Germany-native Annika Engelbrecht has spent most of her career marketing a product that people across the world loveーchocolate! After 13 years at Lindt & Sprüngli and nearly two years at Pernigotti, Annika has recently moved from the world of chocolate to basketball. She is currently helping the Italian basketball team Pallacanestro Varese to reposition their brand and build a marketing plan. 

Annika has extensive international experience as a multilingual marketer, having held various marketing roles for Lindt & Sprüngli in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Spain. With such vast experience in chocolate marketing, Annika stresses the importance of storytelling and positive emotions in launching effective campaigns. Luckily, chocolate has a great story to tell, says Annika.

Tune in for the full interview as Annika chats with Kyler Canastra about how she got into the industry, her thoughts on managing cultural differences when working in different countries and her experience of marketing for famous chocolate brands. She also shares her insights on the importance of brands giving customers added value and how best to navigate influencer marketing.

“Chocolate has a great story to tell, and you can be really emotional about the story that you’re telling.”


You can watch the full conversation in the video above or on YouTube, and listen to the podcast on Apple or Spotify.

Rapid-fire recs  

  • Productivity habits
    • Focus on having a healthy body: “The most important habit that I have is to try to sleep enough, eat well and work out. Having a healthy body is one of the basics to be successful in whatever you do.”
    • Consume content: “I read newspapers daily, and try to keep up with online content, such as LinkedIn and Instagram and listening to podcasts.”

Connect with Annika and Kyler on LinkedIn.

For more marketing in the food and beverage industry:

To read the full transcript, click on page number 2 below.