Ritter Sport is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

chocolate bar A chocolate bar (Commonwealth English) or candy bar (some dialects of American English) is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily brea ...

from the family-owned Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, which has its headquarters in

Waldenbuch Waldenbuch ( Swabian: ''Waldebuech'') is a town in the district of Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the home of the popular Ritter Sport brand of chocolate. Geography Geographical location Waldenbuch is situated at an altitude ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Each 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 and mini bars are also available, although in fewer varieties.

History

In 1912 Alfred and Clara Ritter founded a chocolate factory in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Bad Cannstatt Bad Cannstatt, also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart's b ...

. 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 truck to transport the chocolate. 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 A sport coat, also called a sport jacket (or sports coat or sports jacket in American English), is a men's smart casual lounge jacket designed to be worn on its own without matching trousers, traditionally for sporting purposes. Styles, fabrics, ...

pocket without breaking but weighed the same as a normal bar. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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. 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. 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 Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

, 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". 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. In 1990 they launched project(s) "Cacaonica", which supports organic cocoa agriculture and reafforestation in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, 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. The monomaterial chocolate packaging is designed to minimize its ecological footprint and is recyclable. The company has been certified to ZNU standard. 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. 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. 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". 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 Milk chocolate is a solid chocolate confectionery containing cocoa, sugar and milk. Chocolate was originally sold and consumed as a beverage in pre-Columbian times, and upon its introduction to Western Europe. Major milk chocolate producers incl ...

with

macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...

cashew The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus ''Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cult ...

s, and

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

s. Also in 2012 Ritter expanded its initiative in Nicaragua by setting up a new cocoa plantation. The first harvest was in 2017. In 2013 Ritter opened another shop at Ravensburger Spieleland, a German

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

, and the next year Ritter's first pop-up shop appeared in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

for four months. In 2017 Ritter released its first certified

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

bars, Dunkle Voll-Nuss Amaranth (hazelnut cream chocolate with

amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...

and nuts) and Dunkle Mandel Quinoa (hazelnut cream chocolate with

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and ...

and almonds). As of February 2017 they were on sale only in Germany. The new releases, costing €2 each, target the growing vegan population in Germany. A third bar, Sesam (almond cream chocolate with

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

), was released in February 2020. 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. 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. On the 29 March 2022, Ritter announced it would continue sales to Russia, despite the

invasion of Ukraine The territory of present-day Ukraine has been Invasion, invaded or Military occupation, occupied a number of times throughout History of Ukraine, its history. List See also *List of invasions *List of wars involving Ukraine References

...

. The Russian market accounts for about 7% of the company's turnover. Ritter announced that it would halt all investment and advertising in Russia. The controversy led to calls for the German government to deny state aid to Ritter.

Varieties

# Vollmilch – Plain milk chocolate (Royal Blue Wrapper, see image) # Schoko-Duo – Plain milk chocolate and white chocolate (Royal Blue Wrapper with chocolate bar on outside) # Dunkle Vollmilch – Plain medium dark chocolate, 40% cacao (Azure Blue Wrapper) # Halbbitter – Plain dark chocolate, 50% cacao (Burgundy Wrapper) # Die Milde – Plain dark chocolate from Ghana, 55% cacao (Blue/pink Wrapper) # Die Feine – Plain dark chocolate from Nicaragua, 61% cacao (Yellow/blue Wrapper) # Edel-bitter – Plain dark chocolate from Ecuador, 71% cacao (Pink Wrapper) # Edel-bitter – Plain dark chocolate from Ecuador, 73% cacao (Black Wrapper) # Die Kräftige – Plain dark chocolate from Peru, 74% cacao (Orange/blue Wrapper) # Die Starke – Plain dark chocolate from Ghana, 81% cacao (Green/purple Wrapper) # Knusperkeks – Milk chocolate with a butter biscuit (Brown Wrapper) # Pfefferminz – Chocolate with peppermint filling (Caribbean Green Wrapper) # Joghurt –

Yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

(White Wrapper, see image) # Erdbeer Joghurt – Milk chocolate strawberry and yogurt filling (Light Pink Wrapper) # Voll-Nuss – Milk chocolate with whole

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...

s (Brown Wrapper with Hazelnut-Pattern) # Dunkle Voll-Nuss – Dark chocolate with whole hazelnuts (Dark Brown Wrapper with Hazelnut-Pattern) # Weiße Voll-Nuss – White chocolate with whole hazelnuts (White/Cream Wrapper with Hazelnut-Pattern) # Knusperflakes – Milk chocolate with

corn flakes Corn flakes, or cornflakes, are a breakfast cereal made from toasting flakes of corn (maize). The cereal, originally made with wheat, was created by Will Kellogg in 1894 for patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium where he worked with his broth ...

(Golden Yellow Wrapper) # Voll Erdnuss – Milk chocolate with whole

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s (Orange Wrapper) # Ganze Mandel – Milk chocolate with whole

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of th ...

(Dark Green Wrapper) # Marzipan – Dark chocolate with

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzi ...

center (Red Wrapper, see image) # Cocos – Milk chocolate with flakes of

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

in the center (Silver Wrapper) # Trauben-Nuss – Milk chocolate with

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...

s and hazelnut pieces (Carmine Red Wrapper) # Rum Trauben Nuss – Milk chocolate with

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phili ...

-soaked raisins and hazelnut pieces (Crimson Red Wrapper) # Cappuccino – Milk chocolate and

cappuccino A cappuccino (; ; Italian plural: ''cappuccini'') is an espresso-based coffee drink that originated in Austria and was later popularized in Italy and is prepared with steamed milk foam (microfoam). Variations of the drink involve the use of cre ...

cream (Amber Wrapper) # Alpenmilch – Special milk chocolate with high alpine milk proportion (Sky Blue Wrapper) # Nugat – Milk chocolate with hazelnut-

nougat Nougat ( , ; ; az, nuqa; fa, نوقا) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The c ...

center (Midnight Blue Wrapper) # Feinherb à la Mousse au Chocolat – dark chocolate filled with chocolate mousse (Bistre Wrapper) # Williams Birne Trüffel – dark chocolate filled with

Poire Williams Poire Williams is the name for eau de vie (colorless fruit brandy) made from the Williams pear (also known as Williams' bon chrétien and as the Bartlett pear in the United States, Canada and Australia) in France and Switzerland. It is generally ...

pear brandy mousse # Karamel Nuss – Milk Chocolate with butter caramel cream dropped hazelnuts and crispy rice (Golden yellow wrapper) # Haselnuss – Milk chocolate with chopped hazelnuts (Green wrapper, see image) #Neapolitan – Milk Chocolate with Neapolitan wafers, made with a hazelnut cream filled wafers and praline. (medium dark orange wrapper) #Noisette – Hazelnut-flavored milk chocolate. (light green wrapper) #Kakao-Mousse – Whipped Cream Cocoa in Alpine Milk Chocolate. (Brown Wrapper) #Kakao-Keks – Dark chocolate with cookie center. (Brown Wrapper with cookie background) #Karamell – Milk chocolate with caramel filling. (Orange wrapper) #Olympia – Milk Chocolate with yoghurt, honey, and glucose. (Gold Wrapper) #Honig Salz Mandel – Milk chocolate with salted almonds and honey. (Orange wrapper with chocolate-coated almonds in the background) #Macadamia – Milk chocolate with halved Macadamia nuts. (Blue wrapper with chocolate-coated Macadamia nuts in the background) #Waffel – Milk chocolate with cocoa cream-filled waffle square. (Orange wrapper) #Mandel Orange – Dark chocolate with almond pieces and candied orange peel #Cashew – Milk chocolate with roasted and salted cashew nuts

Organic varieties

# Mandelsplitter – Milk chocolate with chopped almonds. # Macadamia – Milk chocolate with chopped macadamia nuts. # Trauben-Cashew – Milk chocolate with chopped cashew nuts and raisins. # Vollmilch 35% – Milk chocolate with 35% cacao. # Feinherb 60% – Dark chocolate with 60% cacao. # 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) 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".

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. The company has defended a monopoly on square-packaged chocolate bars.

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 A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

Sustainability

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 Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

for chocolate resourcing. The survey's main concerns with Ritter were on

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

to clear land for

cocoa plantation ''Theobroma cacao'', also called the cacao tree and the cocoa tree, is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. The largest pro ...

s and paying

living wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

s to cocoa farmers. The survey found that the company is not leading the industry in any of the six criteria used in the comparison, but is starting to implement good policies in four of the six categories.

References

External links

* * {{official, http://www.ritter-sport.com/
Ritter Museum
(in German) German chocolate companies Chocolate bars German brands Brand name chocolate