The hot summer dampened demand for chocolate. Instability in the Middle East also meant fewer Asian tourists in Europe, reducing the number of visitors who would otherwise shop in duty-free stores and Lindt outlets.

Christmas and the search for a new chief

Germany, the group’s second-largest market after the United States, is proving particularly difficult. Between January and August, Lindt’s sales volumes there fell by 20 per cent. With the economy weak, consumers are less willing to pay high chocolate prices. Retailers have ordered smaller quantities for Christmas than in previous years.

Leadership is changing there too. Country chief Michal Spiller is leaving with immediate effect. He will be succeeded by Ali Kulein, previously head of Austria. The outgoing head of Global Sales will take charge in Austria.

For the group’s top job, Lindt is considering internal and external candidates, with an appointment expected by the second quarter of 2027. The task will be to restore consistent growth across all markets. For a company whose products have long been familiar fixtures in Swiss shops, that means addressing the widening gap between its premium positioning and what everyday customers are prepared to spend.

First comes Christmas. The festive trading period will show whether promotions can win shoppers back, both in Switzerland and in its other markets. Discounts may encourage purchases now, but the underlying challenge remains: Lindt must once again convince a broad public that its chocolate justifies the price.