INTERNATIONAL. Swiss premium chocolate house Lindt & Sprüngli has reported +20.1% organic growth for its Global Travel Retail business in financial year 2023. The results were driven by engaging pop-ups, the company’s revamped category vision and passenger traffic resurgence.
Highlights from FY 2023 include Lindt’s largest travel retail activation to date at London Heathrow Airport, an extended Diwali campaign and product innovations such as the Lindor Salted Caramel range and Swiss Masterpieces pralines.
Lindt & Sprüngli Global Travel Retail Head Peter Zehnder said: “As demonstrated by the results, 2023 proved to be a remarkable year for our travel retail business.
“With consumer demand for premium chocolate continuing to prevail, we are well positioned to meet the different needs of travellers, leveraging our varied portfolio and category vision.
“We are committed to growing the premium confectionery segment in 2024 and beyond. We are looking forward to another strong year filled with strategic launches and activations that captivate travellers and enchant the world with chocolate.”
On the group level, Lindt & Sprüngli achieved organic double-digit sales growth for the third consecutive year. Despite a slowdown in the global chocolate market, sales rose +10.3% to CHF5.20 billion (US$5.86 billion) and operating profit (EBIT) margin increased from 15% to 15.6% in 2023.
The company noted that this was amid a challenging environment with the ongoing war in Ukraine, other geopolitical issues, the inflationary environment and depressed consumer sentiment in many countries.
In 2023, Lindt & Sprüngli also expanded its responsible sourcing activities. The chocolate house sourced 72.3% of its cocoa – including beans, butter, powder and chocolate mass – through its own farming programme or other sustainable initiatives. ✈
