Heidi acquires Swiss premium chocolate producer | Progresiv

Heidi Chocolat Group announced the takeover of Swiss producer Chocolat Schönenberger, a company specializing in premium chocolate products including bio and vegan.

Chocolat-Manufactury Schönenberger, launched in 1979 and taken over in 2003 by Hans Rudin, owns a production facility in Lucerne, Switzerland, and has 60 employees.

"After the acquisitions in Austria (2013) and Germany (2017), Heidi Chocolat identified in Chocolat Schönenberger a Swiss production unit that fits well with the values and quality principles in production, portfolio and organizational culture. This acquisition is the next step in our strategy to access new production capabilities for premium chocolate. Through Chocolat Schönenberger, Heidi is gaining new expertise in producing organic chocolate and premium chocolate, from sustainable ingredients for retail and business-to-business customers", said Peter Mueller, General Director of Heidi Chocolat.

The management of this company will be taken over by Philippe Scherer, a member of the Chocolat Schönenberger AG team.

Heidi was founded in the 1990s in Romania by a member of the Swiss Laederach family and was bought in 2013 by the Austrian family Meinl. Heidi Chocolat last year saw a 7% increase in its Romanian business, thus exceeding the 100 million lei threshold, an evolution over that of the market, estimated in terms of value at 3-4%. An important pawn is the chocolate tablet category, with the producer making a 13% advance on this segment in 2017. This year's estimated growth is at least 10%, according to Peter Mueller.