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Alfred Ritter

Alfred Ritter, the German chocolate maker, is grappling with rising costs for some of its core commodities at a time when pricing in its largest markets is coming under pressure. While the family-owned company does not provide details on its profitability, the implications for the group's margins are obvious. Ritter is looking at ways it can make its supply chain more "independent" to counterbalance the input challenges in the longer term while balancing the immediate need to retain margin. Chairman Andreas Ronken reveals more. 

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German chocolate maker Alfred Ritter is a family-owned company that produces the iconic Ritter Sport square chocolate tablets. The Waldenbuch-based group hopes to the product's unique appearance and the quality of its chocolate to drive growth in Europe and the US. Katy Askew speaks to chairman Andreas Ronken about Ritter's aspirations.

Alfred Ritter is looking at plans to cultivate its own hazelnuts, the second-largest commodity for the Germany-based chocolate maker.

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Germany-based chocolate makers Halloren, Lambertz and Alfred Ritter have become partners of the Fairtrade initiative aimed at sourcing supplies of cocoa sustainably.

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Lutti, the French arm of Katjes International, is to distribute German confectioner Alfred Ritter's square Ritter Sport tablets of chocolate in France, with the aim of "developing the product exponentially".

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2015 was another year of insightful interviews with a wide range of senior executives in the international food sector. Here we present the most-read interviews on just-food this year. Click on the headlines for more.

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Ahead of the climate talks in Paris, Unilever announced plans to be carbon positive from its operations by 2030. Elsewhere, there was more consolidation in the US food sector, with Pinnacle Foods moving for Boulder Brands. Tyson Foods, Post Holdings and Greencore all had annual results out in the week. Maple Leaf Foods outlined plans to "streamline" its business, which is set to lead to the loss of 400 staff. Here is the week in quotes.