Confiserie Sprüngli

Founded: 1836
Home: Zürich, Switzerland
Founder: David Sprüngli
Chocolate Production Began: 1845
Paradeplatz Location: Since 1859
Known for: Grand Cru chocolate, pralines and Luxemburgerli
Anniversary: 190 years in 2026
Visit Confiserie Sprüngli

From a Zürich Confectionery to a Swiss Chocolate Institution

The story of Confiserie Sprüngli began in 1836, when David Sprüngli acquired a small confectionery on Marktgasse in Zürich.

His son Rudolf encouraged the family business to begin producing chocolate in 1845, placing Sprüngli among the early names in Switzerland’s developing chocolate culture. In 1859, the family opened its now-famous location at Paradeplatz, which grew alongside Bahnhofstrasse into one of Zürich’s best-known destinations.

In 2026, Confiserie Sprüngli celebrates its 190th anniversary, while remaining a family business shaped by six generations.

Sprüngli and Lindt: One History, Two Companies

The Sprüngli name can cause some confusion. In 1892, the family’s confectionery and chocolate-manufacturing businesses separated. Confiserie Sprüngli continued under David Sprüngli-Baud, while the chocolate-manufacturing operation followed a different path and eventually became part of what is now Lindt & Sprüngli.

The two have been completely independent businesses ever since.

Today’s Confiserie Sprüngli is therefore not a boutique division of Lindt. It is the continuation of the Zürich confectionery founded by the Sprüngli family in 1836, specialising in chocolates, pralines, truffles, pastries and its celebrated Luxemburgerli.

Grand Cru Chocolate Puts Cacao Origin in Focus

While Sprüngli is deeply associated with Swiss confectionery, cacao origin has become an important part of its chocolate programme.

The company describes itself as a Swiss pioneer of Grand Cru chocolate, selecting fine cacao associated with origins including Ghana, Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Its Grand Cru Sauvage collection goes even further, including chocolate made with wild Bolivian cacao.

Unlike a bean-to-bar producer, however, Confiserie Sprüngli does not transform cacao beans into couverture itself. Its couverture is produced by long-standing Swiss partners according to Sprüngli’s own recipes. The chocolate is then transformed at Sprüngli into its finished creations.

That distinction makes Sprüngli a classic example of a heritage chocolatier-confiseur rather than a bean-to-bar maker.

Freshness Remains Part of the Tradition

Production continues in Switzerland at Dietikon, near Zürich, where traditional handcraft and modern production techniques are combined. The facility produces exclusively for Sprüngli’s own shops. Fresh ingredients remain important to the company’s identity. Much of its cream, butter, milk and eggs comes from regional Swiss producers.

Among its best-known creations are fresh pralines and truffles, Grand Cru chocolates and the airy Luxemburgerli, introduced in 1957 and now closely associated with both Sprüngli and Zürich. Some chocolates are still produced in deliberately small batches. Sprüngli’s fresh chocolate slabs, for example, are moulded by hand before being broken into individual pieces.

Supporting Communities Behind the Cacao

Sprüngli’s cacao programme also extends into producing communities.

The company supports projects connected with cacao-growing families in several origins used for its Grand Cru chocolate. Current initiatives include healthcare access for farming families in Venezuela, Ecuador, Ghana and Madagascar.

Rather than presenting sustainability simply as a label, these projects provide a clearer connection between Sprüngli’s finished Swiss chocolates and some of the communities responsible for their cacao.

190 Years at the Heart of Zürich

Nearly two centuries after David Sprüngli opened his original confectionery, the company remains closely identified with Zürich.

Its historic Paradeplatz house continues to operate as a confectionery, café and restaurant, while Sprüngli has expanded to locations elsewhere in Switzerland and beyond. Yet its identity remains rooted in the same combination that shaped the business in the nineteenth century: Swiss confectionery, chocolate and hospitality.

The company may share part of its history — and its name — with one of the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers, but Confiserie Sprüngli has followed its own path for more than 130 years.

In 2026, its 190th anniversary provides an opportunity to celebrate that separate story.

Featured in the latest edition of Chocolate Affairs Magazine.