Riesen's black wrapper is easy to spot in any multipack precisely because almost no other chocolate-caramel brand uses black as its main colour - most go for gold, red or brown.
A Storck line with deep roots
Riesen comes from August Storck KG, the German confectionery company founded in 1903 and now headquartered in Berlin, with its main production still based in Halle. Storck is best known internationally for Werther's Original, but Riesen has run alongside it since the company introduced the bar in the 1970s as a firmer, chocolate-covered alternative to its softer caramel lines.
What's inside the wrapper
- Centre — a dense, chewy caramel, noticeably firmer than a soft toffee or fudge.
- Coating — a layer of dark chocolate, giving it a slightly bitter edge against the sweetness of the caramel.
- Wrapper — individually wrapped in black with the red Riesen logo, a colour choice that's stayed consistent across markets.
How it differs from other caramel chews
Where many caramel sweets go soft and stretchy, Riesen is built to hold a firmer bite, closer to a chewy toffee than a melt-in-the-mouth caramel, and the dark chocolate coating sets it apart from milk-chocolate-covered rivals. It's stayed a fixture of German confectionery exports for decades on the strength of that combination. Anyone drawn to the dark chocolate side of things can find more in our chocolate collection.
Frequently asked questions
Who makes Riesen?
Riesen is made by August Storck KG, a German confectionery company headquartered in Berlin with production based in Halle, best known for also creating Werther's Original.
What is Riesen actually made of?
A firm, chewy caramel centre coated in dark chocolate, individually wrapped in the brand's recognisable black wrapper printed with the red Riesen logo.
When was Riesen launched?
Storck introduced Riesen in the 1970s, extending the caramel expertise it had already built with other lines into a dark chocolate-covered format aimed at a firmer, chewier bite.