Discover Germany | Special Theme | Tasty Dreams – Discover Our ‘Made In Germany’ Favourites
TRULY GOOD CHOCOLATE Traditional German brand Ritter Sport today offers more than 40 different types of chocolate to enjoy. However, while their flavours do differ, all of the chocolate in their wide range shares the same exceptionally high quality. It’s a quality that starts at the ingredients – particularly where the cocoa is concerned.
A couple of years ago, Ritter Sport introduced its ‘Cocoa Selection’ in order to make people aware of the many flavours these ‘hidden champions’ amongst natural raw materials can develop. While the bars’ four simple recipes underline the individual character of the cocoa, each from a different origin country, this Cocoa Selection is not just part of the product range but also serves as evidence of the great cocoa expertise the family business has acquired over the years. This expertise has partly been acquired through the Cacao-Nica Program in Nicaragua, initiated by the Ritter family more than 30 years ago in order to promote the sustainable cultivation of cocoa. What started with 170 farmers back then, is today a partnership with almost 4,000 farmers, who deliver about 1,800 tonnes of high-quality, sustainably cultivated fine cocoa per year. The central goal of the Cacao-Nica Program has always been the increase of the cocoa’s quality and cultivation productivity, thereby improving the farmers’ economic situation. With 34 | Issue 88 | December 2021
great success: In 2016, the International Cocoa Organisation (ICOO) declared Nicaragua a country of origin for fine cocoa. Moreover, independent studies have since confirmed that the farmers’ economic situation has stabilised in the wake of the initiative. This success story served as a blueprint for further activities in other cultivation areas, such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where Ritter Sport has established partnerships with producer organisations as well as specific on-site programmes for the promotion of sustainable cocoa cultivation. To call it a partnership can be taken literally, too, as both sides benefit from the programme: the farmers, since their economic situation stabilises, and the chocolate manufacturer in Germany, who receives high-quality, certified sustainable cocoa in return. While Ritter Sport as the first and so far only major chocolate bar manufacturer exclusively has been processing certified sustainable cocoa in all its flavours since 2018, nearly 70 percent of Ritter Sport’s cocoa imports are
TEXT: SILKE HENKELE I PHOTOS: RITTER SPORT
now promoted through programmes such as those outlined above. Programmes which, beyond the minimum requirement of sustainability, also promote long-term goals such as the traceability of ingredients and maximum transparency, which are both supported by the cooperative model. The background to this commitment is the family business’ belief that good chocolate can only be achieved through good ingredients, and that good ingredients are only really achievable if the producers themselves feel good. The Cocoa Selection’s 61 per cent fine-variety, made from Nicaraguan cocoa, with its flowery, nutty flavour, is the perfect proof of this reasoning. www.ritter-sport.com
