Ritter Sport UK has celebrated an unprecedented milestone in 2024, achieving its highest-ever value growth of approximately 50% year-on-year. This marks the UK affiliate’s most significant achievement since its establishment in 2014 and follows another record-breaking year in 2023.
The company delivered robust volume and value growth, with record sales across the grocery multiples channel, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, and Ocado. The success is driven by the core block product portfolio and new innovations such as Amicelli and Ritter Sport DUO, reflecting the brand’s commitment to meeting evolving consumer preferences.
Despite challenges such as rising cocoa costs and a demanding retail environment, Ritter Sport UK has implemented several strategic initiatives to deliver these results:
- Expanded range and distribution: Significant gains in range, distribution and shelf space within the grocery multiples channel have driven growth. Amicelli’s expanded presence and the launch of Ritter Sport DUO, initially in Sainsbury’s and later in Asda, have exceeded sales expectations and added significant incremental category value.
- Innovation and new product development: The introduction of Ritter Sport DUO reflects the brand’s ability to respond to evolving consumer preferences with unique, high-quality offerings.
- Enhanced team and infrastructure: Over the past three years, Ritter Sport UK has heavily invested in growing team capacity and capability through targeted recruitment, learning and development, and infrastructure expansion.
- New DHL partnership: The establishment of a new market expansion partnership has been instrumental in supporting growth, with enhanced capacity, alongside transformative co-packing and direct-to-consumer (D2C) capabilities.
- Sustainability: Despite the severe impact of two destructive hurricanes at the company’s owned cocoa farm in Nicaragua, El Cacao, Ritter Sport is accelerating its investment into its vertically integrated value chain reinforcing its commitment to ethical production and direct cocoa sourcing.
- Record marketing investment: The brand’s largest-ever marketing spend in 2024 has driven record penetration levels and contributed significantly to sales growth.
Reflecting on the decade of growth under his leadership, Managing Director, Benedict Daniels, said: “I am deeply committed to supporting our team in delivering the continued growth of our brands in the UK and Ireland. The strategic key to success lays in our ability to reach ever more consumers across the UK and Ireland.
“Our culture of value creation in partnership with our customers, combined with our gold standard innovation pipeline underpins this strategic ethos and drives our growth. We will continue to accelerate our growth in both all-year-round and seasonal segments, effectively leveraging our brand equity, unmatched quality and sustainability credentials to ensure our customers and consumers can continue, or start, their love affair with the square.”
He added: “The UK and Ireland are consistently markets with the highest chocolate consumption per capita, affording Ritter Sport huge room for accelerated growth. With our fantastic new headquarters, our expansion partnership with DHL, full backing from the Ritter family, and a product portfolio envied the world over, we are in an incredibly strong position.”
The company’s new headquarters further signals its commitment to the UK market. Designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and engagement with domestic and international colleagues and trade partners across the UK and Ireland, the office reflects Ritter Sport’s forward-looking vision as it continues to build on its legacy of quality, innovation, and sustainability.