FAQs - Frequently asked questions


  

What is chocolate made of?

Chocolate is made of the basic ingredients cacao mass, cacao butter, sugar, whole milk powder (for whole milk chocolate) and sunflower lecithin as an emulsifier (binder). Depending on the recipe, natural vanilla extract might be added.  

 

Where does Rübezahl get its chocolate? 

The company Rübezahl produces the chocolate used in its products itself, which a top-secret recipe.

                                                                                                                             

Where does Rübezahl produce its products?

Rübezahl produces its products in the main plant in Dettingen/Teck near Stuttgart as well as in Borken-Weseke. 

 

Does Rübezahl offer visits to the facilities?

For organizational and sanitary reasons, Rübezahl unfortunately can no longer offer facility visits.

 

Is it possible to buy Rübezahl chocolate directly from the company?

Rübezahl has factory outlets in its plants, as well as multiple shops. For a current overview of all the shops go to the “Factory sales” section.

 

Can you supply us with free promotional items and trial product samples?

We receive numerous requests for free promotional items and trial product samples on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we do not have a budget to serve these requests. Instead, we support multiple charitable projects at our company’s location.

 

Where can I find information for my dissertation, seminar thesis, or term paper?

We are happy that you want to study Rübezahl chocolates and its products. Unfortunately, we do not have the appropriate informational material to provide you with. Because of the numerous requests, we cannot respond to individual questions. However, you can find general information on our company website as well as on our brand websites.

 

How can I get a sponsorship or a donation from Rübezahl?

We receive daily inquiries with the request to support events, carnival parades, parties, or raffles with a donation or item donations. Unfortunately, our budget is limited. We have decided to exclusively support two projects, in Ghana and Madagascar, as well as different charities at our company’s location.

 

What countries does Rübezahl get its cacao supply from?

Rübezahl uses different brands of cacao from different provinces, such as West Africa, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, and Madagascar.

 

Does Rübezahl produce its chocolate sustainably?

Yes. Rübezahl is one of the biggest buyers of UTZ certified cacao. Among others, Rübezahl buys UTZ certified chocolate, which is produced with one of the world’s biggest sustainability programs and is UTZ CERTIFIED, and therefore supports sustainable cacao cultivation. UTZ certified products are labeled with the UTZ CERTIFIED label.

 

At what temperature should I store chocolate?

The ideal temperature is between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius. The chocolate does not melt at that temperature. Chocolate should be stored in cool, dry place and at a constant temperature. Because chocolate takes on the smells of other products, it should be stored in airtight packaging.
 

"May contain traces of…"

This phrase, usually followed by nuts or milk, is written on almost every chocolate package. This does not mean that these ingredients are contained in the chocolate on purpose, but only that the possibility that traces of these ingredients are in the chocolate cannot be 100% ruled out. This would mostly be a problem for people with nut and milk allergies, because even the traces could be dangerous for them.

 

What does it mean when chocolate has a whitish coating?

If the chocolate is wrongly stored, it may form a whitish coating. That is also called “fat bloom.” Fat bloom does not have any effects on the taste of the product and is merely a visual impairment.

  

Who can I contact to file complaints?

To file complaints, please send us an email (if possible including a picture of the product you are complaining about), receipt (including date and place of the purchase), as well as the written complaint to kundenservice@rk-schoko.de. We will look into the complaint and get back to you as soon as possible.

 

What are emulsifiers?
Emulsifiers, such as sunflower lecithin, increase the melting and flowing ability of chocolate. The individual ingredients are able to better merge with one another. 
 

What happens to the Santa Clauses that were not sold in stores?

A persistent rumor, that the Santa Clauses, which were not sold, are melted and made into Easter bunnies, is obviously not true. We would have to get the Santa Clauses back, unwrap, melt, and reprocess them. That would be much too expensive. The unsold Santa Clauses are sold at discounted rates after the holidays.

 

What does Rübezahl do in order to prevent a migration of mineral oil constituents in its advent calendars?

Rübezahl has only been using calendar wraps made out of fresh fiber cardboard packaging that is printed with mineral oil free color for many years. Since 2013, Rübezahl has also been using fresh fiber cardboard packaging for the outer packaging of the advent calendars. In order for the chocolate not to get in touch with the printed color, Rübezahl no longer prints on the insides of the advent calendar doors.

 

Where can I get more information about chocolate?

The Info-Zentrum-Schokolade has more information in the form of numerous texts and images about chocolate on its website www.infozentrum-schoko.de. You can also get more information about chocolate on the Association of the German Confectionery Industry’s (BDSI) website www.bdsi.de.