“Square. Practical. Blood”, this modification of the well-known Ritter Sport slogan is currently causing a stir on the internet. The Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin Andriy Melnyk thought it up and criticized the Swabian chocolate manufacturer. The reason: Despite the war in Ukraine, Ritter Sport continues to deliver to Russia. This not only outraged Melnyk, but also many users on social media. There are numerous modifications of the well-known slogan and boycott calls. “Not a single bar will be bought here anymore,” writes one.
Not an easy decision, says the company
The company did not take the decision lightly, said a spokesman on Tuesday in Waldenbuch, Baden-Württemberg. The company has its headquarters there. A stop in deliveries would mean that production would have to be drastically shut down, “and thus also have serious effects on us as an independent medium-sized family company”. Ultimately, the cocoa farmers would also be affected, it is said.
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Russia is an important market for the chocolate maker. According to the company, Ritter Sport’s market share in Russia is seven percent. Business in Russia accounted for around ten percent of Ritter Sport’s total sales. However, things cannot continue as before, said the spokesman. At the beginning of March, Ritter Sport made and implemented the decision “not to invest any further in the Russian market and to stop advertising there”. The Stuttgarter Nachrichten had initially reported on it.
More and more Western companies are now withdrawing from the Russian market. The boycott ranges from Apple to BMW, McDonalds, Renault and Ikea to Siemens and Visa. However, some plan to stay and continue to operate in Russia – including other German companies. For example, the chemical and pharmaceutical group Bayer. While it intends to end its advertising and non-essential spending in Russia and Belarus, it will continue to provide essential, essential products, the website said.
In addition to boycott calls on social media, companies operating in Russia are also confronted with criticism from their own employees. This was most recently seen at the German Metro AG: Olga Podorozhna, who according to her own description works as a “Senior Procurement Specialist” for the wholesale group in Ukraine, publicly criticizes her employer via the LinkedIn job portal. “More than 100 world-class companies have already exited the Russian market, and almost 500 have limited their presence there. Decency and honor have nothing to do with insufficient cynical terror, intervention and genocide“she writes. (dpa, tsp)
