Exclusive: Swiss confectionery market stability shaken by cocoa clouds

Being regarded as one of the acknowledged masters of the chocolate world, Switzerland occupies a special place in the confectionery sector. Brenda Dionisi offers an overview of challenges faced by the nation’s manufacturers

The threat of a 31% universal goods tariff being imposed on Switzerland-based exporters by the USA’s Trump administration from 9 July has intensified the challenges facing the Swiss chocolate industry. This adds to the strain already caused by historically high cocoa price disruptions.

These tariffs, suspended pending supposed 90-day trade talks with most US trade partners worldwide – are significantly higher than the (also suspended) 20% tariff imposed on European Union (EU) countries and 10% tariffs placed on the UK – all rates linked to US trade deficits with foreign countries rather than actual duties imposed on US goods by these countries.

This threat of American protectionism has led to a mix of concern and strategic reassessment among Swiss chocolatiers and sweet baked goods makers. It has have pushed Switzerland’s multinational chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli to reroute trade flows to sidestep US and retaliatory tariffs, most notably diverting supplies to Canada (a major market) to European factories, rather than American plants that have this far sent product to Canada.

The Canadian government has made US-made chocolate a focus of its retaliatory tariffs imposed after Trump imposed duties on imports from Canada, a country he wants to annexe. Robin Auer, marketing head at Kreuzlingen-based Stella Bernrain, a leading developer and manufacturer of chocolates for private label customers, said: “The tariffs have caused significant uncertainty for the whole chocolate industry. We are feeling the impact.” Meanwhile, Dr Roger Wehrli, director of Chocosuisse, the Association of Swiss chocolate manufacturers, noted that significant challenges for both the chocolate and confectionery sectors remain rising raw material costs, regulatory requirements and now worsening global market uncertainties.

The wealthy and populous US, whose 340 million people have an average GDP/ head of $82,769 (2023 – World Bank figures), is a significant export market for Swiss chocolatiers, accounting for 7% of Swiss chocolate exports, 37.7% of sugar confectionery exports and 4% of sweet bakery product exports in 2024, according to according to Dr Wehrli told Confectionery Production. The threatened tariffs “represent a significant burden,” Dr Wehrli told Confectionery Production.

Both Chocosuisse and Biscosuisse, the Swiss Association of the Bakery and Sugar Confectionery Industry, support bilateral discussions with the US government, to head off the potential 31% tariffs, said Dr Wehrli. “Our industry favours dialogue over escalation. We fundamentally oppose retaliatory tariffs, as experience shows they only create new trade barriers and can trigger downward spirals,” he noted. Indeed, the Swiss industry imports certain ingredients, such as pecans, almonds, flavourings and specialty sugars, and partly from the US, although manufacturers have options as sourcing is broadly diversified on a global scale, he said: “Nonetheless, many companies will not be able to absorb the negative effects of the US tariffs permanently – especially given the simultaneous rise in costs for cocoa, milk and sugar,” he noted. 

Cocoa prices
Soaring cocoa prices, which almost quadrupled in 2024, said Chocosuisse, prompted several Swiss chocolate makers to raise sales prices for the first time, including heavyweights such as Lindt & Sprüngli, which increased its prices by 6.3% in 2024, and announced in March 2025 that it would increase its prices in the double digit percentage range during 2025 to offset historically high cocoa prices.

Such price increases are largely tied to rising cocoa procurement costs, driving the sharp 13.3% jump in revenue for Swiss chocolatiers to Swiss Francs CHF2.2 billion (USD2.6 billion) in 2024, added Chocosuisse. Its industry data shows that total sales volume of Swiss-made chocolate rose slightly by 0.6% year-on-year, to 209,096 tonnes in 2024. Approximately 58,282 tonnes were sold in the Swiss market while 150,815 tonnes were exported.

The total sales increase was largely due to stability offered by the wealthy 8.8 million people domestic market, (average GDP/head of $99,564 in 2023 – World Bank data), accounting for a 27.9% share of total production), which performed well and recorded a 1.7% increase, offsetting stagnating exports (+0.2%). Indeed, while per capita chocolate consumption in Switzerland dropped by 2.4% to 10.6 kilograms in 2024, consumption of Swiss-made chocolate held steady, inching up 0.1% to 6.3 kilograms, amid declining demand for imported chocolate, down 4.0% to 4.3 kilograms.

Total sector turnover reached CHF2.2 billion ($2.6 billion) in 2024, up 13.3% from the previous year. Total turnover in the domestic market was CHF927 million (+6.9% from 2023) and CHF 1.28 billion (+18.4%). Main export markets in 2024 were Germany, with exports amounting to 31,984 tonnes; the UK (13,090 tonnes); France (12,666 tonnes); Canada (11,565 tonnes); and the US (9,654 tonnes).

Meanwhile Biscosuisse, which represents the manufacturers of sugar confectionery and long-life bakery products, including biscuits, wafers and marzipan, said manufacturers experienced uneven performance in 2024. This was caused by domestic market sales weaknesses, fuelled by high raw material prices, especially for sugar, and increasing pressure from imports, with the share of imported long-life baked goods consumed in Switzerland increasing to 61.3%, as well as stagnating exports. Sales of Switzerland-made long-life bakery products (including exports) fell by 1.5% in 2024 to 42,071 tonnes.

While domestic sales (including imports) increased slightly to 35,140 tonnes (+0.4%), exports fell by 9.8% to 6,931 tonnes. This resulted in an 8.1% drop in export revenues to CHF74.1 million, whereas domestic turnover rose by 2.6% to CHF437.3 million. “The 2024 figures confirm the trend of declining volumes with slightly rising revenues – a development driven in part by higher raw material costs,” said Biscosuisse.

Looking ahead, both raw material cost increases and evolving consumer tastes have encouraged considerable food research and innovation to find cost-effective and sustainable alternative to traditional sugar and cocoa. Last year, a group of Swiss scientists from ETH Zürich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, created and patented a ‘whole-fruit’ chocolate by utilising the entire cocoa fruit, including the pulp, juice and endocarp (the innermost layer of the shell), eliminating the need for added refined sugar. Chocolate made this way results in a product that is higher in fibre and lower in saturated fat compared to conventional chocolate.

The secret of scaling-up
Efforts are underway to create a suitable the supply chain for large-scale production, said the study’s lead author Kim Mishra, a food technologist from ETH Zürich. “Several Swiss chocolate manufacturers have shown interest. Larger scale production tests have not yet been conducted due to the limited availability of the endocarp powder. Onboarding an ingredient supplier to produce the endocarp powder has still not been concluded,” Mishra told Confectionery Production. “SMEs that have good collaboration with the cocoa producers have a clear advantage here,” she added, as they can easily source the endocarp which is traditionally discarded as waste by cocoa farmers.

Additionally, Stella Bernrain is also innovating with ingredients to meet consumer demand for healthier and more sustainable options. Stella Bernrain’s sister company based in Giubiasco, south Switzerland, called Chocolat Stella, for instance has launched a bar featuring sunflower as an alternative to cocoa, through a collaboration with German food tech start-up, Planet A Foods. In November 2024 Chocolat Stella brought the limited-edition gluten-free bar called Stella ‘ChoViva & Cookies’ to the Swiss market. “It is still too early to analyse how the market has accepted the innovation.

However, it is quite conceivable that products made from cocoa alternatives will become a permanent part of the range in future,’’ said Robin Auer. Notably, Stella Bernrain is very exportoriented, noted Auer, exporting approximately 90% of its products to almost 50 countries: “Chocolate has become even more of a luxury item in recent months, and as a Swiss quality producer, we mainly supply to industrialised countries with good purchasing power,” he said.

Consequently, Dr Wehrli is looking to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), in which Switzerland works with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to forge trade deals to boost more overseas market access: “Free trade agreements are key to strengthening international competitiveness – especially in times when markets like the US adopt protectionist measures. That said, we continue to advocate for free trade with the US,” he remarked. Dr Wehrli wants a modern free trade agreement with the UK and Switzerland (9), which could aid the Swiss premium confectionery segment, benefiting from British gifting and seasonal sales. EFTA deals signed with India and Chile in 2024 and ongoing negotiations with South America’s Mercosur bloc also offer long-term potential: “Crucially, the agreements must open up [markets] not only for raw materials but also for processed agricultural goods.

EUDR complications

Meanwhile, EU relations are of critical importance. The EU deforestation regulation (EUDR), effective December 30, 2025 (10), mandates that products like cocoa entering the EU market must not promote deforestation and be accompanied by a due diligence statement.

As the largest non-EU exporters of chocolate to the EU, Swiss chocolatiers are concerned about their limited access to the EU’s deforestation compliance information systems, which could hinder their ability to meet these requirements.

Chocosuisse warned that export-oriented Swiss companies face competitive disadvantages and logistical challenges in maintaining their EU market presence without full access to this system: “At present, this access is not guaranteed. According to the latest information, Swiss companies are also not entitled to the same transition period for raw materials imported before 1 January 2025, unlike their EU competitors,” said Dr Wehrli.

Meanwhile, Switzerland and the EU are expected to formally conclude negotiations to update their trade relations in May 2025. Key provisions include the standardisation of food safety and health cooperation standards. However, since details of the draft negotiations agreed upon in December 2024 have not yet been released: “A final assessment is not yet possible,” said Dr Wehrli. Because the new bilateral agreement will entail an increase in annual financial contributions to the EU budget from Switzerland, it will be subject to Swiss parliamentary debates through 2026 and possibly a nationwide referendum that would potentially delay full implementation until 2028 or 2029.