The Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprüngli has scuttled its product quality argument in a U.S. lawsuit, despite it being the cornerstone of its business strategy, according to the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. Lindt & Sprüngli tried unsuccessfully to put an end to a class action lawsuit in the USA, launched in February 2023 following an article by an American consumer association questioning the presence of heavy metals in dark chocolate bars from several manufacturers, including two produced by Lindt.
“In its defense strategy, the company has dismantled its own promises of quality”the Swiss German-language newspaper NZZ am Sonntagwhich analyzed a court ruling. The chocolatier’s lawyers asserted that the words “excellence and “made with our finest ingredients” on the packaging were nothing more than “exaggerated advertisingAccording to a lower court decision from the Eastern District of New York, dating from the beginning of September and consulted by AFP, it is not possible to use this information to hold the company liable.
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A “daring defense
Lindt argued that these terms were merely “bluster” or “boasting” (puffery in English), notes the Swiss daily Le Tempswhich believes that the is “walking a tightrope”. with “this daring defense”. Lindt’s margins are “the fact that consumers are prepared to pay more for Lindt’s industrial chocolates because of their quality image”.points out the French-language newspaper. The New York court rejected the arguments of the Swiss group, which was trying to block the class action. Contacted by AFP on Monday, Lindt had no immediate comment on the news.
Consumers in Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada and New York had taken legal action in the USA following the publication at the end of 2022 of an article by the American consumer association Consumer Reports concerning the presence of lead and cadmium in dark chocolate bars. Consumer Reports tested 28 bars sold in the USA. One of Lindt’s bars was among the eight with high cadmium levels, and another was among the 10 with high lead levels, although it did not receive the worst score.
Two of Lindt’s products, marketed by its American brand Ghirardelli, were even rated among the safest. While bars from other manufacturers had higher concentrations of heavy metals, including organic brands, consumers insisted in this collective complaint that they had paid more for Lindt products in order to afford quality products. Switzerland is very attached to quality, its calling card for selling products that are often more expensive given the high production costs in the Alpine country.