A Lindt chocolate bunny is to Easter what a Terry’s Chocolate Orange is to Christmas. Simply not complete without one.
And this year the gold foiled, red ribbon adorned bunnies are celebrating a big birthday.
Lindt’s master chocolatier created the first Lindt Gold Bunny in 1952. The smooth chocolate treat was an instant hit in Germany - and 70 years later, it’s as popular as ever the world over.
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But it’s the story behind the Lindt bunny that will melt your heart this Easter.
One Easter the young daughter of a Lindt Master Chocolatier spotted a bunny in the long grass as the family was having a traditional Easter brunch. She reportedly asked if she could go outside to play with it. Her father consented but as she ran to the door, the bunny promptly vanished into the bushes with a single flash of its tail.
For days, she was heartbroken. Her father thought long and hard how he could cheer her up before alighting on the perfect idea. He decided to craft a bunny, so that every year after that, his daughter could look forward to hunting for her little Lindt gold bunny in the garden with family.
Rodolphe Lindt used his conching machine so that chocolate could be melted down until smooth enough to coat moulds of any shape, ready to create hollow chocolate figures.
By 1994, just over four decades later, the Lindt gold bunny was available on Swiss and Austrian shelves, coming to the UK and the US two years later in 1996.
Today, around 150 million Lindt gold bunny figures are produced every year in over 50 countries around the world.
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If you were to line them up nose to tail, they would span the distance from Lindt’s headquarters in Kilchberg, Switzerland to San Diego, California – that’s 9,800 kilometres.
The iconic and instantly recognisable chocolate treats take around an hour to make. After coating a mould with their fine chocolate, the bunnies are left to cool at optimum temperature to attain the perfect sheen and crisp snap.
Each bunny is then carefully wrapped in its signature gold foil and polished by the gloved hands of a Lindt Master Chocolatier. As a final loving touch, each one has a red ribbon and bell tied with a bow.
To celebrate turning 70 years old, Lindt Chocolate shops are offering an exclusive 500g Lindt gold bunny in a recyclable card carrier for £20.00.
It’s not the first time the chocolate brand has launched a limited edition or special gold bunny, having released white, dark and hazelnut bunnies each with their own coloured ribbon.
In 2015, Lindt released a special edition Lindt gold bunny wrapped in leopard and zebra print foil. These were followed by other limited-edition prints showcasing flowers.
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In addition to the exclusive in-store and online 500g edition, the original Lindt gold bunny is available in five other sizes from various supermarkets and retailers, including 10g, 50g, 100g, 200g and 1kg versions.
Locally to Manchester, shoppers can get their hands on the £20 bunny at the Arndale Centre, or shop online.
The huge 1kg Lindt gold bunny comes in at a cool £50, but Amazon shoppers can save a couple of quid as it’s only £46.94 available on same day delivery for prime members.
Shoppers can also snap up 16 mini 50g bunnies for £24, perfect for an Easter egg hunt on April 17.
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