Protect rainforests with every chocolate bar: The new Good Bar from Plant-for-the-Planet

Tutzing, March 5, 2026. After planting over 11 million trees with Die Gute Schokolade (The Good Chocolate), Plant-for-the-Planet is launching a new product: Der Gute Riegel (The Good Bar). From mid-March, Der Gute Riegel will be available nationwide in dm stores in almond-tonka flavor—and, of course, it will be certified organic and Fairtrade. What makes it special is that customers protect the rainforest with every purchase.

Der Gute Riegel (The Good Bar) for Forest Protection

While customers plant trees by purchasing Die Gute Schokolade chocolate bars, Der Gute Riegel focuses on protecting and preserving existing forests. To this end, the non-profit Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation selects qualified in-house or external forest conservation projects and monitors them according to clear quality standards.

To start with, Der Gute Riegel is supporting two projects run by the Mexican organization Pronatura Península de Yucatán, which works closely with local communities and specifically addresses the causes of deforestation.

Protecting the forest together with local communities

Specifically, it supports the community-based work of the municipality of Miguel Colorado in the Mexican state of Campeche on the Yucatán Peninsula. Der Gute Riegel helps to protect and preserve the municipality’s approximately 20,000-hectare forest reserve.

“An important component of this is ecotourism, which provides local people with important income that helps the forest. Miguel Colorado receives training, equipment, and workshops. This protects the forest in areas where destruction is particularly severe,” explains Felix Finkbeiner, founder of Plant-for-the-Planet.

Shaping change together: Step by step towards sustainable agriculture

Plant-for-the-Planet has been running its own planting projects in the region for several years and is well aware of the challenges involved. These include cattle farming, which destroys forests. This is precisely where the second project supported by Guten Riegel comes in—the so-called pasture forests.

In this form of agroforestry, trees are specifically integrated into pastureland or deliberately preserved there. This type of land use enables small farmers to keep cattle without destroying further forests.

Tackling the root of the problem: More protection, fewer fires

“Cattle farming is one of the biggest drivers of deforestation and the climate crisis due to excessive land use and methane emissions, and must be reduced urgently. But in reality, cattle farming in Mexico cannot simply be stopped overnight—it is an important source of income for small farmers and part of the local culture,” says Finkbeiner.

In contrast to conventional cattle farming in this region, pasture forestry does not involve slash-and-burn practices, thereby reducing the risk of forest fires—one of the main causes of primary tropical forest loss, especially in this region. Thanks to this regenerative approach, farmers no longer need to clear new land by burning or stimulate grass and shrub growth by burning pastures.

Every purchase of a Good Bar contributes to preserving existing forests, securing livelihoods, and working with local communities to shape a sustainable future for the rainforest.