Lindt’s ads are instantly recognizable. They feature a master chocolatier, always wearing a trademark chef hat, melting chocolates in slow motion. chocolate It is poured into a mold and a beautiful woman enjoys the finished product.

The superior quality of Lindt’s chocolate stands out from every angle, so it was particularly surprising that the brand would ruin its own chocolate. marketing Last week, allegations about the excellence of its products emerged in a US court.

The Swiss chocolate giant is currently embroiled in a class-action lawsuit filed by US consumers over alleged heavy metals in its dark chocolates.

The lawsuit, filed in February 2023, follows a 2022 Consumer Reports investigation in which 28 bars sold in the U.S. were tested for heavy metals (lead and cadmium, to be exact).

The investigation found that Lindt’s Excellence 70% Dark bar contained cadmium levels of 116% of California’s maximum allowable dose level (MADL). Testing also showed that the Excellence 85% Dark bar contained lead levels of 166% of the maximum allowable dose level.

The lawsuit alleges that Lindt “deceptively markets its dark chocolate bars as ‘expertly crafted with the finest ingredients,’ even though the bars contain significant amounts of lead.” But last week Lindt’s lawyers argued that the words “perfection” and “expertly crafted with the finest ingredients” written on the sticks were “inflation” that could not be acted upon.

Defining hyperbole as “exaggerated advertising, fuss, and bragging that no reasonable buyer should trust,” the court denied Lindt’s request. But Lindt’s risky defensive strategy caught the eye of a few people.

Lindt’s ‘daring defence’

Swiss newspaper Le Temps said Lindt was “walking a tightrope” with his “brave defence”. Meanwhile, people in the food and FMCG industry took to LinkedIn to express their concerns about the case.

Raffles Dubai writes hygiene and consumer reports findings are ‘worrying’ sustainability coach Lara Salloum. “Are we going to call this an eye wash?” He asked about the Colgate-Palmolive chemical regulations coach Rajiv Mishra. “Therefore, it is important to take quality seriously and consider the needs of citizens. health“There are people who trust brands, sometimes even blindly,” he continued.

The court’s decision to reject Lindt’s plea shows that this is in line with Mishra’s position. It’s probably fair to assume that it wouldn’t occur to most consumers that their favorite chocolate might contain unsafe levels, particularly the heavy metals that make the word ‘excellence’ feature so prominently.

Lindt was under scrutiny – rightfully so – in the midst of the case. But it’s worth remembering that Consumer Reports’ 2022 survey also revealed many other high-profile brands. 23 of the 28 dark chocolates tested were found to contain significant levels of heavy metals.

For example, Tony’s Chocolonely Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa was found to contain 134% of California’s maximum allowable dose of lead. Green and Blacks Organic Meanwhile, Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa was found to contain 143% of the maximum allowable dose of lead and 181% of the maximum allowed dose of cadmium. The list of culprits also included Lily’s, Godiva, Chocolove, Endangered Species, Trader Joe’s, Hue, Hershey’s and Theo’s.

But while the brands involved try to deal with this potential PR nightmare, they also have other issues to deal with. In order to reduce the impact of increasing cocoa costs, many producers are forced to increase their prices. For example, the price of Lindt’s Excellence bars has risen by 20% from £2.50 to £3 at Morrisons. this month (Assosia October 19 – November 19, 2024), The Grocer reports.

Asking consumers to pay more for a potentially unsafe product and at the same time denying it its ‘perfection’ is certainly a hard sell.