Higher costs nibble away at the desire for Lindt chocolate in Switzerland
Lindt & Sprüngli Bucks Trend with Strong Sales Growth Amidst Rising Cocoa Costs
In a remarkable feat, Swiss chocolate giant Lindt & Sprüngli, renowned for its Lindor pralines and gold chocolate Easter bunnies, has defied the odds and recorded impressive sales growth despite a surge in cocoa costs.
The company's first-half sales for 2025 stood at an organic growth of 11.2%, reaching CHF 2.35 billion. This growth was observed across all regions, with Europe being a significant contributor. The surge was supported by necessary price increases, amounting to approximately 15.8%, implemented to counteract record-high cocoa prices.
Despite the cost pressures from cocoa inflation impacting the EBIT margin and cash flow, Lindt & Sprüngli demonstrated resilience through operational discipline and cost controls. EBIT for the first half of 2025 reached CHF 259.2 million, maintaining a margin of 11.0%, in line with the company's expectations.
Adalbert Lechner, the company's chief executive, attributed this performance to the brand's premium positioning and strong pricing power, which consumers largely accepted.
In light of this strong performance and consumer loyalty, Lindt & Sprüngli raised its full-year sales growth guidance for 2025 from 7–9% to 9–11%. The group also confirmed its medium-term strategic targets of organic sales growth of 6–8% annually and an operating profit margin improvement of 20–40 basis points per year after 2025.
Despite a 4.6% decline in sales volumes, the company saw revenues climb by 9%. This anomaly can be attributed to the price hikes implemented by the company.
In summary, Lindt & Sprüngli has managed the impact of rising cocoa costs through mid-single-digit to ~15.8% price increases, operational efficiencies, and strong brand premium. The company's revised target for organic sales growth is now 9 to 11%, an increase from the previous 7 to 9%.
In the face of soaring cocoa costs, Lindt & Sprüngli's finance department effectively mitigated the impact by strategically increasing prices across their food-and-drink product range, thus protecting their business growth and maintaining a lifestyle of premium chocolate offerings. This resilient move has now thrust their projected annual organic sales growth upward, targeting a range of 9-11%.
