Ritter Sport
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Family-owned German maker of square chocolate bars.
Ritter Sport is working towards a living income for the people who grow its cocoa, but can't yet show they earn one.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has a red flag (unaudited production in high-risk countries) and misses more than one Good requirement. On Track allows one red flag only when everything else but one requirement is met.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: working towards one
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its cocoa is grown in Nigeria and Nicaragua, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listRuns its own factories
- Not met: Finds and fixes child labour on cocoa farms (Fairtrade, Fair for Life or its own published monitoring), and traces other high-risk ingredients where they're a major part of its range
Red flags 1
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Ritter Sport's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
- A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its cocoa is grown
From Ritter Sport's own disclosure: it runs its own factories and says where its cocoa comes from.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Côte d'Ivoire | Regular violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ghana | Strong protections | Well below a living wage | Low |
| Nigeria | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Peru | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Nicaragua | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: an estimated 1.5 million children work on cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and most cocoa farmers earn well below a living income. (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing) Source
- Owns or runs its own production
- Traces high-risk raw materials to the mine or farm and fixes problems found
- Invests in worker and farming communities
- Direct trade (self-reported)
- Top tier on the Chocolate Scorecard Source
- It doesn't show that it checks cocoa farms for child labour and fixes what it finds.
Research notes All Ritter Sport cocoa has been certified since 2018, mostly Rainforest Alliance with some Fairtrade, and Ritter says it has mapped the farms in its cocoa programmes. It comes from Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Peru and Nicaragua, where Ritter owns the El Cacao farm, but shares per country are not published. In 2025, 91% of its cocoa was bought through producer-organisation programmes, and it spends about €7m a year on them. It was top tier in the 2025 Chocolate Scorecard and rated green on pesticides in 2026. In late 2025 the group bought US brand Chocolove, made in Colorado. It publishes no farmgate prices, living income figures or child labour case counts.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Not listed | About 10% of cocoa is Fairtrade, but Ritter Sport is not on Fairtrade ANZ's Australian brand list. View |
| Chocolate Scorecard | Listed | Top tier ('Leading the industry') in the 2025 Chocolate Scorecard; rated green on pesticides in the 2026 (7th) edition. View |
| B Corp directory | Not listed | No B Corp certification identified. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Not listed | No supply chain labour allegations specific to Ritter Sport identified. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | Ritter sources from Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria, whose cocoa is on the US list of goods made with child labour. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Yumda: Chocolate Scorecard 2025 - another top ranking for Ritter Sport · search the archive · Ritter among top four in the 2025 Chocolate Scorecard, rated 'Leading the industry on policy and implementation'.
- Confectionery Production: Behind the scenes at Ritter Sport · search the archive · Family-owned; added a production plant in Austria bought from Mars; owns and operates El Cacao plantation in Nicaragua (~2,500 ha)
- Just Food: Jobs to go at German chocolate giant Ritter (April 2026) · search the archive · Privately owned Ritter employs about 1,900 worldwide; it owns Chocolove, made in Boulder, Colorado.
- PAN UK: Chocolate Scorecard 2026 · search the archive · Ritter Sport scored green on pesticides in 2026.
- Grocerize: Ritter Sport Dark Whole Hazelnuts 100g · search the archive · Sold at Woolworths in Australia.
Published by Ritter Sport or its owner
- Ritter Sport: Our cocoa · search the archive · Origins Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Peru; all certified since 2018 (90% Rainforest Alliance, 10% Fairtrade); own El Cacao farm.
- Ritter Sport: Cocoa sourcing · search the archive · 100% certified cocoa since 2018; 91% of 2025 cocoa bought through producer-organisation programmes; about EUR 7m a year; farms mapped.
Company details
- Owned by
- Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG
- Headquarters
- Germany
- Employees
- About 1,900
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Ritter Sport ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ritter-sport, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Ritter Sport.