Chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli has won a legal case against the retailer Aldi Suisse for infringing the trademark rights of its Lindor chocolate balls. Aldi must stop selling its own chocolate balls for now.
The Commercial Court of canton Aargau agreed with Lindt & Sprüngli’s argument that the “Moser Roth” chocolate balls sold by Aldi Suisse, the Swiss branch of the German discounter, were “unnecessarily similar” to its Lindor balls. This was detailed in a court ruling issued on December 14.
The verdict was first reported by the Aargauer Zeitung newspaper.
Lindt & Sprüngli has annual sales of CHF44.8 million ($49.6 million) in Switzerland from its Lindor balls, according to the ruling.
Aldi Suisse had been selling chocolate balls under the “Moser Roth” brand. Like Lindor balls, the Aldi version has a red-and-blue wrapper and had been sold as a “Christmas edition” since October 2024.
In the ruling, Lindt & Sprüngli now has a deadline of March 13, 2025 to file a lawsuit against Aldi Suisse in the main proceedings.
At the same time, however, the Aargau court also acknowledges that its sales ban has a direct impact on Aldi’s Christmas sales and profits. The Kilchberg chocolate manufacturer must therefore also provide a security deposit of CHF200,000.
