here . for other uses see lindt disambiguation . not to be confused with confiserie spr ngli . chocoladefabriken lindt & spr ngli ag type aktiengesellschaft traded as six lisn six lisp industry confectionery founded 1845 founder david spr ngli schwarz rudolf spr ngli ammann headquarters kilchberg switzerland key people ernst tanner chairman and ceo dieter weisskopf cfo and coo uwe sommer cmo products chocolate confectionery ice cream revenue 3.386 billion chf 2014 profit 343 million chf 2014 number of employees 10 712 2014 subsidiaries ghirardelli russell stover candies caffarel hofbauer k fferle website www.lindt.ch headquarters and factory in kilchberg z rich . lindt & spr ngli ag more commonly known as lindt is a swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for their chocolate truffle balls and chocolate bars among other sweets . contents 1 history 2 lindt chocolate caf s 3 products 3.1 lindor 3.2 seasonal confectioneries 3.3 chocolate bars 3.4 petits desserts 3.5 liqueurs 3.6 ice cream 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit the origins of the company date back to 1836 when david spr ngli schwarz and his son rudolf spr ngli ammann bought a small confectionery shop in the old town of z rich producing chocolates under the name david spr ngli & son . two years later a small factory was added that produced chocolate in solid form . in 1845 they moved to the paradeplatz . david spr ngli with the retirement of rudolf spr ngli ammann in 1892 the business was divided between his two sons . the younger brother david robert received two confectionery stores that became known under the name confiserie spr ngli . the elder brother johann rudolf received the chocolate factory . to raise the necessary finance for his expansion plans johann rudolf converted in 1899 his private company into chocolat spr ngli ag . in that same year he acquired the chocolate factory of rodolphe lindt in bern and the company changed its name to aktiengesellschaft vereinigte berner und z richer chocoladefabriken lindt & spr ngli united bern and zurich lindt & sprungli chocolate factory ltd. . 1 in 1994 lindt & spr ngli acquired the austrian chocolatier hofbauer sterreich and integrated it along with its k fferle brand into the company . in 1997 and 1998 respectively the company acquired the italian chocolatier caffarel and the american chocolatier ghirardelli and integrated both of them into the company as wholly owned subsidiaries . since then lindt & spr ngli has expanded the once regional ghirardelli to the international market . lindt & spr ngli has six factories in the following locations kilchberg switzerland ; aachen germany ; oloron sainte marie france ; induno olona italy ; gloggnitz austria ; and stratham new hampshire in the united states . the factory in gloggnitz austria manufactures products under the hofbauer and k fferle brand in addition to the lindt brand . caffarel s factory is located in luserna san giovanni italy and ghirardelli s factory is located in san leandro california in the united states . on march 17 2009 lindt announced the closure of 50 of its 80 retail boutiques in the united states because of weaker demand in the wake of the late 2000s recession . 2 after lindt recorded net profits of 4.7 million in the 2011 calendar year the marketing team stated that its market share amounted to 29 % surpassing its previous years . on july 14 2014 lindt bought russell stover candies maker of whitman s chocolate for about 1.5 billion the company s largest acquisition to date . 3 lindt chocolate caf s edit lindt shop and cafe in new york city lindt has opened eight chocolate caf s in australia four in sydney and four in melbourne . the caf s menu offers breakfast and lunch but mostly focuses on chocolate and desserts . they also sell handmade chocolates macaroons cakes and ice cream . sydney the first caf opened at martin place in 2004 . the second store opened in cockle bay wharf in darling harbour in 2006 . the third store is located in george street and opened in 2007 . a fourth store opened in westfield miranda in 2008 . melbourne lindt opened a flagship chocolate caf at 271 collins street 4 in july 2009 and a second store at chadstone shopping centre in august 2009 . in june 2011 lindt opened up their third caf on chapel street in south yarra and their fourth in november on southbank . united states wrentham massachusetts is in the early stages of planning the first chocolate caf in the u.s. products edit lindor edit a lindor milk chocolate truffle a lindor dark chocolate truffle originally lindor was a truffle ball that lindt & spr ngli introduced in 1949 . 1 lindor is a type of chocolate produced by lindt which is now characterized by a hard chocolate shell and a smooth chocolate filling . it comes in both a ball and a bar variety as well as in a variety of flavours . each flavour listed below has its own wrapper colour colour flavour black extra dark 60 % cocoa outside and dark chocolate filling black with ghosts ; white and blue snowmen ; lime green with pink purple and yellow flowers and some butterflies ; lime green with white and yellow flowers or red with hearts milk outside with smooth white filling seasonal flavour black with green dark peppermint limited edition blue dark chocolate brown hazelnut brown and gold with print st moritz milk chocolate shell filled with sugared hazelnut chunks dark brown with print caf mocha dark green with red peppermint gold and white white chocolate gold with blue cinnamon red milk chocolate light blue stracciatella white chocolate shell with cocoa pieces with a smooth white filling light brown with print peanut butter peanut butter light pink irish cream light pink with print strawberries and cream strawberries and cream light purple almond case lime green lemon limited edition orange dark chocolate shell filled with orange chocolate filling deep pink raspberry green mint purple vanilla turquoise coconut white with gold marc de champagne sky blue sea salt sky blue with white stripe with print latte milk and cereal crunch bronze with print caramel caramel dark aqua sea salt & caramel most of the us lindor truffles are manufactured in stratham new hampshire . 5 in mid 2012 swiss tennis star roger federer was named as lindt s global brand ambassador and began appearing in a series of commercials endorsing lindor . 6 seasonal confectioneries edit display of lindt chocolate bunnies gold bunny goldhase advertisement on the z richsee schifffahrtsgesellschaft zsg ship w denswil in z rich lindt also produces the gold bunny a hollow milk chocolate rabbit in a variety of sizes available every easter since 1952 . 7 8 each bunny wears a small coloured ribbon bow around its neck identifying the type of chocolate contained within . the milk chocolate bunny wears a red ribbon the dark chocolate bunny wears a dark brown ribbon the hazlenut bunny wears a green ribbon and the white chocolate bunny wears a white ribbon . additionally each chocolate is wrapped to look like a carrot a chick or a lamb . the lambs are packaged with four white lambs and one black lamb . during the christmas season lindt produces a variety of items including but not limited to chocolate reindeers which somewhat resemble the classic bunny santa snowmen figures of various sizes bears bells advent calendars and chocolate ornaments . various tins and boxes are available in the lindt stores the most popular colour schemes being the red and blue . other seasonal items include lindt chocolate novelty golf balls . 9 for valentine s day lindt sells a boxed version of the gold bunny which comes as a set of two kissing bunnies . 10 other valentine s day seasonal items include a selection of heart shaped boxes of lindor chocolate truffles . chocolate bars edit a lindt excellence chocolate bar lindt sells a variety of chocolate bars . flavours from the excellence range include 11 mint intense dark chocolate infused with mint orange intense dark chocolate infused with orange essence and almond flakes black currant dark chocolate infused with pieces of black currant and almond slivers white coconut white chocolate with crisp flakes of fine coconut coconut dark chocolate with crisp flakes of coconut almond white chocolate with whole roasted almonds and caramelised almond pieces poire intense pear flavoured chocolate with almond flakes pineapple dark chocolate with pineapple pieces and caramelised hazelnut pieces cherry intense regular dark chocolate available in 50 % 60 % 70 % 85 % 90 % or 99 % cocoa varieties extra creamy milk chocolate toffee crunch crunchy toffee bits wrapped in milk chocolate caramel crunchy studded with crunchy caramel lindor the famous balls but in cube form wasabi an east asian inspired dark chocolate mixed with wasabi pistachio milk chocolate with creamy pistachio filling mandarin milk chocolate with creamy mandarin filling strawberry milk chocolate with creamy white chocolate strawberry filling strawberry margarita capsule form with strawberry and margarita filling white strawberry white chocolate with strawberry pieces orange milk chocolate with creamy orange flavoured filling cuba 55 % cocoa single origin cuba madagascar 70 % cocoa single origin madagascar ecuador 75 % cocoa single origin ecuador vanilla white chocolate with vanilla beans coffee chili a 70 % cocoa dark chocolate with red chili extract raspberry intense dark dark chocolate with pieces of raspberries and almond slivers a touch of sea salt dark chocolate seasoned with fleur de sel petits desserts edit lindt s petits desserts range embodies famous european desserts in a small cube of chocolate . flavours include tarte au chocolat cr me brul e tiramisu creme caramel tarte citron meringue and noir orange . 12 lindt makes a creation range of chocolate filled cubes milk mousse dark milk mousse white milk mousse chocolate mousse orange mousse and cherry chili . 13 liqueurs edit b tons kirsch are lindt kirsch liqueur filled chocolate enclosed tubes dusted in cocoa powder . 14 ice cream edit in australia lindt manufactures ice cream in various flavours 15 70 % dark chocolate white chocolate framboise sable cookies and cream chocolate chip hazelnut white chocolate and vanilla bean see also edit list of bean to bar chocolate manufacturers references edit a b shop & explore . story of lindt lindt chocolate . lindtusa.com . retrieved 2015 11 25 . wiggins jenny 17 march 2009 . lindt closes lid on most of its us stores . financial times . retrieved 3 january 2016 . subscription required neil maclucas 2014 07 14 . lindt & spruengli to buy russell stover candies wsj . online.wsj.com . retrieved 2015 03 30 . marc pallisco 2009 05 31 . flagship lindt chocolat cafe to open in collins street melbourne real estate source . realestatesource.com.au . retrieved 2015 11 25 . shop & explore . story of lindt lindt chocolate . lindtusa.com . retrieved 2015 12 08 . tennis x.com . roger federer loses his bag for lindt chocolate video . tennis x.com . retrieved 2015 03 30 . the lindt gold bunny story history of chocolate secrets of chocolate lindt & spr ngli master chocolatier since 1845 . lindt.com . 2010 08 17 . retrieved 2015 11 25 . charles forelle 2008 06 11 . europe s high court tries on a chocolate bunny suit . the australian . retrieved 2015 11 25 . golf balls 110g . lindt shop.co.uk . retrieved 2015 11 25 . 1 archived february 16 2012 at the wayback machine . shop & explore . chocolate bars lindt . lindtusa.com . retrieved 2015 12 08 . shop & explore . chocolate boxes lindt . lindtusa.com . retrieved 2015 11 25 . shop & explore . popular chocolate sellers lindt . lindtusa.com . retrieved 2015 11 25 . single masterpieces ... lindt