New limited-edition bar is Ritter Sport’s first dark milk bar and it’s made with cocoa from their own plantation
Hot on the heels of Ritter Sport being officially recognised as a carbon neutral company – it has now announced another huge milestone in its sustainability journey with the launch of Don Choco – a limited-edition dark milk chocolate bar made from 100% certified, sustainable cocoa from its own cacao plantation in El Cacao, Nicaragua.
Made with rich and creamy dark milk chocolate with a 40% cocoa content, Don Choco is the company’s first dark milk bar and it’s swinging into stores this month. Darker and higher cocoa content chocolate is growing +9% YOY[1] and so this new bar is expected to help drive incremental category sales.
The packaging features the loveable Don Choco sloth character, recently hired as the new Director of Slo-perations, modelled on a real-life sloth living on the El Cacao plantation. His exacting standards mean he stops at nothing to passionately uphold the company ethos and produce chocolate that tastes better because it’s grown the right way. The back of pack also tells the story of the work at the plantation and helps educate consumers about Ritter Sport’s sustainability credentials.
Katy Clark, Head of Marketing at Ritter Sport UK & IRE, “Doing the right thing to create really good chocolate is at the very heart of our brand and we’re incredibly excited to see our new Don Choco product swinging into stores nationwide. Unlike the ultra-slow-moving sloth, our Don Choco bars are expected to sell fast, so, when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Katy continues: “Sustainability is already on trend, and dark milk has a strong appeal for shoppers wanting to try darker and higher cocoa content chocolate and so this delicious new bar, made from 100% certified, sustainable cocoa, is set to be a win-win with consumers and retailers alike. It’s a really fun way to celebrate and educate people about our relentless sustainability journey, and the importance of looking after the planet, and the people, animals & nature who live on it.”
With an MRRP of £1 for a 100g bar, Don Choco is being supported with an amazing Slo-cial campaign across Facebook, Instagram, as well as PR activity to ensure news of the launch and our important sustainability message reaches as many consumers as possible.
Confirmed retailer stockists include: Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Booths, OCADO, BP, and Spar. The brand will also be available through Cash and Carries and Wholesalers including: Dhamecha, SOS Wholesale, Filshill, Rayburn, and CJ Lang.
Ritter Sport has owned El Cacao since 2012, when it became the first major block chocolate brand to own and operate a cocoa plantation. Today El Cacao is one of the world’s largest cocoa plantations at over 2,500 hectares. Here CO2 is extracted from the atmosphere by approximately 1.7 million cocoa and shade trees, as well as forest areas. El Cacao has since been recognised as a Carbon positive, Gold Standard certified climate protection project.
Family-owned Ritter Sport was founded in Germany in 1912. Ritter Sport UK & IRE posted a record year in 2020, the sixth consecutive growth year since launching here. The brand outperformed the block chocolate market in all channels with 37%[2] YOY growth, 50% ahead of the category.
[1] Nielsen +80g block chocolate YOY to wk. 20.12.20
[2] Nielsen Homescan total coverage, block chocolate market 80g+ 52 WE 26.12.20
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