Lutti, the French arm of Katjes International, is to distribute German confectioner Alfred Ritter’s iconic square Ritter Sport tablets of chocolate in France, with the aim of “developing the product exponentially”.
The French distribution deal will take effect from 1 January, Lutti said.
Lutti CEO Sébastien Berghe said the addition of Ritter Sport would “enrich” the company’s portfolio and “enable us to develop the power and efficiency of our sales force to better serve our customers for Lutti and Ritter Sport”.
Lutti said Ritter Sport will be distributed mainly through the “impluse buy” sector. However, the partnership will see the brand “gradually” move into gross merchandise volume, which Lutti said the company behind the product aspired to.
Alfred Ritter, which is owned by the Ritter family, now generates an annual turnover of EUR380m (US$403m) and is present in 103 countries. Chairman Andreas Ronken told just-food last year that the company was looking to the product’s unique appearance to drive growth in Europe and the US.
