Swiss chocolate

Swiss chocolate is a protected origin term for chocolate that is made in Switzerland.

History

The chocolate came during the 16th century to Europe. Not later than the 17th century it was known in Switzerland and produced. From the 18th century only a few chocolate manufacturing companies are known, especially from the Ticino and the Lake Geneva region.

During the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, many chocolate factories were established:

From the second half of the 19th century, the reputation of Swiss chocolate began to spread abroad. Closely related to this is the invention of conching ( fondant ) by Rodolphe Lindt.

Markets

The Swiss chocolate industry was very export-oriented in the late 19th century up to the First World War. After the Second World War began Swiss chocolate producer on the basis of trade restrictions, to produce certain chocolate abroad for abroad.

Today, Switzerland is the largest market for produced in Switzerland chocolate ( 54 % in 2000 ), the Swiss per capita consume the most chocolate in the world ( in 2007, 12.3 kg per capita per year ).

In the year 2004 148.270 tons of chocolate and chocolate products were produced according Choco Suisse in Switzerland, of which 53 % were exported (20 % to Germany, 11% each to France and Great Britain and 13 % to North America ). Total sales of the chocolate industry was 1,365 million Swiss francs ( CHF 814 million domestically, CHF 551 million in exports ) in the same year.

Structure of the Swiss chocolate industry

1901 joined the Swiss chocolate producers together in the Union libre of fabricants Suisses de chocolat. This was in 1916 divided into Chambre Syndicale of fabricants Suisses de chocolat and Convention chocolatiere suisse. The former Chambre Syndicale - today Choco Suisse - is an advocacy for chocolate manufacturing companies. The Convention chocolatiere sought the quality of Swiss chocolate and a uniform pricing policy. It was disbanded in 1994.