In 1912, Alfred (1885–1952) and Clara Ritter (1877–1959) founded a chocolate and confectionery factory in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt.

[3] Later, in 1919, it introduced its own brand of chocolate, named "Alrika (Alfred Ritter Cannstatt)".

[6] When production needs required a factory expansion in 1930, the company moved to Waldenbuch, a site a couple of miles outside Stuttgart.

[6] Alfred Theodor Ritter and his sister Marli Hoppe-Ritter joined the advisory board, and increasingly brought social, environmental and sustainability issues into the company management.

[21] The firm celebrated its centenary in 2012 by touring 19 German cities between March and September on 'the Colourful ChocoTour'.

A limited-edition anniversary bar was released: Edel-Nuss Mix – Plain milk chocolate with macadamias, cashews, and almonds.

[21][22] In 2017, Ritter released its first certified vegan bars, Dunkle Voll-Nuss Amaranth (hazelnut cream chocolate with amaranth and nuts) and Dunkle Mandel Quinoa (hazelnut cream chocolate with quinoa and almonds).

[25] In July 2018, Ritter announced its intention to attempt to release the Schoko & Gras variety, a milk chocolate with roasted hemp seed filling, in the United States for World Cannabis Day 2019, retitled 'Choco & Weed'.

[26] In 2018, Ritter released a limited edition bar made from the first viable harvest of their Nicaraguan cocoa plantation.

[27][28] Alongside Alfred and Marli, shareholders include their children Tobias and Tim Hoppe, as well as Moritz, Lukas and Dora Ritter.

[35][36][37] CEO Andreas Ronken pointed out that 200 jobs in Germany depended on the Russian business,[38] and that the sale was also important for cocoa farmers in West Africa and Central and South America, who would otherwise lose their livelihoods.

[42] In 2023, the company was represented through foreign companies in the USA, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Russia, Singapore, UK and China, had a minority stake in Denmark, a subsidiary in Nicaragua for cocoa cultivation and in France and Chile for hazelnut cultivation.

The first two terms are the clicking noises that one is supposed to hear when breaking the chocolate bar twice in the middle – knick is from the German verb knicken (to bend something), Knack means snap/click and "auf Zack sein" means on one's toes / ready and waiting / prepared / set / arranged.

[52] The survey found that the company was not leading the industry in any of the six criteria used in the comparison, but was starting to implement good policies in four of the six categories.

[53] In 2008, on the initiative of Alfred T. Ritter, the company's employees working in the lowest wage groups were regrouped into slightly higher ones.

[12] At the same time, however, the company outsourced the packaging to a subcontractor that paid lower wages than the collective agreement in the confectionery industry.

[54] In January 2008, the Federal Cartel Office investigated eleven German confectionery manufacturers, triggered by a leniency application from Mars GmbH.

The assessment was based on the assumption that the proven flavouring substance piperonal could not be obtained in the required quantities in a "natural" way.

[61] On 9 September 2014, the Oberlandesgericht München (Munich Higher Regional Court) also decided against Stiftung Warentest in an appeal before the court because the overall test verdict was based only on an indirect conclusion about the extraction of one of the ingredients and did not represent objectively justified criticism of the tested product.

[62] At the end of September 2014, Stiftung Warentest announced that it would recognize the judgment and not wish to continue the legal dispute.

[65] The then Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, made it clear that Ritter Sport could call their new creation chocolate: "The cocoa regulation does not limit the use of sugary ingredients to certain types of sugar.

Boss Andreas Ronken pointed out that continued sales are important for cocoa farmers in West Africa and Central and South America, who would otherwise lose their livelihoods.