29.10.2009

OFF COURT - ROGER TO BECOME GLOBAL AMBASSADOR FOR HIS FAVORITE CHOCOLATE LINDT

Kilchberg (Switzerland), October 29, 2009 – Premium chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli is partnering with Swiss tennis champion Roger Federer in a long term deal to serve as the global brand ambassador for his favorite LINDT chocolate.

Lindt & Sprüngli is delighted with this opportunity to associate with the most successful tennis player of all time. The contract details of the agreement will not be made public.

For the first time in the company’s history dating back for more than 160 years, the Lindt & Sprüngli Group is linking its own name to that of a celebrity. The global fame of top sportsman Federer makes this partnership a highly promising opportunity for Lindt & Sprüngli to further enhance the global popularity of its premium chocolates and become still more firmly established in key global markets. With his likeable and down to earth image, Federer is the ideal brand ambassador for Lindt & Sprüngli. He uniquely embodies Lindt & Sprüngli’s fundamental values of “Swissness,” “Premiumness,” “Quality” and “Passion.” The association of these important attributes with the names of LINDT and Federer symbolizes the perfect “match” between the number 1 in premium chocolate and the number 1 in the world of tennis.

Ernst Tanner, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Lindt & Sprüngli, comments: “We are naturally delighted to be able to name Roger Federer, an exceptional and well-known Swiss icon, as our brand ambassador. Together with Roger Federer, we will become the foremost ambassadors for Swiss quality.” And Roger Federer confirms this: “I am Swiss by birth, and since my childhood, I have always been a great fan of LINDT chocolate. I am very excited to partner with the global leader in premium chocolate and I enjoy their products and am very impressed with their plans for future growth.”

Alongside the proven and successful communication concept based on the universally popular Maîtres Chocolatiers, the cooperation with Roger Federer will be used as an additional communication instrument in Lindt’s global marketing efforts.

Contact:
Lindt & Sprüngli (International) AG:
Corporate Communications
Tel: +41.44.7162-456 or -457
Mediarelations-IN@lindt.com
www.lindt.com

Roger Federer:
Tony Godsick, Senior Vice President, IMG
Tel: +1-216.522.1200, tony.godsick@imgworld.com
Geraldine Dondit, geraldine@rogerfederer.com

About Roger Federer:
Roger Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1981. His professional tennis career began in 1998. He has won a record 15 grand slam titles, 61 tournaments and an Olympic Gold medal (doubles, Beijing, 2008). His success and distinctive personal style make him one of the most popular tennis players of modern times. He is currently number 1 on the ATP world-ranking list. He serves as the President of the ATP Player Council. In 2007, he was named by Time Magazine's as one of the "100 Most Influential People in World". Inspired by his mother who is from South Africa, he created the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 with its main mission to assist projects for deprived children in the continent of Africa.

About Lindt & Sprüngli:
Founded more than 160 years ago in Zurich, Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG is a global leader in the premium chocolate business. LINDT is therefore one of the oldest Swiss traditional brands. In 1879, Rodolphe Lindt invented the “conche,” a revolutionary technique by which he made LINDT Surfin, the world’s first smooth melting chocolate. Founded on that pioneering spirit, Lindt & Sprüngli has continued to develop its know-how and the professional expertise of its Maîtres Chocolatiers.

LINDT quality chocolate is sold all over the world through 17 subsidiaries and a comprehensive network of independent distributors. The main markets are Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Spain and other European countries, together with the USA, Canada and Australia. Lindt & Sprüngli also operates representational offices in Dubai and Hong Kong. In the course of its geographical expansion, the group of companies took over two traditional brands in 1997 and 1998: Caffarel, a prestigious Italian chocolate manufacturer and Ghirardelli, the oldest premium chocolate maker in the United States.

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG was listed on the main Swiss exchange for the first time in 1986 and established in the legal form of a holding company in 1994. The Lindt & Sprüngli group counts more than 7,000 employees and achieves sales of around 2.5 billion Swiss francs.