Third generation management takes control of Lucerne-based chocolatier Hug
Obernau - The chocolatier Karl Hug is set to be taken over by the third generation of the entrepreneurial family. Karl Hug AG was founded in the canton of Lucerne 65 years ago.
The chocolatier Karl Hug has announced a change of management at the top of the company. According to a press release, management of the company, which was founded in 1959 by Karl and Frieda Hug, will be taken over by the third generation of the family in June. The press release goes onto explain that the family’s third generation have already been brought on board over recent years, with new ideas and production technologies introduced in this time. Celina Hug has been working at Karl Hug AG since 2012, with Diana Zimmermann and Pascal Zimmermann joining in 2015 and 2021 respectively, while Marielle Hug started working for the company this year. The plan is for the quartet to take over management of the company from the middle of the year.
Due to the sudden and untimely death of company founder Karl Hug in 1986, his son René Hug took over the management responsibilities, which were shared with Karl’s wife, and René’s mother, Frieda Hug. From 1993, Pius Zimmermann joined the company and shared management responsibilities with René Hug. Thereafter, Ursula Zimmermann-Hug also joined the management team in 2002, as the company writes in the press release. From 2010, the siblings René Hug and Ursula Zimmermann-Hug jointly ran Karl Hug AG under sole responsibility until the company’s 65th anniversary.
According to its website, the independent family company specializes in the production of high-quality chocolate specialties, pralines and truffles. Since the beginning of 2017, the chocolate maker has been exclusively processing single origin cru couvertures, which are specially produced by Felchlin Schwyz in Ibach in the canton of Schwyz.
Hug supports fair trade with producers by way of direct procurement processes. The cacao beans used in milk and vanilla couvertures are sourced from Finca La Amistad in Costa Rica. «We are committed to shaping a sustainable future and pay attention to fair trade, avoiding child labor and ensuring the sustainable cultivation of the raw materials we process, in addition to complying with internal guidelines on reducing emissions», as Karl Hug AG states in the company profile section of the website.
