Why are only Toblerone and Kimder Bueno the only European chocholate to have broken into the U.S market?

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botulizard@reddit

Ritter Sport with the butter biscuit inside is one of my favorite chocolate bars.

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lkvwfurry@reddit

Ritter, Milka, Lindt, Alpine, Godiva are widely found in the US. Moser Roth, Choceur, and Schogetten and available at ALDI here.

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ViolettaHunter@reddit

Moser Roth and Choceur are Aldi's own brands

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cubed_echoes@reddit

Lindt is everywhere. Govida was everywhere and has shrunken

Cant get through a Christmas without being gifted lindt balls

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lupuscapabilis@reddit

Why are Europeans so obsessed with chocolates and snacks? I'm an adult. I really don't know what chocolate is out there. I buy actual food.

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MainVehicle2812@reddit

Terry's, especially their chocolate oranges.

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Bigbird_Elephant@reddit

We have Cadbury however Hershey owns the brand and changed the ingredients

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HarveyNix@reddit

I could walk one block to our local independent grocery store and buy Ritter Sport and Milka. I'm in Chicago.

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_edd@reddit

Are those mainly in the Midwest? I see others saying that they're widely available but have never seen them before.

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Suppafly@reddit

Are those mainly in the Midwest?

Have you looked in the candy aisle specifically or are you only really aware of the ones in the impulse section next to the cash register?

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_edd@reddit

I look at the chocolate section. I regularly buy Bark Thins, Godiva Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt, Drizzilicious, etc...

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anonymouse278@reddit

I'm in the deep south and we have Ritter Sport and Kinder products at regular grocery stores.

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Happy_Confection90@reddit

Nope, they're available in New England too.

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Head_World_9764@reddit

Available in the mid Atlantic ( Harris Teeter stores)

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MisSpooks@reddit

I was first introduced to Milka at a Polish store in Connecticut, but I didn't see it elsewhere till I moved to Michigan

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montanalifterchick@reddit

We don't have it here but we do have Ritter in some stores.

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etchedchampion@reddit

We have them everywhere in the North East!

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eugenesbluegenes@reddit

Basically every corner store I go to in California.

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CatBoyTrip@reddit

Walmart in the chocolate and candy aisle.

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TiFist@reddit

You should have zero trouble finding all of those in Texas in any reasonable sized city.

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Jameszhang73@reddit

Ferrero Rocher is very popular in the US and has been for 30+ years

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Suppafly@reddit

Ferrero Rocher is very popular in the US and has been for 30+ years

I don't even think they are that good, but they have been running advertisements for them on tv for decades implying that they are fancy.

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PlainTrain@reddit

Ferrero Rocher bought out Nestle's chocolate business a while back or Nestle would have been the easy winner.

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Suppafly@reddit

Why are only Toblerone and Kimder Bueno the only European chocholate to have broken into the U.S market?

That's fundamentally not true.

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Salty_Dog2917@reddit

We have Ritter, Lindt and Tony’s almost everywhere. I’m sure there are more too

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Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit

Maybe you've heard the full name: Tony's Chocolonely.

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n00bdragon@reddit

Are these worth it? They seem outrageously overpriced every time I see them. I want to try one but I'm scared it will be super disappointing.

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Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit

They are expensive, but they're really good. I usually only buy them when they're on sale.

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jurassicbond@reddit

I've seen those, but didn't know it was European

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eyetracker@reddit

Nope, looked up pics and not familiar. Maybe also regional in this country.

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Salty_Dog2917@reddit

Most the Cadbury we get in the USA is made by Hershey

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vwsslr200@reddit

Cadbury originally entered the US on their own in the early 70s, building a factory in Hazleton PA. But they didn't do that well, so in the late 80s sold the factory and the brand rights to Hershey.

The bars are still made in that same plant today, and Hershey still uses the Dairy Milk crumb imported from Cadbury in the UK. However I have no idea if the current recipe is something Hershey came up with after buying the brand, or if it dates all the way back to the beginning establishment of the Cadbury brand in the US.

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BrainFartTheFirst@reddit

Reber

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b0ingy@reddit

Tony’s is the FUCKING BEST

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butt_honcho@reddit

Nestle

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Santosp3@reddit

Ferrero

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Weightmonster@reddit

We have Rittersport and Milka everywhere

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ACatInAHole@reddit

No clue but I would sacrifice my first born if it meant Frey chocolate was in America

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Character_Wait_2180@reddit

You're forgetting Cadbury's too, who were a British company before they got bought out. We also have Lindt, Godiva and a few others. But as to why not other brands, I don't know. Maybe lack of marketing?

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aimingsashimig@reddit

To answer your edits: Regular kinder, ritter sport, and Milka have been available at nearly every grocery store I've been to but aren't as popular or as omnipresent as Hershey's. However, Toblerone and Kinder Bueno are also not as omnipresent as Hershey's. I would say that the if a store has Toblerone and Kinder Bueno, they'd probably have the other things you mention unless it's Costco and they only stock a very small amount of items.

IMO, Toblerone and Kinder Bueno are more iconic and talked about because they're very different from other chocolate offerings, while the others you mentioned are more or less in chocolate bar form.

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SevenSixOne@reddit

IMO, Toblerone and Kinder Bueno are more iconic and talked about because they're very different from other chocolate offerings, while the others you mentioned are more or less in chocolate bar form.

And they're usually a lot more expensive and a lot harder to find than comparable American brands, so the people who have had them aren't usually impressed enough to keep buying them

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Beautiful-Owl-3216@reddit

In the US stores mostly have a product placement mafia. If you have a gas station or shop you have many things to worry about and don't care about candy. Some guy you rent the space to deals with your candy business.

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JustAnotherDay1977@reddit

Ritter and Lindt are pretty easy to find too.

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Dangerous-Safe-4336@reddit

Nestle is, though. And it's been here forever.

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PantherkittySoftware@reddit

Sigh. I remember when Nestle used to also sell plain chocolate bars here.

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Dangerous-Safe-4336@reddit

Don't remember plain Nestle bars, but Nestle's Crunch is older than I am.

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PantherkittySoftware@reddit

I think they discontinued the pure-chocolate bars in the 1980s, then briefly brought them back for a couple of years in the late 90s.

I just remember that they tasted a lot better than Hershey, but melted really easily & made a mess. Like, even a minute or two of fingertip body-heat made a mess.

I think I rember someone saying they couldnt go in an outdoor vending machine in Florida due to their extreme heat-intolerance (compared to Hershey & Snickers)

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ThanosSnapsSlimJims@reddit

They're not. Ladenrach, Lindor, and Lindt have.

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DropTopEWop@reddit

You can find Milka

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Hatweed@reddit

FerrerO, Ritter, and Cadbury are common enough.

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the_quark@reddit

Regular Kinder Surprise is banned by the FDA for being a choking hazard for small children.

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shelwood46@reddit

That's a myth and not true at all. There was a law passed by the US in 1934 to restrict smuggling (back during Prohibition) that prohibits importing manufactured non-food items inside food items. When Kinder was founded in 1964, they knew about that law, but in 60 years have never used the obvious solution -- just make Surprises in a factory in the US -- and instead people believed this crazy rumor. It is 100% by choice that Kinder does not sell the enclosed Surprises here.

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PacSan300@reddit

Furthermore, this law actually predates Kinder Surprise, as it is from the 1930s, while Kinder Surprise was only invented in the early 70s. Thus, it was basically dead on arrival in the US.

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

But you can still get Kinder at any checkout line in the USA, it’s the same chocolate just different packaging

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No_Bluebird7716@reddit

We have all these and more, as long as you have anything like A Pier One around. We even have foreign candy shops!

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hashashin@reddit

The only time I can remember someone I knew buying a plain Hershey bar was to make s'mores over a fire because it melts easily.

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

Yeah I’d say the vast majority is for s’mores.

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shelwood46@reddit

I'd say 99% of Hershey bars are sold for cooking (mostly smores) and as mini bars in those Halloween mixes. Americans haven't gone for plain non-fancy chocolate in about 80 years (unless we count Kisses, people weirdly are fine with Hersheys in that form, and those are most found in jars on desks).

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justwatchingsports@reddit

Europe and the US are both importing raw ingredients for chocolate from countries that actually produce cacao. Also chocolate is pretty easy to make, it’s not like it requires any particular technical expertise, both places can make chocolate equally well. Because of that, it doesn’t usually make sense to import chocolate from one to the other.

There’s not a lot of European chocolate in the US or American chocolate in Europe because why would there be?

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TiFist@reddit

There's not a lot of American chocolate in Europe because the big brands favor recipes that include butyric acid from the dairy. That makes it a little more heat resistant and shelf stable, but it makes it a lot grainier and can give it a little bit of an acidic taste.

Hershey's is the most common brand, but their chocolate all has this flavor profile.

*Good* chocolate does require some expertise, but certainly US companies are capable of making good quality chocolate. It's just not the cheapest most mass-market option.

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sjedinjenoStanje@reddit

I think literally only Hershey's has butyrate. Some outside the US assume this is the only chocolate available here for some reason.

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vwsslr200@reddit

I think literally only Hershey's has butyrate

Yup. And not even all Hershey's products have it. Hershey's Symphony which is available pretty much everywhere doesn't have it.

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Jim_E_Rose@reddit

I keep searching to find out what else I’m eating with it in it but it’s just pages of Hershey on my search results so I’m not going to worry about it. If any place is misunderstood it’s the states.

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sjedinjenoStanje@reddit

Some of that misunderstanding is deliberate. Some love to paint Americans as unsophisticated rubes with bad taste.

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Jim_E_Rose@reddit

They are only wrong in thinking they aren’t a bunch of silly monkeys too 😆

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Rhombus_McDongle@reddit

Any time I've had European chocolate it's like having a Bud Light, just too sweet, soft and not complex.

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Dangerous-Safe-4336@reddit

"All he's this flavor profile?" Can you name any American chocolate brands other than Hershey? Have you ever tasted any of them?

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justwatchingsports@reddit

Only Hershey's makes their chocolate that way.

The reason few American companies export to Europe is a lot more boring than that. The market is already saturated, and an imported chocolate will be a higher price without offering any particular reason to pay a premium.

I import food between the two continents for a living, and public narratives of how the food trade works frequently clashes with the much more mundane realities that just don't make as interesting a story.

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Tangentkoala@reddit

Kinder was banned in america for sometime because of the choking hazard of the OG egg toys.

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tsukiii@reddit

Ritter Sport is widely available. And so is Milka.

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No-Custard-5646@reddit (OP)

Didn't know that

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FlappyClap@reddit

We have almost everything in the US.

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iPoseidon_xii@reddit

They’re all relatively new around most parts of the U.S. Of course if you’re near an Aldi or Lidl, you have easy access. And to much more! I have a world market in my city and it’s where I get my Schoko Bons 😂

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nasa258e@reddit

Are there Lidls in the US? I loved those when abroad

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FivebyFive@reddit

There are yes

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-thegay-@reddit

They are here, even in some Walmarts and Targets; they’re just not very popular.

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sjedinjenoStanje@reddit

I would say Milka isn't super popular (but you can see it as you said) but I see Ritter Sport everywhere.

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samceefoo@reddit

Might be in pockets where there are more expats or international migrants are like California. But for places like the interior or southeast not so much. You can find it in specialty stores like World Market if there is one around.

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tsukiii@reddit

Ritter Sport is sold at CVS and Walgreens and our local Kroger subsidiary (Ralph’s). Milka is not as widespread, but I’ve seen it around without looking specifically for European chocolates.

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samceefoo@reddit

👍🏼 I'll have to look at Kroger. If they have it at Krogers in Arkansas.

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cmcrich@reddit

Yup, CVS has it.

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warneagle@reddit

I wish milka were easier to find, I always have to stock up when I’m in Europe.

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DuffThey@reddit

Most states have a couple of 'World Market' stores; if you are near one head there, I never have a problem getting my Milka fix

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AgathaM@reddit

I just bought them from amazon when I wanted to try it since we don’t have any for sale locally.

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thetentaclemaid@reddit

Chocolate from other countries is different from US chocolate. Often, to Europeans, American chocolate tastes like vomit, while Americans may find European chocolate to be "flat." I don't know about toblerone, but Kinder first sold us fun chocolate for kids, which led adults to appreciate the taste, and Kinder Bueno is just absolutely delicious. That's my theory, at least. May not be accurate.

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RichInBunlyGoodness@reddit

Most of the chocolate Americans eat is crap. According to statista, in 2022, Hersheys had and Mars had a combined 65% market share. There’s not much of a market for good dark chocolate. There is some very good niche chocolate, such as Taza. I order a couple of cases direct now and then.

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leeloocal@reddit

You should try Ghirardelli if you think our chocolate is crap.

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shoresy99@reddit

Milk chocolate seems far more prevalent in the US and I don’t find it very chocolatey at all.

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sjedinjenoStanje@reddit

It's literally only Hershey's that uses butyrate. Other American chocolate brands don't.

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throwawayy2k2112@reddit

Toblerone is amazing. Try it next time you see it!

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baalroo@reddit

We have those, they're all pretty meh, so no one's excited about them.

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Bluemonogi@reddit

I don’t know where all the chocolate brands in stores come from or if they are as popular here as in Europe. I have seen Milka for sale in my area but have not heard of Ritter or Duplo.

Hershey’s is fairly inexpensive chocolate. The European brands are probably going to be more expensive than Hershey’s usually.

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machagogo@reddit

I think your premise is false. All of the brands you list are readily available in any market near me.

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DeByGodCapn@reddit

In addition to what everyone else said, people seem to forget Nestle, which has been in the American market over a century now, is Swiss.

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Current_Poster@reddit

Ferrero Rocher, Guylian, Cadbury, Lindt, Ritter Sport, Nestle is Swiss for crying out loud, Godiva's Belgian...

As to the edit, "are these imports as popular as in their native country"- a few are really popular, but generally the native country wins in that contest, and "compared to Hershey's"? "Do these import items outsell a domestic and international powerhouse based in your country?" is also an interesting question to ask.

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jurassicbond@reddit

Godiva's Belgian.

It originated in Belgium but has been fully owned by Campbell's for over 50 years.

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Background_Humor5838@reddit

They're not. We have so many European chocolates and candy in the average grocery store as well as in the international isle of the grocery store.

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mrsrobotic@reddit

I'm in Maryland, we get Milka, Cadbury, Ritter Sport, Tony's, and Kinder here in a regular grocery store. At holiday times you can buy a greater variety typically. There are other smaller imports depending available in smaller grocers, for example, I can buy Polish brands at the Polish market.

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chivopi@reddit

I don’t know a single American who will eat a full sized Hershey bar. I’m sure they exist, but I really only ever see them for smores, which we don’t eat often, either.

We will eat other kinds of chocolate no problem.

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expeciallyheinous@reddit

European chocolate and other candies are extremely easy to get at basically any normal grocery store in the US. They’re not as common as American chocolate brands because… why would they be? That would be like asking why American brands aren’t as popular across Europe as European brands are.

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Capable-Pressure1047@reddit

They are available here, but definitely a niche market. Americans grew up with Hershey. GIs in WWII had them as part of their rations, so it just became part of the culture. You love it or hate it. Most people, it seems, would prefer smaller local chocolates before buying European brands.

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IrianJaya@reddit

We have all those. I can buy them at my local grocery store.

It should be pretty obvious why a foreign candy isn't more popular than a domestic company. Hershey's has more exposure, more marketing, more affordability, and more availability as one would expect. The branding is so widespread that it's part of the culture. But there are many other chocolate brands available and widely known here.

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boytoy421@reddit

this is ritter sport erasure and i won't stand for it

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y3llowed@reddit

On top of the other ones mentioned, Lindt/Lindor chocolate is basically everywhere.

Also, Lindt purchased Ghirardelli chocolate back in 1998 which has also been widely available in the states since shortly after that period (at one point was basically localized to San Francisco).

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Dangerous-Safe-4336@reddit

Unfortunately they sold off Flicks to Ferrero, which is using it as a cheapo fake candy. Nothing like the Ghirardelli Flicks I remember.

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ZaphodG@reddit

Aldi has German chocolate.

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Somnifor@reddit

At the wholesale level Callebaut chocolate from Belgium is the most popular chocolate in the US for upscale restaurants that make deserts in house. Some of the stuff from Colombia is better though.

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cmcrich@reddit

I even see Bounty bars at my local supermarket, in the “International Foods” section lol. But they’re here.

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samceefoo@reddit

Had this discussion with my Italian friend. You have real Milk Chocolate. It tastes different. We grew up on a type of milk chocolate that is not the same. In the early days Hershey was trying to recreate European milk chocolate but he couldn't get it quite right, the milk kept spoiling. He found a way to preserve it so that it incorporated into the chocolate without spoiling but it gave the milk a tangy/soured flavor. We as Americans grew up used to the tangy version of milk chocolate and not the smooth-creamy sweeter European style milk chocolate. Which is what I think when I try my friends chocolate he brings back from Europe, not my preference.

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OceanPoet87@reddit

Lindor chocolates are Swiss and they are very popular.

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

Probably supply and demand. Candy and chocolate are a bit of a commodity in the US. Quality isn't a big differentiator. Hershey's is objectively not very good compared to what you can get in Europe, but are people going to be willing to spend 5x more for a Swiss brand that they never heard of? Probably not.

Also, I think people eat bars with mixtures, like Snickers, more than that eat pure chocolate bars. At least that is my guess.

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solomons-marbles@reddit

Only Toberlone has been widely available for long time. Others are starting to get more shelf space. One of the big reasons why it’s getting easier is that the confectioners are now mostly conglomerates.

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

Hersheys is cheap (both quality and price). Plenty of European brands are widely available including those listed. And we have premium American chocolate like Ghirardelli, Dove, Sees. It’s a chocolate fest over here, but hersheys is cheap and has nostalgia for many. I don’t like it much.

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jeophys152@reddit

Ikea, which has pretty good chocolate.

Hersheys is cheaper and does more marketing

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Longwell2020@reddit

Cadbury

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Heykurat@reddit

Isn't Cadbury owned by Mondelez out of Chicago now?

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ViewtifulGene@reddit

Yes, they're now a subsidiary of Mondelez. Cadbury's headquarters are still in London, though.

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butt_honcho@reddit

They were still English-owned (and I believe manufactured) when they first found success here, so I think it still counts.

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OfficialDeathScythe@reddit

I feel like it has something to do with real kinder eggs being banned for a choking hazard. Learning that was the first time I had ever heard of kinder eggs and then I started seeing the buenos in store. Not a huge fan personally. Had a real kinder eggs being in Canada and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t amazing or anything but it was good, it was cool to get a toy, and it wasn’t as bad as the buenos. Later my parents revealed that they had 2 plastic containers filled to the brim with kinder eggs from when they lived in Germany so I spent a while as a child looking at every toy they came with lol

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TiFist@reddit

And being taboo was kind of a big deal-- like going to another country and sneaking eggs back for your kids was a thing among people who knew about them. The forbidden fruit of chocolate.

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OfficialDeathScythe@reddit

Yeah exactly. I feel like suddenly everyone wanted what they couldn’t have when the ban came and that made it more popular. No publicity is bad publicity

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rawbface@reddit

...They're not. We have tons of different chocolate brands, including European ones. Nestle, Cadbury, Lindt, Godiva, etc etc.

Ritter Sport and Milka are supposedly available here, though I have not tried them. No they are not popular.

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SSGbuttercup@reddit

Am I the only adult child that instantly thought of Haribo? Their gummy candy is top tier.

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breaststroker42@reddit

We have tons of other ones. Cadbury is one I haven’t seen named in the comments yet.

To answer your edit:

Hershey’s isn’t popular. It’s cheap and everywhere and usually used to make other things. Basically only little kids eat it by itself.

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Yeegis@reddit

That’s just completely not true

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Jim_E_Rose@reddit

Always Godiva for good commercial chocolate. Cadbury second. But it’s fun eating snacks from around the world even if they are all kinda the same. Some sugar, some salt…something to set it apart. Repeat

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ACam574@reddit

Americans like their chocolate to taste like pure sugar and have the texture of left over candle wax.

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BoringDad40@reddit

I'm not going to defend cheap US chocolate, but my experience with cheap European chocolate isn't much better: it just tastes like sugar and milk to me.

At the mid- to higher- end, there seems to be more of a preference divide. Most high end US chocolate is relatively dark (which I prefer) vs. European chocolate which tends to be milk chocolate. Different strokes...

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sjedinjenoStanje@reddit

Are you talking about chocolate Easter bunnies? 🐰

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handicapnanny@reddit

Kinda true I’m embarrassed to admit it

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SnarkyFool@reddit

Lindt is in my very average Kansas supermarket.

It's everywhere here.

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AssistanceLucky2392@reddit

This question is so ridiculous

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handicapnanny@reddit

I’ve never even heard of Ritter sport

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RazorRamonio@reddit

Because we all have local chocolatiers that we know and love. Ghirardelli is only a few minutes from my house.

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tranquilrage73@reddit

Ferrero and Lindt chocolates are probably more popular in the US than Toblerone and Kinder Bueno.

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leeloocal@reddit

Lindt?

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Heykurat@reddit

Lindt is everywhere. It's on the shelf right next to the Ghirardelli. We can even get most of the specialty and seasonal flavors.

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leeloocal@reddit

I know. OP thinks we’re a backwater.

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etchedchampion@reddit

Lindt had a factory in New Hampshire, we can get basically anything.

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shammy_dammy@reddit

They're pretty expensive in comparison.

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Happy_Confection90@reddit

How are you defining 'broken into the US market'?

I live in a rural New Hampshire town, and even so I can buy several Ritter Sport and Milka products in a store less than 10 miles away, and slightly farther away if I want to shop at Target instead and only wanted Ritter Sport.

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enderfem@reddit

Yeah even when I was in small town Alabama i could get Milka. Probably Ritter but I wasnt familiar with it.

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Pier-Head@reddit

Kit Kat comes from Yorkshire

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bonzai113@reddit

Aldi here in my part of Indiana has a very good Austrian chocolate.

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MyUsername2459@reddit

Milka is definitely widely available in the US.

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FivebyFive@reddit

Your premise is faulty.

Ritter is everywhere. As are many other brands.

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ExistentialCrispies@reddit

Yeah the irony is Toblerone is probably the most famous name of the list but the others are more commonly found in the average store. You can see Kinder, Ritter Sport and Milka next to you grocery store checkout, meanwhile you'd have to go out of your way to find a Toblerone.

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Biterbutterbutt@reddit

“How come Americans don’t have…” We have it. Stop.

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Educational-Ad-385@reddit

In Los Angeles we have Lindt, Kinder, Milka, Ritter Sport, and Toblerone very readily available. We can get Moser Roth at a few stores.

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Educational-Ad-385@reddit

In Los Angeles we have Lindt, Kinder, Milka, Ritter Sport, and Toblerone very readily available. We can get Moser Roth at a few stores.

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Oceanbreeze871@reddit

Cadbury is big in America too

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Tricky_Ad_1870@reddit

I see a lot of Lindt chocolate out there. And Cadbury.

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Romaine2k@reddit

I love Ritter Sport but it's a lot more expensive than US brands.

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InfidelZombie@reddit

Kinder has only recently become popular, probably in the last 15 years. Toblerone is famous worldwide due to its (intentional) association with airport duty-free shops.

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cdb03b@reddit

Lindt and Cadbury are probably the most popular European Chocolates. But all the brands you list are available.

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WritPositWrit@reddit

Milka is very common in us

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freakout1015@reddit

Would love to see Charlottes Brunswick chocolates from the UK. Best I ever had, but very expensive.

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eugenesbluegenes@reddit

I can get Ritter Sport at three different corner stores within a 4 minute walk from my apartment.

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reflectorvest@reddit

There is never a point that there aren’t maltesers in my house somewhere and I’ve never been anywhere in Europe before. It’s not hard to find those things here, I buy them at the regular grocery store.

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CatBoyTrip@reddit

Never had a Toblerone or a Kinder Bueno. I have had a Ritter Sport though, and it is my favorite. Especially the ones with hazelnut.

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ViewtifulGene@reddit

Lindt is everywhere. They're Swiss.

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TheViolaRules@reddit

Pretty easy to find Milka bars by me

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UpperLowerMidwest@reddit

Uh, they're not. I buy European chocolate all the time, and neither of those meh options.

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Beautiful-Report58@reddit

Our candy aisles are second only to our cereal aisles. We have access to almost every brand of candy and chocolate.

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liamstrain@reddit

For a long time it had to do with import controls. Now it's mostly just because distribution and markets are controlled by a very few companies, which limits market penetration for names not already familiar.

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BjornAltenburg@reddit

American supermarkets and specialty buyers can get you tons of imported chocolates. There is a Finnish brand I really enjoy, and Lindt is sold at most supermarkets or at least Walmart and Target. People who love chocolate have way more options today than even like 15 years ago. Access to South American and Southeast Asia directly competes with Europe as well for premium chocolate experiences. Even vietnam has some truly amazing singe source chocolate on the American specialty market.

It should be noted that Americans as a whole are eating less chocolate by generations due to price and other factors.

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4games1@reddit

There are plenty of European chocolates on the markets, but many Americans seem to prefer chocolate that bites back at least a little. IMO

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TiFist@reddit

Ritter Sport has been widely available here for the last 15 years or more. We might not get every flavor and it won't be in gas stations, but it's not hard to get. Milka is slightly more niche but easy to find in many supermarket international foods sections. Other brands like Cadbury and Lindt are also in the US market and common.

The difference here is that Ritter Sport is sold in the 'regular' candy section in a grocery and 'Milka' is in the specialized international section.

Kinder is actually a more recent import in my region than Ritter. Kinder Eggs are and remain illegal in the US so that's one reason why it took so long to get traction. You'll be very disappointed by the US version of the egg. It's illegal to sell food with any inedible parts hidden inside even if everyone understands not to eat the toy. It has to be separate.

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