Page 18 - July 2021

Sweet Taste of

Innovation

Läderach is an organisation that was designed to make sweet
moments of enjoyment in everyday life and their chocolate
journey has been defined by delightful discovery. In this interview,
RLI speaks with CEO Johannes Läderach to learn more about how
the brand has dealt with the pandemic and what their plans are for the

future.

House of Läderach Factory Store, Bilten, Switzerland

hocolatier Rudolf Läderach Jr. founded his company in 1962 in Glarus, which back then was a small village in Switzerland with the
idea of creating a “Confectionary of Sweet Gifts”. Eight years later he invented a new manufacturing procedure for the chocolate
Ctruffle, improving the taste and texture. Since then Läderach have composed countless recipes that blend classic notes with
modern aspirations.
All of the ingredients they use are meticulously selected and the brand is proud
to exclusively produce their products in Switzerland. The Swiss Alps may be the
home of the brand, but the world is its guest.
“Today we operate over 100 stores, with around a quarter of these being
franchised stores with the rest being run by us,” explains Johannes Läderach,
CEO of Läderach. “However we will soon increase this to around 140 stores
following the agreement to take on over 30 Godiva stores following their site
closures in the US.”
The onset has been particularly difficult for the company as they only sell
their products through their own stores and online, and while this is usually a
strong point for the brand, because people have been working from home and
tourism has essentially been shut down, the company lost around a third of
their turnover.
To help counter this, they kept in touch with their customers through
their digital channels, which have seen exponential growth during the past 18
months. They have also been innovative with delivery systems and at the same
time continued with their physical retail strategy because they believe in their
business model in the medium- and long-term. They have even continued to open

18 Retail & leisuRe inteRnational JulY 2021