Lindt & Sprüngli, chocolate makers of Kilchberg

In 1836 David Sprüngli bought a small confectionery on the Marktgasse in Zurich. His son Rudolf began making chocolate there in 1845, and in 1859 he opened a confectionery and tea room at what is now Paradeplatz.

In Bern, Rodolphe Lindt founded his own chocolate business in 1879 and developed the conche, a machine that stirs chocolate for hours until it is smooth and melts on the tongue, in place of the gritty chocolate of the time. In 1892 the Sprüngli family separated its chocolate making from the confectionery, and in 1899 Chocolat Sprüngli bought Lindt's business. Production moved to Kilchberg, on Lake Zurich, which is still the company's headquarters.

The company has been listed on the stock exchange since 1986. The tea room on Paradeplatz belongs to a separate family business, Confiserie Sprüngli. Lindt & Sprüngli now sells its chocolate around the world, and the Lindt Home of Chocolate in Kilchberg, opened in 2020, tells the story to visitors.