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Visitors to the Ritter Sport chocolate multimedia exhibit can learn about the company’s history, including the invention of the distinctive tablet and advertising campaigns. The museum also has a store where visitors can purchase the colorfully-packaged chocolate.
There’s something sweet in Waldenbuch!
Just south of Stuttgart, this idyllic suburban town with less than 9,000 residents has unassuming country charm. It also happens to be home to Ritter Sport, one of the most famous brands of chocolate in the world.
Living near an internationally recognized chocolate factory has its perks, and it’s not just the smell of chocolate wafting in the air. Lynn Fontenot, a resident of nearby village Walddorfhäslach, said she likes the convenience of the company’s headquarters.
She can buy an assortment of discounted Ritter Sport bars at the company store and, with her 4-year-old son, Ryker, learn how Ritter Sport makes its trademark products.
“I came here today because my son watched ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and kept talking about wanting to see a real chocolate factory,” she said during a recent visit. “Six months later, we finally made it. They have so many flavors; I am overwhelmed.”
A basic two-story square building — designed by Swiss architect Max Dudler — houses the company’s chocolate exhibition, art museum, cafe and company store. Parking is tight, but admission is free and there’s a lot to see, do and eat here.
Upstairs, visitors can learn all about the 100-year history of this colorfully packaged square-shaped candy by stopping at the Ritter Sport “Schokoladen,” a multimedia exhibition that spans the entire floor. A short video, also available in English, describes how the Ritter Sport factory turns cocoa beans into a tasty confection.
The Ritter Sport factory, located south of Stuttgart in Waldenbuch, produces 2.5 million bars a day. While visitors cannot tour the factory, they can watch a video about chocolate production and the background of the company next door inside Ritter Sport’s chocolate exhibition and museum.
“The love of chocolate has been translated through each generation of this family,” said third-generation owner, Alfred T. Ritter, noting that his chocolate is made with six basic ingredients from carefully selected sources.
Panels along the wall reveal more about the company’s key moments. Founded in Stuttgart in 1912 by Alfred Ritter and his wife Clara, the company moved to Waldenbuch in 1930. Soon after, Alfred developed the company’s signature product — a thick, square tablet with a colorful label — after Clara suggested creating a bar that would fit into every sport jacket without breaking.
Turns out, she was on to something. Today, Ritter Sport employs 1,000 people and is the second-largest chocolate bar manufacturer in Germany. The company produces more than two dozen varieties of the square bar and ships to 95 countries around the world.
The exhibition also highlights the handy “snap open” packaging that sets the company apart in a competitive industry. It describes Ritter Sport’s eco-friendly initiatives, such as buying energy from renewable resources and using organic cocoa to produce “Ritter BIO,” its organic product line.
There’s even a life-size cocoa tree and a model of the Ritter Sport factory that dispenses miniature chocolates.
On the opposite side of the building, an art museum displays geometric abstract art collected by Marli Hoppe-Ritter, the company’s co-owner. Based on the theme “homage to the square,” it contains nearly 600 paintings, objects, sculptures and graphics — all in the square format. The museum also hosts temporary exhibits and a small museum store.
Last, but not least, a well laid out “Chocoshop” candy store on the building’s ground level boasts regular, seasonal, BIO and hard-to-find Ritter Sport bars. Highlights include a meter-long package of mini squares, brand apparel and the popular discounted bags of assorted sweets in the back room.
April Foss of Baumholder visited the store two years ago and bought bags of discounted bars to keep for herself and send to family in the states. She also picked up Ritter Sport’s rum chocolates, which she had never seen before.
“The store is awesome,” Foss said. “It had every kind of chocolate they make.”
She noted that some of the discounted chocolate comes in white wrappers instead of the regular bright colors. But that didn’t deter her from buying some, and she said they tasted just as delicious.
The Ritter Sport Museum and Store is located at Alfred-Ritter-Strasse 27, 71111 Waldenbuch. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call (0)715797-704, email shokoladen@ritter-sport.de or visit www.ritter-sport.de.
