History

The History of confiserie Honold is rich in inspiration garnered on voyages to faraway lands. To this day our identity is bound up with our original headquarters in Zurich’s Rennweg. Our Business is run by the fourth generation of our founding family.

Ticinese Origins

The first traces of a venture by the Honold family lie in the Ticino, the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. Fritz Honold-Herzog and his partner manage the Pension Violetta, complete with a café and confiserie in Lugano Paradiso’s picturesque Via San Salvatore.

The Founding

In 1905 Fritz Honold-Herzog takes over not only the confiserie from Rudolf Meier – his former employer – but also acquires the adjacent property, Zum Grossen Christoffel, at Rennweg 53 in Zurich.

A first chapter of Honold classics is written. Fritz Honold’s Pain de Gênes, a special almond sponge cake recipe brought home from a trip to Genua, was part of the assortment from the beginning.

In Rennweg

Historical sources show that as early as the 18th century there was a confiserie in operation in the Rennweg house: the Conditorei Ernst Schoch “…uses exclusively the best Swiss honey and pure fresh butter. What is ordered in the evening is delivered to your doorstep the next day.” The store was modernized in 1912 and 1951, to respond to the exigencies of the day.

The Voyages

Fritz David Honold, the founder’s son and eventual successor, works as ship’s confectioner on the SS Belgenland from 1929 to 1932. The luxurious ocean liner, accommodating more than 2000 passengers, offers Fritz Honold, junior the opportunity to discover new things and cultivate ideas for his later creations in Zurich.

The Honold family stay true to the travelling tradition and continue to bring new knowledge about exotic ingredients and innovative techniques home to Zurich.

A Family Business

In 1946 Fritz Honold, junior takes over the running of the company. Under his leadership the company grows, with over 80 employees in the 1960s. In 1980 his daughter Charlotte takes over the company and runs it for the next two decades.

Today, Honold has a fourth generation leader in the form of Fritz Honold, senior’s great-granddaughter, Cristina de Perregaux. With her team she opens the factory and store in Küsnacht in 2012 and, in 2016, the new café branch in Herrliberg. In autumn 2019, the fifth branch opened its doors at Zentrum Witikon, consisting of a shop and a café including an outside area.