 At the age of 12, PHILIPPE SUCHARD (1797-1884) was sent to Neuchâtel to collect a pound of chocolate from the local apothecary for his ailing mother. The tonic preparation cost 6 francs, which, in those days, represented a labourer's wages for three days !
In 1815, he was allowed to start work as an apprentice confectioner with his elder brother in Berne. In 1824 he left Switzerland to visit the United States. At the end of the year he returned and opened a confectioner's business in Neuchâtel. In Serrieres, he set up a chocolate factory, powered by a water-wheel. With only one assistant, he was producing at that time between 25 and 30 kilograms of chocolate a day. In 1880, Philippe Suchard opened the first Swiss foreign branch in Lorrach, Germany.
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