Short info:
Where is the Zotter factory located? Bergl 56, 8333 Riegersburg, not far from Riegersburg
What is there? Rather to taste. The Zotter chocolate production with tasting and a zoo
How much time should I schedule? 3-4 hours minimum
What is special about Zotter? 100% organic fair trade chocolate with unusual varieties
How much does admission cost and what are the opening times? You can find all prices and opening times here
Some might wonder why we include a chocolate factory in our travel guide? The Zotter factory is a day trip 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 Tiergarten. But more on that later.
Zotter in general
The Zotter chocolate is mainly known in German-speaking countries. The family business was founded in Styria in 1987. Right from the start, emphasis was placed on organic and fair trade. With more than 500 different types of chocolate, more than 29 million euros are sold every year. Around 400 different organic ingredients are used. Of course, the chocolate is not cheap, it starts at around €4.10 for a small 70g bar.
The sorts
Bei Zotter gibt’s so ziemlich alles, was man sich NICHT vorstellen kann 😉
Natürlich gibt’s ein paar herkömmliche Sorten, doch bekannt ist Zotter wegen ihrer ungewöhnlichen Kreationen wie zum Beispiel:
Algen / Karamell / Ananas
Brennholz Hackschnitzel
Indianerbanane aus Südtirol
Sanddorn & Quitte
Bier & Malzkrokant
Brown Butter Toffee
Cola & Popcorn
Hanf & Marille
Zirbe & Preiselbeer
Und viele viele mehr
The Zotter world of experience – our experience report
First things first: you should reserve tickets in advance. It can get extremely crowded here on weekends, public holidays and vacation periods!
20 minutes before the start of the tour we park our vehicle in the huge but extremely crowded parking lot. It takes a while before we are finally past the crowds of cars and people at the entrance. However, we are on time at the start.
The tour begins with the film »A Cocoa Journey Around the World«. Here you can find out everything worth knowing about the production of cocoa and production at Zotter. We found it particularly impressive that part of their cocoa is transported by sailing ship from Belize to Hamburg, which makes it particularly sustainable. In general, you really have the feeling here that the cocoa-producing countries and partners are paid fairly and treated fairly, as required by the seal of approval. Organic also has the highest priority in all production steps. For children, the approx. 20-minute film is a bit long-winded in parts, but overall it is very well done and entertaining.
Then the interesting part of the tour begins – at least almost 😉
At the beginning you see the chocolate in its raw state – i.e. the different types of cocoa beans. Here you can taste what the different countries of origin taste like. You can also test the different types of sugar and milk. You can even taste freshly roasted and fairly traded organic coffee beans. How long you stay at each station is entirely up to you from now on!
Tip: don’t overdo it, the best is yet to come. It’s been hard to hold our 3 year old back so far.
The vegan chocolate fountain is where things get really interesting for the first time. Vegan milk chocolate alternatives and purely plant-based white couvertures flow here. Simply hold your tasting spoon underneath and enjoy.
Various sparkling chocolate fountains follow in various flavors such as caramel, raspberry, currant, white chocolate and more.
Further stations with chocolate creations such as crispy caramel, Labooko chocolate, passion fruit & orange, white chocolate, etc. follow. You walk along corridors with Plexiglas walls through which you can watch the chocolate production. Every few meters there are tasting stations with new creations.
We find the praline roller coaster very entertaining – here, organic praline balls roll down a small track at the push of a button – then simply remove and enjoy. The Nashido + Biofekt robot is also here: Simply order a praline or small filled Nashido bars using the touchscreen menu, and the choco robot will serve them up in no time.
As you can see, you can eat so much chocolate until you get sick – and that usually happens 😉 We also find the 8-cylinder nougat pump particularly nice, on which you can taste 8 different liquid nougat sorrows.
If you are already full, you might want to try the leaf salad buffet for a change. Unfortunately, this is not a salad, but wafer-thin chocolate bars of mixed varieties.
If you are sick now, only the first aid station will help – CHOCOshot – the sweet therapy in the syringe, filled with liquid chocolate fillings…
If you think “I just can’t eat chocolate anymore”. No problem either, 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 have had enough, even our offspring don’t want anything more. After so much chocolate, we really need some exercise now. Luckily, Zotter thought of that too.
Edible zoo
There is a large zoo right behind the chocolate factory, which is included in the entrance fee. Old local animal breeds such as shaggy cattle, water buffalo, pigs, chickens, sheep, rabbits, goats, ducks, llamas, alpacas, ostriches, fallow deer and more live here. You can also feed some of them in the petting zoo.
A highlight for children is the spacious playground with climbing playground and playground at the Schweinewald, water bike games, 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 Friedhof (cemetary) with flavors that unfortunately did not survive, such as: cinnamon granola, cornel and pig’s blood, cigar brandy with cognac, tangerine & sweet mustard, peanuts & ketchup, birdseed 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 right around the corner)! One can eat more than enough chocolate. Fortunately, water dispensers are always set up, otherwise the stomach would be sticky after a very short time.
The only thing we found a little disappointing was that there were hardly any of the very unusual varieties to taste. For children, this land of milk and honey is probably an unforgettable excursion!
