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Nestlé is moving the production of the Lentilky chocolate brand from the Czech Republic to Germany after more than 110 years, due to a change in the recipe and packaging.
The move – which will take place as of next spring – was first reported by Czech Radio Radiožurnál and later confirmed by Nestlé Česko spokesman Robert Kičina.
The Kneisl company began making Lentilky back in 1907, falling under the Sfinx or Orion brand several years later. It has been a part of Nestlé, who currently produces Smarties in the UK, since 1992.
The rainbow-coloured chocolate has been produced in Holešov in the Kroměříž region and the Sfinx factory is said to be one of the oldest confectionery factories in the country. Next spring, production will start in Hamburg.
To date, more than half of the Holešov’s plant production consists of jelly products that are sold in the country mainly under the Jojo brand.
According to the sources, the move is due to reducing the sugar in the recipe and shifting to more paper packaging; requirements that can reportedly only be met in Hamburg. The change will also allegedly align the taste of Lentilky with Nestlé’s similar brand Smarties.
“We are unifying the recipe between Lentilky and Smarties, which means that there will be less sugar and more chocolate in Lentilky, which was based on consumer tests,” Vratislav Janda, director of corporate affairs at Nestlé Česko, told Radiožurnál.
“We want to pack Lentilky in paper packaging, which is again a thing that is technologically demanding. We do not have them in the Czech Republic and they are in Hamburg again,” added Janda.
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