Handmade Easter bunnies take shape

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Moulds are prepared before the production process begins. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

The mould interiors are decorated. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

Eyes and other decorations are added to the moulds. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

After being filled with chocolate, the moulds are closed. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

A confectioner seals the mould with metal clips. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

Two people are required to pour chocolate into a mould. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

Excess chocolate is poured into a chocolate fountain. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

Small rabbits are placed on a grill to allow excess chocolate to drip out. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

Once dry, the chocolate rabbit is cleaned up and excess chocolate is scraped off. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

The base of the rabbit is prepared. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

The mould is placed on the base. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

The work is complete. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

Chocolate rabbits reproduce quickly. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

During the final stage, the rabbits are put in cellophane packages. © KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

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They are everywhere: in shop windows, piled up on supermarket shelves and even hidden behind garden bushes. They come in all sizes and colours. But where does the Easter bunny actually come from? Where are they made?

Photographer Christian Beutler visited the chocolate maker Honold External linkin Küsnacht, near Zurich, to find out more. The firm, which has been in the same family for four generations, produces handmade Easter bunnies.

The origins of the Easter bunny are still unclear. It is thought that a German manufacturer started making them in the 1950s. In 1952, the Swiss chocolate company Lindt & Sprüngli started selling its famous golden bunniesExternal link. The story goes that the idea came from the owner’s son, who was very attached to his pet rabbit. The product took off in Switzerland and is now sold all around the world.

According to the Federation of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers (ChocosuisseExternal link), in 2017 4,600 tonnes of Easter-related chocolate products were sold in Switzerland and 380 tonnes were exported. On average, 16 million chocolate rabbits are sold in Switzerland every year – twice the number of Swiss inhabitants.

Translated from French by Simon Bradley