Eddy about chocolate mail: Ritter Sport: Insects in chocolate? Customers are outraged

For the consumer A large number of new and changed regulations have been in force in Germany since the beginning of 2023. On January 1st, for example, the citizen’s allowance replaced the previous Hartz IV system – recipients of unemployment benefit II thus receive more money.

In addition, since January 2023 there have been new state subsidies for a new heating system. Including the “heating exchange bonus” for an old gas or oil heating system, consumers can receive a subsidy of up to 40 percent. But there is movement not only in politics and real estate.

Insects in chocolate: Ritter Sport causes a stir

At the end of January, the European Union (EU) expanded the list of insects that can be sold or processed into food. For consumers, this means that crickets and the like can theoretically be incorporated into everyday products such as chocolate or snacks. There are already insects in some products from Aldi and Co. – and the market is booming. Many food producers could follow and soon Products include insects in their assortment.

But don’t panic – insects in chocolate and co. must be labelled. The chocolate producer “Ritter Sport” from Waldenbuch in Baden-Württemberg makes the label particularly big in a post on Instagram. Printed under a grass-green bar of chocolate with a large grasshopper on it, the company writes: “Crickets in the food? Approved as of today! We’ve been ready for a long time – are you too?” Knight sports alludes to the EU-wide new regulation for insect processing from the end of January.

Insects in food from Ritter Sport? Customers are outraged

But at least in the Instagram community, the posting from Waldenbuch in Baden-Württemberg is not well received. Comments like “I’ll never buy Ritter Sport again” can be read several times. For many consumers, the disgust factor plays a particularly important role here. One user writes: “The thought alone is disgusting.” You can only be outraged about that, adds another Instagram user.

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Again, other users enjoy the debate in the truest sense of the word. An Instagram user wrote: “Thank you for this ironic post, which many did not understand. The company can certainly do without the few customers who are threatening not to buy any more knight products.”

The background: already has in the description Knight sports set the hashtag “#fakesort”. Apparently some overlooked it – at least that’s what the flood of disgusting comments about the supposedly new type of chocolate with the addition of locusts suggests.

Ritter Sport exposes insect chocolate as a fake

In the meantime, too Knight sports spoke up in the debate and exposed the fake variety with a certain irony: “Ritter Sport ‘Ganze Grille’ exposed as a digital fake variety. You can leave your houses again and enjoy your chocolate carefree. ‘Ganze Grille’ is not real and can do nothing to you.” This in turn annoys the Instagram users who fell for the fake variety.

However, the bulk of the commenting users on Instagram celebrates the idea with the fake variety and the reaction from Ritter Sport. “I can’t stop laughing. How can you, like most people here, just exaggerate so much – because of a photo?” Writes a user. Another adds: “People who don’t have a sense of humor should buy a flower pot, sit on a bench in the cemetery and wait their turn.” Humor or exaggeration – this is where opinions differ, or rather: the opinions of Instagram users.

Criticism of Ritter Sport: chocolate giant under fire because of business in Russia

But one thing is certain: Ritter Sport definitely drew attention to itself with the campaign. That was also the case in 2022 – but in a negative sense. Because it was done and thus financed Putin’s war – at least that’s the accusation.

And the year before that, the company was out Baden-Wuerttemberg also in the headlines. In – and the classic square shape continues to be exclusively secured.

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