Ritter Sport moves to expand its key chocolate series
German-headquartered premium chocolate brand Ritter Sport UK & IRE is set to unveil two new 100g flavoured bars this autumn in the form of a salted caramel and orange flavour, writes Neill Barston.
The brand, which had continued to grow its presence within UK markets and across Europe, has focused on extending its core bar range.
As the firm noted, its latest launch is being supported with a six-figure, 360 degree marketing campaign – the UK business’ biggest to date – with two day time television celebrities kicking things off as part of a cheeky social media campaign (@RitterSportUK on Instagram and @RitterSport on Facebook). ‘Start your love affair with the square’ centres around the new Salted Caramel and Orange varieties, with Ritter Sport daring shoppers to grab a bar, experience their irresistible versions of the flavoured chocolate bars and fall in love with the brand.
The ‘Start your love affair with the square’ campaign aims to migrate more middle aged women to the brand and runs in September and October, in print, digital and social, involving PR, marketing and sampling.
Benedict Daniels, Ritter Sport UK & IRE Managing Director, said: “With our biggest campaign to date, spearheaded by two brilliant female celebrities, I am convinced more consumers than ever before will discover, try, and fall in love with our quality chocolate.
“We’re confident that the new Ritter Sport Salted Caramel and Orange bars, which rival established brands, will kick start ‘a love affair with the square’ as more consumers are introduced to the brand. For retail customers, these launches create a great opportunity to stock premium versions of these staple and much-loved flavours, all year round.”
Caramel is the UK’s third largest chocolate flavour sector after milk and nut, worth around £110m, 11% of the total market, and salted caramel is currently 20% of that. Orange is also establishing itself as a key flavour in the block category, worth £35.2m MAT, or 4% of the total and growing +66% annually, outpacing the total block market’s 7% growth rate.
The new bars have gained impressive listings to date. Ritter Sport Salted Caramel and Orange are available in grocery, convenience and wholesale. Both bars are listed in a number of supermarket outlets within the UK, retailing at £1.