The Confiserie Sprüngli (;

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: Sprüngli Confectionery) is a Swiss luxury

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

manufacturer and retailer headquartered in

Zürich, Switzerland Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. Founded in 1836 by

David Sprüngli David Sprüngli (20 October 1776 – 14 February 1862) was a Swiss businessman, baker and confectioner. In 1836, he founded ''David Sprüngli & Son'', now known as Confiserie Sprüngli. He is the patriarch of the Zurich-based branch of the Sprü ...

, it has been an independent company from

Lindt & Sprüngli Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, doing business as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in Kilchberg, Zürich, K ...

since 1892. Today the company is best known for their ''Luxembourgerli'' a form of

Macarons A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a sand ...

. Sprüngli currently operates 35 retail and café locations across

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

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Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

History

The company was founded in 1836 when

bought the confectioner's shop ''Konditorei Vogel'' in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. Together with his son Rudolf Sprüngli he started producing chocolates, as ''David Sprüngli & Fils'' (engl. ''David Sprüngli & Son''), in 1845 and opened the well-known shop on

Paradeplatz Paradeplatz () is a square on Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zurich, Switzerland. It is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Switzerland and has become synonymous with wealth and the Swiss banks, being the location of the headquart ...

on the

Bahnhofstrasse Bahnhofstrasse (, ), in the Swiss city of Zurich, is the city's main downtown street and one of the world's most expensive and exclusive shopping avenues. In 2011, a study named Bahnhofstrasse the most expensive street for retail property in Eur ...

in 1859. The so-called "refreshment room" in the new Confiserie was particularly successful. Those who were part of high society in Zurich met there in the afternoon for coffee and cake. In 1892, the chocolate-producing branch of the business split off from the confectionery and now operates independently as

. Owner of the chocolate factory became Johann Rudolf Sprüngli, son of Rudolf Sprüngli. While his brother, David Robert Sprüngli, was allocated the confectioner's. In 1956, Richard Sprüngli took over the confiserie and positioned it as a luxury brand. A year later, Sprüngli sold the first '' Luxemburgerli'', a macaron invented by a Sprüngli confectioner from

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. They are now the company's flagship product of which about are produced daily. Since 1994, the family-owned company has been led by the brothers Tomas and Milan Prenosil, sixth-generation descendants of Rudolf Sprüngli. In 2020, Sprüngli launched ''Grand Cru Absolu'', a fine chocolate made from 100% cocoa beans and cocoa pulp. In September 2022, Sprüngli introduced vegan pralines in baton form called ''Grand Cru Bâtons''.

Organisation

There have been five changes in ownership of the business since its 1836 founding by David Sprüngli. After David Sprüngli, Hermann Sprüngli took over the management of the company in 1924, followed by Richard Sprüngli (1916–2013) in 1956. In 1994, Richard Sprüngli's two nephews took over the operational management of the company. * David Sprüngli (1836–1859) * Rudolf Sprüngli (1859–1892) * David Robert Sprüngli (1892–1924) * Hermann Sprüngli (1924–1956) * Richard Sprüngli (1956–1994) * Milan and Tomas Přenosil (1994–present), nephews-in-law of Richard Sprüngli In 2011, Confiserie Sprüngli AG was awarded second place in the SVC Entrepreneurship Prize in the Zurich economic area.

Products and facilities

In 1961, the production facility was moved from Paradeplatz to Dietikon due to a lack of space. As of 2010, Sprüngli employs some 1,000 staff, has annual sales of more than 100 million

Swiss franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

s and a range of 2,000 products, including ice cream and bakery goods. The company has 29 retail outlets, some of which also include restaurants. The main store is located on

and

, while smaller outlets are found elsewhere in

, as well as in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

and

Zug Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...

. Sprüngli products are also delivered worldwide by air mail and, since 1961, have been produced in

Dietikon Dietikon is the fifth biggest city of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, after Zürich, Winterthur, Uster and Dübendorf. It is the capital of the same-named district of Dietikon and part of the Zürich metropolitan area. Geography The ...

near Zürich. In 2017, Sprüngli opened an outlet in the Galleria Mall on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. There are currently three retail shops in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

. The Sprüngli

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

on Paradeplatz is a traditional meeting-place of the elderly ladies of Zürich's upper class. Local folklore has it that young men who attend the café alone may signal their availability to these well-to-do women by turning over their coffee spoons in their cups. But according to the company's director, this is a persistent myth reflecting Zürich's more puritanical past, when the Sprüngli café was one of the few places where upper-class women could talk to strangers without risking their reputation. Since March 2021, Sprüngli has a cooperation with

Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International Air Lines AG, stylized as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, as well as a Star Alliance member. It operates scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, ...

Branches

Confiserie Sprüngli sells its products in 29 branches. As of 2020, 17 of the branches were located within Zurich and its metropolitan area with eight additional stores operating in other major Swiss cities. In 2014, the company also expanded abroad to the

. After opening a branch in Lucerne, Sprüngli is now represented in most Swiss cities. A location was opened at Munich Airport in April 2022 and another at Vienna Airport in December of the same year.

References

External links

Official website
Privately held companies of Switzerland Manufacturing companies based in Zurich Culture of Zurich Tourist attractions in Zurich Swiss chocolate companies Food and drink companies of Switzerland Food and drink companies established in 1836 Swiss companies established in 1836 {{portal, Companies