Lindt & Sprüngli has lowered its forecast for its annual organic sales, citing the impact of price increases and weaker volumes.
The Swiss chocolate maker expects its organic sales to be flat at worst or up 2% for the year, down from its previous forecast of a 4-6% increase.
The downgrade follows “subdued consumer sentiment and increased price sensitivity”, which led to lower-than-expected order volumes in certain European markets, Lindt said today (29 September).
Germany, Switzerland and Austria were cited as the most affected countries, with the pressure most visible on the Lindor maker's seasonal ranges.
Lindt also said an “unprecedented heatwave” further weighed on European sales.
Despite the weaker sales outlook, the group maintained its 2026 EBIT margin guidance, reiterating it still expects an improvement of 20 to 40 basis points versus last year.
Lindt CEO Adalbert Lechner said: “As cocoa prices have eased from historical highs, we expect cost pressure to gradually normalise in the coming months.
“We are confident that our adjusted pricing strategy, increased brand investments, innovations, and ongoing cost savings will materialise, and that demand will improve, contributing to a positive volume growth in 2027.
“This will be supported by our strong balance sheet and ongoing robust free cash flow generation.”
Lechner added the group’s performance outside Europe remained supportive, citing “robust” trading in key markets including North America and Asia.
The company also reaffirmed its medium- to long-term targets from 2028 onwards, including organic sales growth of 6-8% and annual EBIT margin improvement of 20 to 40 basis points.
The revised 2026 view comes after Lindt reported lower first-half volumes as it pushed through price increases.
The Ghirardelli owner’s volume/mix fell 7.5% in the first six months of 2026, following a 6.6% decline in 2025.
In July, when reporting the first-half results, Lechner said Lindt expects “flat volumes” for the second half of the year.
Europe accounted for nearly half of Lindt’s first-half sales of SFr2.33bn ($2.86bn). In the same period, an 11.8% increase in pricing helped the group deliver organic growth of 4.3% over the six months.
The company is focusing on smaller pack sizes, lower prices in key European markets and new retail stores to help stabilise volumes in the back half.
It will issue financial guidance for 2027 in the first quarter of next year.
Asked for confirmation by Just Food today on Lindt's pricing strategy, a spokesperson said the actions will not necessarily translate to broad price cuts.
"Looking ahead, our adjusted pricing strategy does not imply broad-based price reductions. Rather, we will continue to take a targeted and market-specific approach, supported by easing cocoa prices, promotional activity and ongoing brand investments," the spokesperson said.
"We are seeing encouraging initial effects from the targeted measures implemented in recent months, including selective price adjustments, price-pack architecture changes and promotional support, but these measures are taking longer than anticipated to fully translate into volume recovery.
"We have already implemented targeted price adjustments in selected markets, particularly Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and are seeing positive early trends where these measures have been introduced."
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