Ritter Sport names Jamie Lowe as its World Confectionery Conference speaker
Ethically-focused premium chocolate brand Ritter Sport has named Jamie Lowe, its head of sales as among our speakers for this year’s World Confectionery Conference taking place next week in Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK, writes Neill Barston.
The German-headquartered business, which has its UK division based in Leeds, has gained plaudits for its focus on sustainable sourcing of cocoa for its ranges, centred on the creation of a 2,500 hectare plantation in Nicaragua, known as ‘El Cacao,’ which has made a notable impact on the company’s operations.
As the company has explained, the South American site also reserves around half the location for forests and wetlands, which it has designated as an environmentally protected area, further bolstering its sustainability credentials. To date, the El Cacao facility has seen more than 1 million cacao trees planted, dedicated to 12 different varieties of fine Trinitario cacao
This year has been a notably busy one for the firm, which has recently unveiled launches for two new 100g bars, the Ritter Sport Salted Caramel, and Orange varieties, which have enhanced its core range, of distinctive square-shaped bars, that have now gained notable traction across the UK, particularly within the travel retail sector.
Jamie Lowe will be representing the company amid a strong international line-up from across the industry on 5 October at the Harrogate Convention Centre, including presentations from Nestlé, Cargill, Ferrero, Caobisco European confectionery trade organisation, and Fairtrade Foundation, among many others.
Speaking to Confectionery Production ahead of the event, he said: ” It’s a little over six years since I joined the Ritter Sport business in the UK & Ireland as Head of Sales and it’s fantastic to share with you some of my experiences and learnings at this year’s World Chocolate Forum in Harrogate.
“One of the first things that attracted me to the Ritter Sport brand was its unrelenting focus on sustainability and “doing the right thing to create really good chocolate”. We are particularly proud of our Cocoa Plantation in Nicaragua, and our hazelnut plantation in La Caussade, and we have a good working relationship with our colleagues in our head office in Germany.
“It’s been a fantastic journey over the last few years and when I think where we were back in 2017 and where we are now I am proud of the progress that the team have made. We still have a long way to go but we have ambitious plans for the future as we expand into more formats, including gifting occasions and vegan. I look forward to sharing some of this story with everyone.”
For more information about this year’s event (registration is still open) on 5 October, visit www.confectioneryconference.com