EU rules force Ritter Sport to change its chocolate packaging

Ritter Sport has been placing stickers over existing chocolate-bar packaging for several months to meet new European Union requirements on environmental claims. The stickers cover a slogan the German family-owned company had used for years: “100% certified sustainable cocoa sourcing.”

The change relates to the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition directive, known as EmpCo. The rules are due to take effect at the end of September and aim to curb greenwashing. Terms such as “environmentally friendly” and “sustainable” will require detailed substantiation on packaging.

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The packaging relaunch with the new film is in full swing, but it cannot be implemented within just a few months.

A company spokeswoman said the packaging relaunch was already under way but could not be completed within a few months. New primary wrappers will state “no added flavors” on the front. The back will retain a reference to the company’s 100% certified cocoa sourcing, accompanied by relevant information.

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As communicated several times, it was important to us not to destroy any wrappers.

Ritter Sport said it did not want to destroy existing wrappers, which is why the company is using stickers during the transition. It broadly supports rules that give consumers clearer, verifiable information, but said differing legal interpretations across European countries create uncertainty.

The packaging changes come as the company faces wider business pressure. Ritter Sport said in April that, after recording a loss the previous year, it planned to eliminate slightly more than one in 10 jobs. It described the move as the first staff reduction in its more than 110-year history, citing sharply higher raw-material costs, especially cocoa, along with energy and packaging expenses and weaker consumer demand.

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However, the remaining legal uncertainty in implementation and interpretation in different European countries is a challenge.