An Amazon tee shirt proclaims, “I’d go through hella for some Nutella.”
Would you?
Nutella’s founding company, Ferrero, is the third largest chocolate confectionary on Earth, selling in 170 countries, with 37 production plants on 5 continents, and 7 specialized hazelnut processing locations. Ferrero earns over $17 billion a year.
According to Facts.net, a jar of Nutella is sold every 2.5 seconds. If you line them up they would circle the planet twice.
Head back to the 1800s when Napoleon and his army were conquering Europe. He set up a naval blockade that, according to Emily Mangini in Food History, “halted all trade between [Britain] and any country under the emperor’s thumb,” including pre-unified Italy.
Chocolatiers were in trouble – their main source of cacao was gone. One legend says that the solution was grounding hazelnuts and mixing them with the available chocolate. Another argues it was an attempt to save the industry.
Mangini reports “a story that credits an invading force for a chocolate-confection-turned-regional-gem is not nearly as stirring as one that frames the chocolatiers as ingenious victors. ”
History repeated itself. “After 90 years of producing their treats in relative peace,” adds Mangini, “a new period of uncertainty [came] with the onset of World War II.” Strict food rations lasted well into the postwar war period and, once again, chocolate was scarce.
Pietro Ferrero, pastry chef and owner of a village bakery, wanted to change that. He lived in a small Italian town named Alba, famous for hazelnuts. Improving the old recipe, Ferrero, in 1946, created a paste of hazelnuts mixed with chocolate and formed into blocks that could be sliced like cheese.
The locals loved it.
Ferrero decided to make his paste creamier and spreadable. He called it Supercrema Gianduja, after comedy character Gianduia, who represented the area. Legend says that Gianduia’s costume was a brown coat lined in red – like the Nutella logo.
Pietro Ferrero, Compliments of Wikimedia Commons
In 1964, Pietro’s son, Michele, improved the recipe, put Supercrema Gianduja into a jar, and gave it a new name. He combined two words – “nut” and “ella.” The “N” is always black because of trademark issues; the other letters are red – a shout out to Gianduia?
Michele Ferrero is known as the Father of Nutella. Kumari writes in Scoopwhoop that Nutella “can mend your broken heart and fill your hungry stomach like nothing else ever will . . . Nutella is an emotion.”
That’s a big job for a little jar.
Skillful marketing, promotions, television, and social media made Nutella a global hit. Today you can buy Nutella around the world – or copycats like Israel’s Elite and Shahar or Italy’s Novi Crema. There are low-sugar, nut-free, organic, keto, and dairy-free versions.
Nutella’s nutritional value is an issue: sugar (57%) and palm oil (32%). There are about 52 hazelnuts, some cocoa, and a glass of skimmed milk in each jar – a 2 tablespoon serving is 200 calories.
Not quite a health food.
In 2012 a class action lawsuit was brought against Nutella, claiming it falsely advertised that it was healthy for kids. Ferrero agreed to modify labeling and marketing and settled the case for $3 million.
Then there’s palm oil. Palm oil production contributes to tropical deforestation and climate change. Some called for a Nutella boycott. Greenpeace argued that a boycott doesn’t solve the problem. In 2013 Ferrero published a “Palm Oil Charter” promising “optimal balance between the conservation of the environment, community needs and economic benefit and viability.”
There are so many more stories!
Nuttellagate also made news in 2013. Rumors claimed that Nutella served in Columbia University’s dining halls cost them $5000 per week due to students consuming 100 pounds a day, filling cups, and stealing jars. The New York Times picked up the story, demanding the truth. The university denied everything, reporting that the actual cost was between $450 and $2,500 depending on the size of the dining hall. Columbia declared “It was a Smear!”
In 2015 a French judge ruled that the parents of a baby girl can’t name her “Nutella” because it would only lead to teasing. The judge ordered her name changed to Ella.
In 2018, hundreds of people stormed a French grocery chain when the price was dropped by 70%. Ceara Milligan wrote in Mashed “Things got out of hand as customers fought over jars, causing a riot to erupt.”
What’s your story?
These days you can attend World Nutella Day, check out the limited-edition Italian stamp and coin, or pop into a Nutella Café. Buy Nutella hoodies, games, cookbooks, costumes, and plushies. There are even Nutella artists. Savor Nutella and banana sandwiches, cake pops, ice cream, or straight from the jar.
Who could ask for anything more?
What a fun article! I certainly like Nutella, but have never rioted over it, sued anybody over it, or considered naming any living creature or inanimate object after it! This is such a fun history and well presented article, I will now be on the lookout for a jar of Nutella in the local store, in order to revisit those past glorious moments when I did partake!