Ritter Sport

Ritter Sport is a brand of chocolate bar from the family-owned Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, which has its headquarters in Waldenbuch, Germany.

Ritter Sport
TypePrivate
IndustryFoods
Founded1912
FounderClara and Alfred E. Ritter
Headquarters,
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Alfred T. Ritter (chairman),
Andreas Ronken (CEO)[1]
Revenue482 million euros (2017)
Number of employees
1000[2]
Websitewww.ritter-sport.com

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 16.5 g (0.58 oz) mini bars are also available, although in fewer varieties.

History

In 1912 Alfred and Clara Ritter founded a chocolate factory in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt.[3] Later it introduced its own brand of chocolate, named "Alrika (Alfred Ritter Cannstatt)".

By 1926 the company had 80 employees and had bought their first company lorry to transport the chocolate.[4] 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][4]

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.[4]

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.[6]

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".[7]

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.[4]

In 1990 they launched project(s) "Cacaonica", which supports organic cocoa agriculture and reafforestation in Nicaragua,[3] 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.[3] The monomaterial chocolate packaging is designed to minimize its ecological footprint and is recyclable.[3] The company has been certified to ZNU standard.[8]

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.[6] 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.[9]

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".[10]

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.[4][10] Also in 2012 Ritter expanded its initiative in Nicaragua by setting up a new cocoa plantation. The first harvest was in 2017.[10]

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.[10][11]

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).[12] As of February 2017 they were on sale only in Germany.[13] The new releases, costing €2 each, target the growing vegan population in Germany.[12] A third bar, Sesam (almond cream chocolate with sesame), was released in February 2020.[14]

Varieties

Ritter Sport Minis
  1. Vollmilch Plain milk chocolate (Royal Blue Wrapper, see image)
  2. Schoko-Duo Plain milk chocolate and white chocolate (Royal Blue Wrapper with chocolate bar on outside)
  3. Dunkle Vollmilch Plain medium dark chocolate, 40% cacao (Azure Blue Wrapper)
  4. Halbbitter Plain dark chocolate, 50% cacao (Burgundy Wrapper)
  5. Edelbitter Plain dark chocolate, 71% cacao (Pink Wrapper)
  6. Knusperkeks Milk chocolate with a butter biscuit (Brown Wrapper)
  7. Pfefferminz Chocolate with peppermint filling (Caribbean Green Wrapper)
  8. Joghurt Yogurt (White Wrapper, see image)
  9. Erdbeer Joghurt Milk chocolate strawberry and yogurt filling (Light Pink Wrapper)
  10. Voll-Nuss Milk chocolate with whole hazelnuts (Brown Wrapper with Hazelnut-Pattern)
  11. Dunkle Voll-Nuss Dark chocolate with whole hazelnuts (Dark Brown Wrapper with Hazelnut-Pattern)
  12. Weiße Voll-Nuss White chocolate with whole hazelnuts (White/Cream Wrapper with Hazelnut-Pattern)
  13. Knusperflakes Milk chocolate with corn flakes (Golden Yellow Wrapper)
  14. Voll Erdnuss Milk chocolate with whole peanuts (Orange Wrapper)
  15. Ganze Mandel Milk chocolate with whole almonds (Dark Green Wrapper)
  16. Marzipan Dark chocolate with marzipan center (Red Wrapper, see image)
  17. Cocos Milk chocolate with flakes of coconut in the center (Silver Wrapper)
  18. Trauben-Nuss Milk chocolate with raisins and hazelnut pieces (Carmine Red Wrapper)
  19. Rum Trauben Nuss Milk chocolate with rum-soaked raisins and hazelnut pieces (Crimson Red Wrapper)
  20. Cappuccino Milk chocolate and cappuccino cream (Amber Wrapper)
  21. Alpenmilch Special milk chocolate with high alpine milk proportion (Sky Blue Wrapper)
  22. Nugat Milk chocolate with hazelnut-nougat center (Midnight Blue Wrapper)
  23. Feinherb à la Mousse au Chocolat dark chocolate filled with chocolate mousse (Bistre Wrapper)
  24. Williams Birne Trüffel dark chocolate filled with Poire Williams pear brandy mousse
  25. Karamel Nuss Milk Chocolate with butter caramel cream dropped hazelnuts and crispy rice (Golden yellow wrapper)
  26. Haselnuss Milk chocolate with chopped hazelnuts (Green wrapper, see image)
  27. Neapolitan Milk Chocolate with Neapolitan wafers, made with a hazelnut cream filled wafers and praline. (medium dark orange wrapper)
  28. Noisette Hazelnut-flavored milk chocolate. (light green wrapper)
  29. Kakao-Mousse Whipped Cream Cocoa in Alpine Milk Chocolate. (Brown Wrapper)
  30. Kakao-Keks Dark chocolate with cookie center. (Brown Wrapper with cookie background)
  31. Karamell Milk chocolate with caramel filling. (Orange wrapper)
  32. Olympia Milk Chocolate with yoghurt, honey, and glucose. (Gold Wrapper)
  33. Honig Salz Mandel Milk chocolate with salted almonds and honey. (Orange wrapper with chocolate-coated almonds in the background)
  34. Macadamia Milk chocolate with halved Macadamia nuts. (Blue wrapper with chocolate-coated Macadamia nuts in the background)
  35. Waffel Milk chocolate with cocoa cream-filled waffle square. (Orange wrapper)[15]
  36. Mandel Orange Dark chocolate with almond pieces and candied orange peel[16]
  37. Cashew Milk chocolate with roasted and salted cashew nuts[17]

Special varieties

From time to time various special and limited-edition flavours are released, sometimes with seasonal themes. For example, Marc de Champagne contained a truffle-like centre with a champagne flavour, and "Yogurt ai Frutti di Bosco" contained a punchy sour berry centre to complement the sweet milk chocolate. Three limited-edition flavoured bars are released each season; the two most successful flavours are carried on to the next year's seasonal release, whilst the third flavour is something new.

1995–1999 summer varieties

The following varieties were summer limited editions from 1995-1999:[18]

  1. Joghurt-Lemon White chocolate with a lemon and yoghurt filling.
  2. Joghurt-Orange White chocolate with an orange and yoghurt filling.

2002–2003 summer varieties

The following varieties were summer limited editions in 2002 and 2003.[19]

  1. Joghurt-Erdbeer-Rhabarber White chocolate with a strawberry, rhubarb and yoghurt filling.
  2. Joghurt-Rote-Grütze White chocolate with a cherry, raspberry, redcurrant and yoghurt filling.
  3. Joghurt-Schwarze-Johannisbeere White chocolate with a lemon and yoghurt filling.

2004 varieties

Summer[19]

  1. Himbeer-Zitrone Joghurt White chocolate with a raspberry and lemon yoghurt filling.
  2. Sauerkirsch-Vanille Joghurt White chocolate with cherry and vanilla yoghurt filling.
  3. Erdbeer-Joghurt White chocolate with strawberry yoghurt filling.

2006 varieties

Summer[19]

  1. Blutorange White chocolate with a blood orange and yoghurt filling.
  2. Zitrone White chocolate with lemon and yoghurt filling.
  3. Erdbeer-Rhabarber White chocolate with strawberry and rhubarb yoghurt filling.

2011 varieties

Summer[19]

  1. Stracciatella Milk chocolate with chocolate pieces and milk creme filling.
  2. Amarena Kirsch Milk chocolate with cherry and yoghurt filling.
  3. Pfirsich-Maracuja Joghurt White chocolate with peach, passionfruit and yoghurt filling.

Other releases

  1. Alpensahne Praline Alpine milk chocolate with praline creme.
  2. Weiss + Crisp White chocolate with crisp.
  3. Haselnusse Krokant Milk chocolate with crispy hazelnuts.
  4. Keks + Nuss Milk chocolate with crunchy hazelnuts and cookie bits.

2012 varieties

Spring

  1. Bourbon Vanille Milk chocolate with a bourbon vanilla creme filling.
  2. Haselnuss Krokant Milk chocolate with a hazelnut creme, hazelnut and almond brittle and rice cereal.
  3. Kakaosplitter Milk chocolate with a chocolate creme filling, cocoa nibs and hazelnut-almond pieces.

Summer

  1. White Coconut White chocolate with toasted coconut and rice flakes.
  2. Wildberry Yogurt Milk chocolate with a strawberry, blueberry and blackberry yogurt filling.
  3. Amarena Kirsch Milk chocolate with an Amarena cherry creme filling.

Winter

  1. Coconut Macaroon Milk chocolate with a buttery coconut cream filling with coconut flakes.
  2. Caramelized Almond Milk chocolate with caramelized almond pieces.
  3. Dark Nougat Cream Milk chocolate with a creamy dark chocolate nougat filling.

2013 varieties

Spring

  1. à la Crema Catalana Milk chocolate with caramel-flavoured milk creme.
  2. Cookies and Cream Milk chocolate with a vanilla cream filling with pieces of chocolate cookie.
  3. Kakaosplitter Milk chocolate with a chocolate creme filling, cocoa nibs and hazelnut-almond pieces.

Summer[19]

  1. Erdbeer Vanille-Waffel Milk chocolate with strawberry and Loacker vanilla wafer.
  2. Himbeer-Cranberry Joghurt Milk chocolate with raspberry-cranberry yoghurt.
  3. White Coconut White chocolate with toasted coconut and rice flakes.

Winter

  1. Caramelized Almond Milk chocolate with caramelized almond pieces.
  2. Caramel Orange Milk chocolate with an orange caramel cream filling.
  3. Coconut Macaroon Milk chocolate with a buttery coconut cream filling with coconut flakes.

2014 varieties

Spring

  1. à la Crema Catalana Milk chocolate with caramel-flavoured milk creme.
  2. Cookies and Cream Milk chocolate with a vanilla cream filling with pieces of chocolate cookie.
  3. Meringue Nut Milk chocolate with meringue pieces and toasted hazelnut pieces.

Summer

  1. Erdbeer Vanille-Waffel Milk chocolate with strawberry and vanilla wafer.
  2. Himbeer-Cranberry Joghurt Milk chocolate with raspberry-cranberry yoghurt.
  3. Eiscafé Milk chocolate with a coffee-and-vanilla-flavoured filling.

2015 varieties

Summer[19]

  1. Erdbeer Minze Milk chocolate with strawberry yoghurt creme filling.
  2. Buttermilch-Zitrone White chocolate with lemon and buttermilk filling.
  3. Eiscafé Milk chocolate with a coffee-and-vanilla-flavoured filling.

2017 varieties

Spring[12]

  1. Weisse Joghurt White chocolate with a yoghurt filling.
  2. Johannisbeer Streusel Milk chocolate with a redcurrant and streusel filling.
  3. Honig & Crisp Milk chocolate with a honey and wafer filling.

Summer[20]

  1. Brombeer Joghurt Milk chocolate with blackberry pieces and yoghurt filling.
  2. Pink Grapefruit White chocolate with grapefruit filling.
  3. Eiskakao-Creme Milk chocolate with chocolate pieces and chocolate cream filling.

VfB Stuttgart promotion[21]

  1. Erstklassige Schokolade White chocolate with chopped hazelnut and strawberry piece filling.

Red Nose Day: Circus Halligalli[22]

  1. Vollmilch-Randale mit Flakes Milk chocolate with salted corn pieces and cornflake filling.
  2. Joghurt-Klatsche mit Crunch White chocolate with muesli filling.

Winter[23]

  1. Weisse Zimt Crisp White chocolate with cinnamon crisp pieces.
  2. Gebrannte Mandel Milk chocolate with caramelised almond pieces.
  3. Spekulatius Milk chocolate with spekulatius filling.

2018 varieties

Variety of the year

  • Kaffeesplitter Dark chocolate with coffee chip filling.[24]

Spring[25]

  1. Zitronen-Waffel White chocolate with a lemon cream and wafer filling.[26]
  2. Johannisbeer Streusel Milk chocolate with a redcurrant and streusel filling.[27]
  3. Honig & Crisp Milk chocolate with a honey and wafer filling.[28]

Summer[29]

  1. Himmlische Beere Milk chocolate with raspberry pieces and yoghurt filling.
  2. Buttermilch-Zitrone White chocolate with lemon and buttermilk cream filling.
  3. Eiskakao-Creme Milk chocolate with chocolate pieces and chocolate cream filling.

World Cannabis Day[30]

  • Schoko & Gras Milk chocolate with roasted hemp seed filling.

In July 2018 Ritter announced its intention to attempt to release the Schoko & Gras variety in the United States for World Cannabis Day 2019, retitled 'Choco & Weed'. As of January 2019 it had yet to be approved for sale.[31]

Bundesliga special edition[32]

  • BVB-Taktiktafel Milk chocolate with cornflake filling.

Winter[33][34]

  1. Nuss + Crisp Milk chocolate with a chopped hazelnut and rice puff filling.[35]
  2. Spekulatius Milk chocolate with spekulatius filling.
  3. Gebrannte Mandel Milk chocolate with caramelised almond filling.

Das Schokoladen-mädchen[36]

Ritter released a limited-edition bar to coincide with a special exhibition of The Chocolate Girl by Jean-Étienne Liotard at Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden. It was available online, in Ritter shops and at the exhibition in Dresden until January 2019.[36]

First Harvest Limited Edition[37] 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.[37]

  • Erste Ernte 54% milk chocolate made from the first harvest of the El Cacao plantation, Nicaragua.

2019 varieties

Spring[38]

  1. Johannisbeer Streusel Milk chocolate with a redcurrant and streusel filling.
  2. Buttermilch-Zitrone White chocolate with lemon and buttermilk cream filling.
  3. Haferkeks + Joghurt Milk chocolate with oatcake and yoghurt filling.

Summer[39]

  1. Zitronen-Waffel White chocolate with wafers and a yoghurt and lemon cream filling
  2. Himbeer Joghurt Milk chocolate with a raspberry and yoghurt filling
  3. Erdbeer-Mousse Milk chocolate with a strawberry mousse filling

Winter[40]

  1. Gebrannte Mandel Milk chocolate with caramelised almond filling.
  2. Spekulatius Milk chocolate with spekulatius filling.
  3. Dunkle Minz Crisp Dark chocolate with mint crisp pieces

2020 varieties

Fernweh edition[41]

  1. Weisse Mango Maracuja White Milk chocolate with mango and maracuya filling.
  2. Joghurt Honig Nuss Milk chocolate with yoghurt, honey and nut filling.
  3. Kokoswaffel Milk chocolate with coconut waver filling

Winter[42]

  1. Gebrannte Mandel Milk chocolate with caramelised almond filling.
  2. Spekulatius Milk chocolate with spekulatius filling.
  3. Kokosmakrone Milk chocolate with coconut cream and coconut macaroon filling.

Organic varieties

  1. Mandelsplitter Milk chocolate with chopped almonds.
  2. Macadamia Milk chocolate with chopped macadamia nuts.
  3. Trauben-Cashew Milk chocolate with chopped cashew nuts and raisins.
  4. Vollmilch 35% Milk chocolate with 35% cacao.
  5. Feinherb 60% Dark chocolate with 60% cacao.
  6. Kakaosplitter Nuss Milk chocolate with 35% cacao, chopped nuts and cocoa kernel chips.

Slogans

Motto 1

  • German packaging: "Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut." ("Square. Practical. Good.")
  • French packaging: "Carré. Pratique. Gourmand."
  • English packaging (North America & Australasia): "Quality. Chocolate. Squared."
  • English packaging (UK-Ireland): "Quality in a Square."
  • Italian packaging: "Quadrato. Pratico. Buono."
  • Danish packaging: "Kvadratisk. Praktisk. God."
  • Dutch packaging: "Vierkant. Makkelijk. Lekker."
  • Russian packaging: "Квадратный. Практичный. Хороший." (Translation of German) or "Квадратиш. Практиш. Гут." (Transliteration of German)

Motto 2

"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.

Motto 3

"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.

Mascot

Ritter Sport is sometimes represented by "Quadrago", a banner-carrying baby dragon. This may be partly attributed to the German word "Ritter" meaning "Knight".

References

  1. "Chefsache". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  2. "Ritter Sport". Companies History. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  3. "Ritter Sport". Euro-American Brands. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  4. "Ritter Sport". I Like Germany. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  5. "Our chocolate history". ritter-sport.
  6. "The Meaning of "Sport" in Ritter Sport Chocolates". Broken Secrets. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  7. "Ritter Sport Knick Pack". Beach Packaging Design. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  8. "Certified Companies". ZNU Standard. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  9. Schmolke, Birgit (2007). Architektur neues Baden-Württemberg. Braun. p. 93. ISBN 9783938780121.
  10. "History". Ritter Sport. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  11. "Come with us into the adventure ... er, Ravensburger Spieleland!". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  12. Nieburg, Oliver. "Ancient grain additions: Ritter Sport makes first foray into vegan chocolate". Confectionery News. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  13. Tashjian, Lena. "Ritter Sport Introduces Two New Vegan Bars". Clearly Veg. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  14. "Voller Geschmack, ganz ohne Milch: Unsere vegane Sesam!". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). 5 February 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  15. "New in the colorful variety: RITTER SPORT waffle". Ritter Sport Blog. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  16. "Orange in the new Black – unsere neue Mandel Orange". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  17. "Neu in der Nuss-Klasse: Cashew – geröstet und gesalzen". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). 13 March 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  18. "For two decades "hot on cool enjoyment"". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  19. "For two decades "hot on cool enjoyment"". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  20. "The weather forecast for the summer is chocolaty!". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  21. "RITTER SPORT First-class chocolate - for a first-class ascent!". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  22. "Joko & Klaas present Circus HalliGalli chocolate for RED NOSE DAY". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  23. "A delicious winter is approaching". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  24. "Review: Kaffeesplitter from Ritter Sport". Eat Explore Etc. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  25. "Spring Ripe: The RITTER SPORT spring varieties 2018". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  26. "Review: Frühlingssorte Zitronen-Waffel from Ritter Sport". Eat Explore Etc. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  27. "Review: Frühlingssorte Johannisbeer Streusel from Ritter Sport". Eat Explore Etc. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  28. "Review: Frühlingssorte Honig und Crisp from Ritter Sport". Eat Explore Etc. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  29. "Summer, sun, chocolate!". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  30. "RITTER SPORT Chocolate & Grass - What a #coffee chip!". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  31. Yu, Douglas. "Chocolate and weed: Ritter Sport's hemp seed chocolate might come to US next year". Confectionery News. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  32. "The BVB tactic board". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  33. "Crunchy, crispy, creaky: Our winter creations are over the moon!". Ritter Blog. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  34. Erbach, Florian. "Ritter Sport Winter Edition 2018: These varieties are in!". kaufDA Magazin. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  35. "Review: Winter Kreation Nuss + Crisp from Ritter Sport". Eat Explore Etc. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  36. "The chocolate girl - story that tastes good!". Ritter Sport Blog. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  37. "Harvest good, all good: The new RITTER SPORT Limited Edition!". Ritter Sport Blog. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  38. "Frühlingserwachen: Die Frühlingsspezialitäten 2019". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  39. "Hol dir den Sommer ins Haus". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  40. "Umfrage: Deine liebste Winterkreation?". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  41. "Knick und weg: Fernweh-Sorten sind da". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  42. "Unsere Winterkreationen sind da!". Ritter Sport Blog (in German). Retrieved 6 December 2020.
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