Ritter Sport, the German chocolate maker, just announced a new wrapper for its square-shaped bars made from paper. The new paper packaging will be a limited release in partnership with Austrian retailer Billa. The wrapper will get used exclusively for Ritter’s “Schoko & Gras,” a milk chocolate and hemp seed bar, which doesn’t necessarily tempt the tastebuds, but when has Ritter ever wronged us before?
Though this is the first retail version of Ritter’s paper wrapper, the firm announced the new packaging back in January and sent out 500 samples to the public as part of a pilot program. After generating plenty of interest and some design tweaks, like making the packaging thicker, the German firm was quickly able to give the wrapper an expanded market test.
The chocolatier has made changes in the past to make its packaging more recyclable, issuing new wrappers out of a single material. While Ritter’s packaging is curbside recyclable in countries in places Germany, the firm acknowledges the recycling rate for plastic is low in other parts of Europe and the US and is part of the reason for the brand exploring new substrates for their treats.
“We know that even in Germany, where there is a sophisticated system like Green Dot, the recycling rate is shockingly low. For paper, on the other hand, disposal and recycling are much better organized, especially internationally,” the firm said in the same announcement.
Of course, that press release was in German, so it really could have said anything. Either way, paper wrappers are a pleasant thing, indeed.
