A Swiss chocolate brand with more than 250 shops around the world just opened its very first North Carolina location, and it landed on the second floor of Durham's busiest mall. Läderach held a soft opening Friday at The Streets at Southpoint, handing out charms to shoppers who spent at least $75 and offering a complimentary chocolate surprise to the first 200 customers through the door on launch day.
The new shop sits near the food court at Southpoint, located at 6910 Fayetteville Road in Durham, and marks the only Läderach store currently operating in the state. According to the News & Observer, the chocolatier planned an official launch for Friday, August 21, following the soft-opening promotions earlier that day. Patrick Anderson, senior general manager of The Streets at Southpoint, said welcoming Läderach's first North Carolina location is meaningful for the mall and its community, adding that the brand gives guests access to a name unavailable anywhere else in the state.
A Family Chocolate Business Goes Global
Läderach describes itself as a company that initially supplied select Swiss chocolate shops before expanding its products worldwide, and it now operates locations in dozens of countries, according to the same report. The brand was founded in 1962 and has grown into a family-run confectionery name with global reach. Its rise to culinary prominence got a boost in November 2018, when Elias Läderach, the company's head of production and innovation and a member of the family's third generation, won the World Chocolate Masters title in Paris, taking first place in four of seven competition categories.
The Durham shop's hours run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Läderach's U.S. retail push traces back to a February 2021 asset purchase agreement in which the company assumed the leases of 34 former Godiva locations across the country, a move that let it rapidly plant itself in American malls after Godiva shuttered all 128 of its North American stores earlier that year, according to Candy Industry. That same growth playbook has carried the brand into high-performing super-regional malls like Southpoint.
Southpoint Keeps Adding Big Names
Läderach's arrival adds to a run of notable retail news at Southpoint this year. Collectible toy retailer POP MART is planned for the mall and began hiring staff there in August, marking its second Triangle location following its debut at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chão is also planned for Southpoint, while retailers Rowan is planned for the center as Loft is no longer located there. Triangle Business Journal also reported on Läderach's opening, underscoring how closely watched the mall's tenant lineup has become.
The mall has leaned on its reputation as a launchpad for market-first retailers since it opened on March 8, 2002, as a 1.33-million-square-foot hybrid indoor-outdoor center that introduced North Carolina's first Nordstrom and an early Apple Store, drawing roughly 300,000 visitors in its first three days. Hoodline previously reported that every storefront at Southpoint stood fully occupied heading into Black Friday 2025, even as the center faces growing competition from newer open-air developments like Fenton in Cary.
A Bigger Bet on Premium Chocolate
Läderach's expansion also rides a broader surge in demand for high-end confectionery. The U.S. premium chocolate market was valued at roughly $28.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to approach $30 billion in 2026, fueled by consumer appetite for artisanal craftsmanship and ethical sourcing, according to Grand View Research. Dark and artisanal chocolate segments are leading that growth, a trend that aligns with Läderach's positioning as a Swiss import made entirely in-house before direct distribution to its retail shops.
Southpoint's owner, Brookfield Properties, has meanwhile been laying the groundwork for a far bigger transformation of the property. In Southpoint's $340M CMBS refinancing, the mall owner pushed a $340 million single-asset loan into the commercial mortgage-backed securities market to support long-term redevelopment plans that include roughly 1,300 apartments, office space, and a hotel. That long-range vision positions the shopping center to evolve from a traditional mall into a mixed-use neighborhood, even as new specialty tenants like Läderach continue to fill its storefronts today.
