Chocolate war! Ritter Sport fights Milka out of the square
Round, square or triangular: to us, chocolate is chocolate, whatever shape it comes in. For the brand itself, things are slightly different. Because for the makers, not only the taste but also the shape of the bar is hugely important. The same goes for square chocolate maker Ritter Sport, which, after a lengthy lawsuit, is now the only company allowed to make square bars.
In all shapes and sizes
Toblerone’s triangles, Lindt’s thin squares, Tony’s awkward-to-break chunks and Milka’s rows of four blocks: every bar has its own distinctive shape. Chocolate lovers can also recognize Ritter Sport’s square bar among thousands, even without its name. And that is exactly what Milka wanted to break in 2010 when it decided to launch a square bar too. Ritter Sport did not take kindly to that.
The shape as a brand
Ritter Sport has had the square shape registered as a trademark for years. But that registration seemed to serve little purpose; in 2017, a German court ruled that a company cannot derive rights from the shape of a bar, because chocolate can naturally be made in many different shapes and sizes. Yet other companies, such as Toblerone with its triangular shape, Ferrero Rocher with its praline ball and Lindt with its golden Easter bunny, did succeed. And that gave the square chocolate maker hope.
The final verdict
Ritter Sport appealed a year after the ruling. Last week, the final verdict finally arrived. The German court concluded that the shape of Ritter Sport’s bar creates certain quality expectations among consumers. From now on, Ritter Sport is therefore the only company allowed to use this shape, and the chocolate hatchet between the two giants has finally been buried after all this time.
Also read:
