Swiss chocolatier Läderach eyes expansion in India

livemint.com:

Johannes Läderach, CEO of the family run luxury chocolate business, on a recent visit to India, told Mint.
"Though there is a free-trade agreement being negotiated between India and Switzerland which could be very helpful. This is because India is at the highest end of customs duties across the 20 markets we operate in. The duties are very complicated too based on varieties of chocolate being imported," he said.

After 16 years of talks, India and Switzerland have inked a deal for a free trade agreement this year at Davos. While the outline has been agreed upon, the details of the agreement are being finalized. If the agreement comes through, it will be a breakthrough for the industry and a lot of progress has already been made on this front.

It is likely to also reduce costs of imported luxury goods such as these, the CEO said. India charges a basic duty of 30%, an IGST of 18% and an additional social welfare surcharge of 10% for items like imported chocolates. Läderach chocolates costs around ₹1,200 for 62g or about ₹2,000 per 100g in India.

The company started in 1962 in Switzerland but only became popular in the early 2000s when it expanded its business globally. It specialized in having created a manufacturing procedure for chocolate truffles and acquired a patent for the technology in the 1970s. These had always traditionally been made by hand.

In 2021, Läderach signed asset purchase agreements to buy 34 Godiva chocolate stores in the United States, following an announcement made by the latter that it would no longer want to operate its close to 130 stores in the country. "This helped us to get a really good position there in the US," he said. In terms of its size, it has a total of 180 stores, of which close to 50