Zotter Chocolate Manufactory: A sweet adventure in Styria
The Zotter Chocolate Factory & Experience in Styria is a paradise for chocolate lovers. On a guided tour of the factory, you can follow the entire production process - from the cocoa bean to the finished chocolate. There are delicious samples to discover at every station on the chocolate trail. In addition to the chocolate, the edible zoo is also a delight, offering a glimpse of sustainable agriculture.
Short info:
- Where is the Zotter Manufactory located? Bergl 56, 8333 Riegersburg, not far from the Riegersburg
- What is there to see there? More for tasting. The Zotter chocolate production with tasting and a zoo
- How much time should I plan for? Approximately 3-4 hours minimum
- What is special about Zotter? 100 % Organic Fair Trade Chocolate with unusual varieties
- How much does it cost to enter and what are the opening hours? Here you can find all prices and opening hours
Some people might ask why we include a chocolate factory in our travel guide? The Zotter factory is a paradise for families with children. Almost 200,000 people come here every year. As part of a tour, you can eat chocolate until you burst and then go on an adventure hunt in the zoo. But more on that later.
Zotter General
Zotter chocolate is mainly known in German-speaking countries. The family business was founded in Styria in 1987. From the very beginning, emphasis was placed on organic and fair trade. Today, the company produces over 500 different types of chocolate, generating annual sales of over 29 million euros. Around 400 different organic ingredients are used. This of course does not mean that the chocolate is cheap, starting at around €4.10 for a small 70g bar.
The varieties
At Zotter you can find pretty much everything you can't imagine 😉
Of course there are a few traditional varieties, but Zotter is known for its unusual creations such as:
- seaweed / caramel / pineapple
- firewood chips
- Indian banana from South Tyrol
- sea buckthorn & quince
- Beer & Malt Brittle
- Brown Butter Toffee
- Cola & Popcorn
- Hemp & Apricot
- pine & cranberry
- And many many more
The Zotter Adventure World – our experience report
The most important thing first: tickets You should definitely make a reservation in advance. It can get extremely busy on weekends, public holidays and during school holidays!
20 minutes before the tour starts, we park our vehicle in the huge but extremely full car park. It takes a while until we finally get past the crowds of cars and people to the entrance. But we are at the start on time.
The tour begins with the film »A Cocoa Journey Around the World«. Here you can learn interesting facts about the production of cocoa and the production at Zotter. We found it particularly impressive that part of their cocoa by sailing ship from Belize to Hamburg, which makes it particularly sustainable. In general, you really get the feeling that the cocoa producing countries and partners are paid and treated fairly, as the seal of approval demands. Organic is also the highest priority in all production steps. The approximately 20-minute film is a bit long-winded for children, but overall it is very nice and entertaining.
Then the interesting part of the tour begins - at least almost 😉
At the beginning you see the chocolate in its raw state - the different types of cocoa beans. Here you can taste what the different countries of origin taste like. You can also try the different types of sugar and milk. You can even try freshly roasted and fairly traded organic coffee beans. From now on, how long you spend at each station is entirely up to you!
Tip: Don't overdo it, the best is yet to come. It's been hard to hold back our 3-year-old so far.
Things get really interesting for the first time with the vegan chocolate fountainVegan milk chocolate alternatives and purely plant-based white chocolate coatings flow here. Simply hold your tasting spoon underneath and enjoy.
This is followed by various bubbling chocolate fountains in various flavors such as caramel, raspberry, currant, white chocolate and more.
There are further stations with chocolate creations such as crunchy caramel, Labooko chocolate, passion fruit & orange, white chocolate, etc. You walk along corridors with plexiglass walls through which you can watch the chocolate production. There are tasting stations with new creations every few meters.
We find the Praline Roller Coaster – Here, organic praline balls roll down a small track at the push of a button – then simply remove and enjoy. There is also the Nashido + Biofekt robots: Simply order a praline or small filled Nashido bars via the touchscreen menu and the Choco Robot will serve them in no time.
You see, you can eat as much chocolate as you want until you feel sick - and that's usually what happens 😉
We also find it particularly beautiful the 8-cylinder nougat pump, where you can taste 8 different liquid nougat worries.
If you are already full, you might want to try the leaf salad buffetUnfortunately, this is not salad, but wafer-thin chocolate bars in a mixed variety.
If you are feeling sick now, only the First Aid Station – CHOCOshot – the snack therapy in the syringe, filled with liquid praline fillings…
If you're now thinking "I just can't eat any more chocolate", no problem, of course there are also different types of drinking chocolate towards the end...
The tour finally ends, how could it be otherwise, in the shop.
After about 1.5 hours of chocolate tasting, we've had enough, even our kids don't want any more. After so much chocolate, we really need some exercise. Luckily, Zotter thought of that too.
Edible Zoo
Right behind the chocolate factory there is a large zoo, which is included in the entrance fee. Old local animal breeds live here, such as shaggy cattle, water buffalo, pigs, chickens, sheep, rabbits, goats, ducks, llamas, alpacas, ostriches, fallow deer and more. Some of them can also be fed in the petting zoo.
A highlight for children is the spacious playground with climbing frame and play area at the Pig Forest, water wheel games, slope slide and more.
If you are traveling with children, you should definitely plan about 2 hours or more for the zoo.
On the way back to the factory there is a Zotter Cemetery with flavors that unfortunately did not survive, such as: cinnamon crackers, cornelian cherry and pig's blood, cigar brandy with cognac, tangerine & sweet mustard, peanuts & ketchup, bird food with peach, sausage mustard praline and more.
Funny, we would have been very interested in one or the other 😉
Conclusion
A visit to the Zotter Chocolate Factory is highly recommended if you are in the area (the Riegersburg is just a stone's throw away!) You can eat more than enough chocolate. Luckily there are water dispensers set up all the time, otherwise your stomach would get sticky in no time.
The only thing that we found a little disappointing was that there were hardly any of the unusual varieties to try. But for children, this land of milk and honey will remain an unforgettable trip!
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