Swiss chocolate maker Camille Bloch is not immune to the decline in chocolate consumption. Its chief executive, Daniel Bloch, attributes this downturn largely to this summer’s heatwave. He was speaking in an interview with RJB published on Tuesday in the JdJ, according to a Keystone-SDA dispatch carried by SWI swissinfo.ch on 13 October 2026.
What the company announced
According to Daniel Bloch, the company is recording a further drop in sales in 2026 of around 10% compared with the previous year. He points out that this comparison year was already not a good one: the current decline therefore comes on top of an already weakened base, not a favourable reference year. The reported remarks give no detail of turnover in francs, the exact period covered by this estimate, or the split between the Swiss market and exports.
The chief executive does not speak of a collapse. He describes a decline, but not a general slump, while acknowledging that the trend has been going on for some time and that the company has to adapt to it. Both readings coexist in his remarks: a cyclical shock linked to the weather on the one hand, a longer-standing erosion of demand on the other.
The heat, but not only
The heatwave is the explanation put forward: consumers eat less chocolate when it is hot. But the company cites several factors at play, including the price of chocolate and the general consumer climate. This is management’s analysis; the source provides no figures to measure the share of each of these factors in the decline.
On the cost of raw materials, the source gives no recent trend in cocoa prices. It only refers to a swissinfo.ch article published in May 2024, which already mentioned the high price of cocoa beans, along with anti-deforestation laws, as drivers of a search for new ingredients in the industry.
And the rest of the industry?
The dispatch mentions a contraction of the Swiss market, without putting a figure on it. It does not cite statistics from Chocosuisse or data on the sales of other chocolate makers. On this basis, it is therefore not possible to say whether Camille Bloch’s decline is more or less pronounced than that of the industry as a whole.
The company’s response
Camille Bloch rules out permanent promotions. In the long term, Daniel Bloch explains, they could harm the reputation of its brands and its margins. The company instead intends to improve its efficiency, keep its costs under control and continue to innovate, which its chief executive considers essential.
Faced with a shrinking domestic market, the chocolate maker is also seeking more growth abroad, notably in the markets of the Caucasus. The source does not specify how much these outlets currently weigh in its sales.
A recovery that remains hypothetical
The company is hoping for a turnaround: Daniel Bloch wants demand to pick up again as temperatures fall and the festive season approaches. This is an expectation, not an observation. The manufacturer itself regards the end of the year as the decisive period for seeing whether this recovery materialises and to what extent it could offset the summer slowdown.
For the company’s employees and suppliers, the reported remarks mention neither measures on jobs nor changes in production. The emphasis is on efficiency and cost control, the practical details of which are not specified.
