Rodolphe Lindt

Rodolphe Lindt, actually Rudolf Lindt (* July 16, 1855 in Bern, † February 20, 1909 ) was a Swiss chocolate manufacturer and inventor. He was the founder of the chocolate manufacturer Lindt and inventor of Conchiermaschine and other methods to improve the quality of chocolate.

Life

He was the son of a pharmacist and politician Johann Rudolf Lindt and his wife Amalia Eugenia born Salchli. From 1873 to 1875, he completed an apprenticeship in Lausanne the chocolate operation Amédée Kohler & fils. In 1879 he founded his own chocolate factory in the Matte district on the river Aare in Bern.

In December of the same year he managed to improve the then- very regular chocolate quality by developing the Conchiermaschine, a Längsrührwerk to refine the consistency and volatilization of undesirable flavors. He also gave the first cocoa butter in the chocolate mass. These two innovations contributed significantly to the high quality Swiss chocolate.

1899 Lindt sold his factory and the "secret" of conching on the Chocolat Sprüngli AG, which has since operated under the name Lindt & Sprüngli AG. For trademark and the Lindt Sprungli recipes had to pay 1.5 million gold francs. Lindt introduced the " Berner branch " of Lindt & Sprüngli until 1905, four years before his death.