What's The Brand Behind Aldi's Moser Roth Chocolate?

Chocolate has become a pretty big deal in recent years. Sure, you can still indulge in the simple Hershey bar, but the high-end stuff is now a major part of the epicurean's concern. And when you want to sample one of these fancy offerings on your next grocery run, some store-bought chocolate bars are better than others. There are some great private-label offerings from specialty stores — from Whole Foods' 365 line to Trader Joe's The Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar. And if you're a fan of Aldi's Moser Roth chocolates, there's a lot of history behind them, although the name has changed hands over the years.

Aldi's Moser Roth chocolate can be traced to German candy magnate August Storck KG. While you may have never heard of the company, it makes at least one little candy that you've probably seen in a jar or drawer, maybe at your grandma's house. Storck produces the famous Werther's Original — those hard caramel (not toffee) candies known for their distinctive buttery flavor. And, it turns out, Storck has its hands in a lot of candy jars, some more well-known in Europe than in the States (Merci and Riesen, for example). To capture the American chocolate market, Aldi and Storck reintroduced the Moser Roth name in 2007 as an exclusive brand for Aldi.

The Moser Roth company began as just the Roth end of things in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1841, founded by pastry chef Wilhelm Roth Jr. In 1896, Eduard Moser came on board, and the Moser Roth name was registered in 1902. After a number of owners, starts and restarts, and factory issues related to World War II, the company name came into the hands of Storck, and Moser Roth chocolates have been produced by the company for Aldi since 2007.

One of Aldi's best sellers is its Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bar, but the Moser Roth line has everything from 85% cocoa dark chocolate to sweet milk chocolate, orange- and almond-filled bars, vanilla-enhanced white chocolate, and dark chocolate with a spicy chile kick. The bars go for around $3 to $4, and the internet is eating them up. One Reddit commenter wrote that the Moser Roth Sea Salt Caramel Dark Chocolate Bar "is D I V I N E," and another said, "I love this chocolate. Can't have enough. I had to ration it." 

If you're new to the grocery chain, a bar of Moser Roth chocolate might be another one of those must-have products for first-time Aldi shoppers. And, while some go faster than others, the choices are pretty expansive, so there should be at least a few options to try out.