Lindt Admits Its Chocolates May Not Be as 'Expertly Crafted' as You Think

Lindt is admitting that its chocolates are not, in fact, as "expertly crafted" as you may think in its attempt to end a class action lawsuit. 

It all began in 2022 when Consumer Reports released its study on chemicals in chocolate and found that Lindt contained astronomically high levels of lead in its Excellence Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa, and cadmium in its Excellence Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa. (It's important to note that Lindt was not the only chocolate company called out in this report, but it is the only one that is a part of this class action lawsuit.) 

Then, in 2023, a group of U.S. consumers filed a class action lawsuit against the company, which AFP reported, accused the chocolate company of violating labeling rules in Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, and New York and duping people into paying premium pricing for a less than premium product. 

Then, in an effort to get the case dismissed, Lindt's lawyers put their foot in their mouths when they explained that the words "excellence" and "expertly crafted with the finest ingredients" that are printed on each label were unactionable "puffery," which it defined as "exaggerated advertising, blustering, and boasting upon which no reasonable buyer would rely." (So. either the people purchasing the product are not "reasonable" buyers, or their product isn't as "excellent" as it says — you can choose which brand messaging is worse.)

Naturally, this response drew ire on social media and from local Swiss newspapers, including the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, which said that by calling out the "puffery" the brand instead highlighted that "Lindt's quality is a transparent marketing masquerade." 

According to the AFP, the company responded by saying the "puffery" defense strategy was a "technical" legal response, not an admission of a lesser product. Still, the court denied Lindt's motion for dismissal. 

A representative of Lindt additionally told AFP that "puffery" was a statement "used to clarify that an advertising challenged by plaintiffs is not sufficiently objective to support the specific false advertising claim being made." The representative added that it stands by the "excellence" statement and that its products are indeed "expertly crafted with the finest ingredients," stating, "Our consumers can have full confidence in that."