Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Foods |
Founded | 1912 |
Founder | Clara and Alfred E. Ritter |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Alfred T. Ritter (chairman), Andreas Ronken (CEO) [1] |
Revenue | 482 million euros (2017) |
Number of employees | 1000 [2] |
Website | www |
Ritter Sport is a brand of chocolate bar from the family-owned Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, which has its headquarters in Waldenbuch, Germany.
Each 100 g (3.5 oz) square bar is divided into 16 smaller squares, creating a four-by-four pattern. In 2013 the company introduced a new version divided into 9 bigger squares using a three-by-three pattern. Large bars weighing 250 g (8.8 oz) and 16.67 g (0.588 oz) mini bars are also available, although in fewer varieties.
In 1912, Alfred (1885–1952) and Clara Ritter (1877–1959) founded a chocolate factory in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. [3] Later it introduced its own brand of chocolate, named "Alrika (Alfred Ritter Cannstatt)". [4]
By 1926, the company had 80 employees and had bought their first company truck to transport the chocolate. [5] When production needs required a factory expansion in 1930, the company moved to Waldenbuch, a site a couple of miles outside Stuttgart. The chocolate brand known today, Ritter's Sport Schokolade, was launched in 1932 after Clara suggested creating a chocolate bar that would fit into any sport jacket pocket without breaking but weighed the same as a normal bar. [5] [6]
The Second World War halted production and Ritter chocolates disappeared until the 1950s, when chocolate rationing was ended in West Germany. The end of chocolate rationing did not mark the end of troubles for the firm since in 1952 the company's founder, Albert Ritter, died. His son, Alfred Otto Ritter, took over and focused the company on the chocolate square. [5]
In 1966, Clara Ritter also died and the company was left solely in the hands of Alfred Otto. He dispensed with many other product lines in order to push the square bar. [7]
The 1970s saw Ritter packaging become more colourful with a brighter unique colour assigned to each flavour. The brighter labels were seen in parallel with colour television, on which Ritter advertised. Another advance in packaging came with the snap-open pack (called the 'Knick-Pack'), which Ritter marketed as "practical and modern". [8]
After Alfred Otto Ritter's death the company was managed by his wife, Marta, and in 1978 the company passed into the hands of the third generation, brother and sister Alfred T. Ritter and Marli Hoppe-Ritter. [5]
In 1990, they launched project(s) "Cacaonica", which supports organic cocoa agriculture and reafforestation in Nicaragua, [9] and "Ritter Solar", now the European market leader of solar thermal products and large solar thermal systems. The Ritter company owns a CHP power plant, which supplies 70% of the factory's energy needs, and since 2002 the company has been run entirely on renewable energy. [9] The monomaterial chocolate packaging is designed to minimize its ecological footprint and is recyclable. [9] The company has been certified to ZNU standard. [10]
The Ritter Museum, opened in 2005, contains the collection of Marli Hoppe-Ritter, which consists of nearly 600 paintings, objects, sculptures and graphic works, a breadth of painterly and sculptural confrontation with the square form used as the design for the Ritter chocolate. The museum is an extension of the factory's 'ChocoShop', which was opened in 2001. [7] The museum, on Alfred-Ritter-Straße 27, is a cubical building with limestone wall covering; a 12-metre-high central open passage is meant to draw in the landscape, and the large window allows a view through the building. It was designed by Max Dudler and Susanne Raupach. [11]
On the whole their products are neither certified organic nor certified fair trade. However, in April 2008 they launched an organic product line called "Ritter Sport Bio". [12]
The firm celebrated its centenary in 2012 by touring 19 German cities between March and September on 'the Colourful ChocoTour'. A limited-edition anniversary bar was released: Edel-Nuss Mix– Plain milk chocolate with macadamias, cashews, and almonds. [5] [12] Also in 2012 Ritter expanded its initiative in Nicaragua by setting up a new cocoa plantation. The first harvest was in 2017. [12]
In 2013, Ritter opened another shop at Ravensburger Spieleland, a German theme park, and the next year Ritter's first pop-up shop appeared in Hamburg for four months. [12] [13]
In 2017, Ritter released its first certified vegan bars, Dunkle Voll-Nuss Amaranth (hazelnut cream chocolate with amaranth and nuts) and Dunkle Mandel Quinoa (hazelnut cream chocolate with quinoa and almonds). [14] As of February 2017 they were on sale only in Germany. [15] The new releases, costing €2 each, target the growing vegan population in Germany. [14] A third bar, Sesam (almond cream chocolate with sesame), was released in February 2020. [16]
In July 2018, Ritter announced its intention to attempt to release the Schoko & Gras variety, a milk chocolate with roasted hemp seed filling, in the United States for World Cannabis Day 2019, retitled 'Choco & Weed'. As of January 2019 it had yet to be approved for sale. [17]
In 2018, Ritter released a limited edition bar made from the first viable harvest of their Nicaraguan cocoa plantation. It was limited to 30,000 bars and was available in the SchokoShop in Waldenbuch, SchokoWelt Berlin and online. [18] [19]
On 29 March 2022, Ritter announced it would continue sales to Russia, despite the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian market accounts for about 7% of the company's turnover. Ritter announced that it would halt all investment and advertising in Russia. [20]
In 2022, this motto was mocked following Ritter's decision to continue sales to Russia. The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany used the Twitter platform to criticise Ritter, using the motto "Square. Practical. Blood". [24]
"Qualität im Quadrat."
Literal translation used on English language packaging: "Quality in a square." English packaging now features "Quality. Chocolate. Squared." to provide a similar description. The company has defended a monopoly on square-packaged chocolate bars. [25]
"Knick Knack auf Zack."
Literal translation in English language would be: "fold and snap to be prepared." The first two terms are the clicking noises that you are supposed to hear when breaking the chocolate bar twice in the middle – knick is from the German verb knicken (to bend something), Knack means snap/click and "auf Zack sein" means on one's toes / ready and waiting / prepared / set / arranged. This motto aired on German TV in the early 1990s.
Ritter Sport is sometimes represented by "Quadrago", a banner-carrying baby dragon. This may be partly attributed to the German word "Ritter" meaning "Knight".
In a 2022 research overview carried out by The Chocolate Collective, Ritter Sport scored 23rd out of 35 reviewed chocolate companies with respect to environmental sustainability for chocolate resourcing. [26] The survey's main concerns with Ritter were on deforestation to clear land for cocoa plantations and paying living wages to cocoa farmers. [26] The survey found that the company was not leading the industry in any of the six criteria used in the comparison, but was starting to implement good policies in four of the six categories. [26] In the 2023 report, Ritter Sport scored 2nd out of 38 reviewed chocolate companies with respect to environmental sustainability for chocolate resourcing. [27] The survey found that the company was an industry leader in the categories of 'Traceability & Transparency' and 'Deforestation & Climate'. [27]
A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some varieties of English and food labeling standards, the term chocolate bar is reserved for bars of solid chocolate, with candy bar used for products with additional ingredients.
Pralines are confections containing nuts – usually almonds, pecans and hazelnuts – and sugar. Cream is a common third ingredient.
Nougat is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts, whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat is chewy, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates. The word nougat comes from Occitan pan nogat, seemingly from Latin panis nucatus 'nut bread'.
A macaroon is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, and now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam or chocolate or other flavorings.
Hershey's Kisses is a brand of chocolate first produced by the Hershey Company in 1907. The bite-sized pieces of chocolate have a distinctive conical shape, sometimes described as flat-bottomed teardrops. Hershey's Kisses chocolates are wrapped in squares of lightweight aluminum foil. A narrow strip of paper, called a plume, sticks out from the top of each Hershey's Kiss wrapper. Originally designed as a flag for the "Hershey's" brand, the printed paper plumes were added to the Kisses product wrapper in 1921 to distinguish the Hershey's Kiss from its competitors who were offering similar products.
After Eight Mint Chocolate Thins, often referred to as simply After Eights, are a brand of mint chocolate covered sugar confectionery. They were created by Rowntree Company Limited in the UK in 1962 and have been manufactured by Nestlé since its acquisition of Rowntree in 1988.
Milka is a Swiss brand of chocolate confectionery. Originally made in Switzerland in 1901 by Suchard, it has been produced in Lörrach, Germany, from 1901. Since 2012 it has been owned by US-based company Mondelez International, when it started following the steps of its predecessor Kraft Foods Inc., which had taken over the brand in 1990. It is sold in bars and a number of novelty shapes for Easter and Christmas. Products with the Milka brand also include chocolate-covered cookies and biscuits.
Chunky is a candy bar with milk chocolate, raisins, and roasted peanuts — using a sectioned and truncated pyramid shape. Chunky is produced by Ferrara Candy Company, a division of Ferrero SpA.
Hershey's Special Dark is a chocolate bar manufactured by The Hershey Company.
Dove is an American brand of chocolate owned and manufactured by Mars. Dove produces a wide range of chocolate candies, as well as other chocolate products such as milks, cakes and ice creams.
Quality Street is a line of tinned and boxed toffees, chocolates and sweets, first manufactured in 1936 by Mackintosh's in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was named after J. M. Barrie's play Quality Street. Since 1988, the confectionery has been produced by Nestlé. Quality Street has long been a competitor to Cadbury Roses, which were launched by Cadbury in 1938. Nestlé does not distribute Quality Street in the US, but it may be ordered online for delivery, or found in specialty candy shops.
Cadbury Roses is a brand of chocolates made by Cadbury. Introduced in the UK in 1938, they were named after the English packaging equipment company "Rose Brothers" based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, that manufactured and supplied the machines that wrapped the chocolates.
Balisto is a wholemeal biscuit bar snack manufactured by Mars, Incorporated, consisting of a digestive biscuit center and a variety of milky cream toppings, and coated in milk chocolate.
Chocolate is a food product made from roasted and ground cocoa pods mixed with fat and powdered sugar to produce a solid confectionery. There are several types of chocolate, classified primarily according to the proportion of cocoa and fat content used in a particular formulation.
Taza Chocolate is a Mexican-inspired stoneground, organic chocolate manufacturer based in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. The factory was founded by Alex Whitmore in 2005 and is home to over 40 different products that can be found in 2,800 retail stores across the country.
Al Nassma Chocolate LLC is a manufacturer and retailer of camel milk chocolates. Founded in Dubai in 2008, the company retails its products in Dubai and in Europe, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.
Knoppers is a brand of wafer candy bar layered with hazelnut and milk crème, produced by August Storck, first launched in West Germany in 1983. It has since been sold in over 50 countries, mainly in Europe but also Vietnam, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. A bar weighs 25 grams (0.9 oz) and typically has a light-blue-and-white wrapper. Knoppers are manufactured at Storck production sites in Germany.
Camille Bloch is a Swiss chocolate producer based in Courtelary. It was founded in 1929 in Bern by Camille Bloch, a Bernese chocolatier, then moved to Courtelary in the Bernese Jura where production has been since 1935. The family business employed 180 people and in 2016, Camille Bloch produced about 3,500 tons of chocolate, generating sales of around 60 million francs.
..1912 Alfred Eugen Ritter and Clara Ritter, née Göttle, founded the Chocolate and Confectionary Factory on Innere Moltkestrasse in Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgart. In 1930 the expanding company..
Der schwäbische Schokoladenhersteller Ritter Sport ist in Nicaragua in die Landwirtschaft eingestiegen. Auf einer Fläche von 3200 Fußballfeldern ist die wohl größte zusammenhängende Kakaoplantage der Welt entstanden.[The Swabian chocolate manufacturer Ritter Sport has entered agriculture in Nicaragua. What is probably the largest contiguous cocoa plantation in the world has grown on an area the size of 3,200 football pitches.]