A piece of chocolate history comes to an end in Lucerne. The chocolate company Heidi is closing its production site on Täschmattstrasse at the end of the year. “We deeply regret this step,” says Managing Director Philippe Scherer on request.
He attributes the closure to the increasingly deteriorating economic conditions, which are causing Heidi problems. He is referring to energy-intensive production, significant price increases in almost all areas and the high export ratio, which has led to massive exchange rate losses due to the historically low euro exchange rate.
Scherer emphasizes that this is not a bankruptcy of the company. “This is an orderly closure of the operating activities in Switzerland.” The public limited company will be retained and the Heidi brand will also remain there. This remaining public limited company will be merged with the Zug-based Heidi Chocolat Group AG, which has production sites in several European countries.
The company is owned by the Austrian Julius Meinl family and has been primarily active in the coffee business since 2013. “The well-known organic chocolate brand Heidi from Switzerland will no longer exist,” says Scherer. However, Heidi chocolate will continue to be produced at the European production sites of the remaining Heidi locations.
Scherer has found a follow-up solution for the operational business in Lucerne with its competitors: Aeschbach Chocolatier AG, based in Root, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, will take over part of the machinery and staff as of January 1, 2023. “We are taking over all the wrapping machines and around ten employees, bringing our workforce in Root to around 120 people,” says Managing Director Markus Aeschbach.
Wrapping machines are needed to wrap the chocolate in different bar sizes with personalized paper wrappers. Like Aeschbach, the Chocolate Company Heidi also processes chocolate from other manufacturers.
Aeschbach is now essentially taking over the business with personalized promotional chocolate. “This integration represents a major challenge for us. However, it further strengthens our leading position in the promotional chocolate segment. We are now uniquely positioned in this sector,” says Aeschbach.
This is not the first “company rescue” for Aeschbach. Two years ago, the Rooter company took over machines from the struggling Bernese chocolate factory Gysi.
They are also suffering from the current price increases, says Aeschbach’s managing director. “Unlike Heidi, however, we have a small export share, so currency problems affect us less.” Root is also excellently positioned in terms of energy. The entire company has been certified climate-neutral since the beginning of 2022.
Chocolate processing at the Rooter factory is completely free of fossil fuels. The photovoltaic system on the flat roof covers up to 25 percent of the electricity required for production, and further expansion is planned for next year.
The predecessor company Schönenberger was founded in 1977
Heidi’s Managing Director Philippe Scherer is relieved to have found a partner in Central Switzerland in Aeschbach Chocolatier and is prepared to continue some of the existing business areas. Most recently, Heidi employed around 30 people in Lucerne. With a few exceptions, the remaining 20 people have found new employers in recent weeks, says Scherer.
Until two years ago, Heidi Chocolaterie Suisse SA was called Chocolat Schönenberger AG. Two years earlier, the Zug-based chocolate factory Heidi Chocolat had taken over the Lucerne-based brand and advertising chocolate manufacturer Schönenberger. This enabled the then owner of Schönenberger, Hans Rudin, to implement a succession solution for his company, which had 60 employees in Lucerne at the time.
Schönenberger was founded in 1977 in Frenkendorf in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. In 2003, the company merged with E. Sigrist AG from Rothenburg, which was followed by a move to Lucerne.
