Ferrero SpA (), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an
Italian multinational company with headquarters in
Alba, Italy. manufacturer of branded
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...
and
confectionery
Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlappi ...
products, and the second biggest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world.
Ferrero International SA's headquarters is in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
. Ferrero SA is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as "one of the world's most secretive firms".
Reputation Institute's 2009 survey ranked Ferrero as the most reputable company in the world.
It was founded in 1946 in
Alba, Piedmont,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, by
Pietro Ferrero, a
confectioner and small-time pastry maker who laid the groundwork for
Nutella and added hazelnut to save money on chocolate, taking the idea from gianduia, a sweet chocolate spread containing about 30% hazelnut paste, invented in Turin during Napoleon's regency (1796–1814). The company saw a period of tremendous growth and success under Pietro's son
Michele Ferrero, who in turn handed over the daily operations to his sons,
Pietro Jr. and
Giovanni Ferrero
Giovanni Ferrero (; born 21 September 1964) is an Italian businessman. He assumed the leadership of the confectionery company Ferrero SpA after the death of his brother Pietro Ferrero in 2011. As of October 2022, he has an estimated net worth o ...
(the founder's grandsons).
Pietro Jr., who oversaw global business, died in April 2011 of a heart attack while cycling in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
at the age of 47.
The Ferrero Group worldwide – now headed by executive chairman Giovanni Ferrero – includes 38 trading companies, 18 factories, and approximately 40,000 employees, and produces around 365,000 tonnes of Nutella each year.
History
In 1946,
Pietro Ferrero invented a cream of
hazelnut
The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...
s and
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...
, derived from
gianduja and called it ''Pasta Gianduja''. The initial product came in solid loaves wrapped in aluminium foil, which had to be sliced with a knife, and was succeeded by a spreadable version called Supercrema.
With assistance from his brother Giovanni Ferrero Sr., Pietro Ferrero created his new company to produce and market the initial product.
Pietro was succeeded by his son
Michele Ferrero as chief executive. Michele and his wife Maria Franca relaunched his father's recipe as Nutella, which was first sold in 1964. After World War II, they opened production sites and offices abroad,
and Nutella eventually became the world's leading chocolate-nut spread brand.
Ferrero is the world's largest consumer of hazelnuts, buying up 25% of global production in 2014.
The company is currently run by
Giovanni Ferrero
Giovanni Ferrero (; born 21 September 1964) is an Italian businessman. He assumed the leadership of the confectionery company Ferrero SpA after the death of his brother Pietro Ferrero in 2011. As of October 2022, he has an estimated net worth o ...
, grandson of Pietro and son of Michele Ferrero.
* The company places great emphasis on secrecy, reportedly to guard against
industrial espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage, corporate spying, or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security.
While political espionage is conducted or orchestrated by governme ...
.
It has never held a
press conference and does not allow media visits to its plants. Ferrero's products are made with machines designed by an in-house engineering department.
* In 2014, Ferrero acquired Oltan Group, the largest hazelnut supplier in the world.
* Ferrero acquired the British chocolate retailer
Thorntons in June 2015 for £112 million.
* In 2016, Ferrero SpA acquired Belgian biscuit brands Delacre and DeliChoc from
United Biscuits
United Biscuits (UB) is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In ...
.
* In March 2017, Ferrero SpA bought the chocolate maker
Fannie May from
1-800-Flowers.com
1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. is a flower, floral and foods gift retailer and distribution company in the United States. The company's focus, except for Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, is on gift baskets. They also use the name ''1-800-Baskets.com' ...
. The deal closed on May 30, 2017, and Ferrero paid $115 million. Ferrero indicated that they hope to expand Fannie May, with locations across the US, not just in Chicago.
* On 30 March 2017, it was announced that Lapo Civiletti would be the first non-family CEO in the history of the company, taking up the role from 1 September, while Giovanni Ferrero would become the executive chairman, focusing on long-term strategy.
* In October 2017, Ferrero announced that they would acquire the
Ferrara Candy Company
The Ferrara Candy Company is an American candy manufacturer, based in Chicago, Illinois, and owned by the Ferrero Group.
The company was formed from a 2012 merger of the Illinois-based Ferrara Pan Candy Company and Minnesota-based Farley's & Sa ...
. The acquisition was completed that December.
* On 16 January 2018, it was reported that Ferrero was purchasing
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
's American confectionery business for $2.8 billion. The deal included such brands as
Baby Ruth,
Crunch Bar and
Butterfinger, but did not affect Nestlé's confectionery business elsewhere, and did not include
Kit Kat,
Nesquik
Nesquik is a brand of food products made by Swiss company Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a drink mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestlé Quik in the United States; this was released in Europe during the 1950s as ''Nesquik''.
Since ...
or the Toll House baking line. The acquisition was completed in March 2018.
* On 29 July 2019 Ferrero further expanded its US operations by purchasing a collection of business owned by
Kellogg's
The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toa ...
. Included in the deal were Kelloggs' cookie, fruit and fruit-flavoured snack, ice cream cone and pie crust businesses including famous brands such as
Famous Amos, Murray's,
Keebler,
Mother's and Little Brownie Bakers (one of the producers of the
cookies for the Girl Scouts of the USA), as well as a leased manufacturing facility in Baltimore, six food manufacturing facilities across the country, and two plants in Chicago. Ferrero paid Kellogg's $1.3 billion.
* In early 2020, a subsidiary of Ferrero purchased
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...
's stake in the Danish bakery
Kelsen Group for
$300 million.
* In October 2020, it was announced that Ferrero would buy UK company
Fox's Biscuits
Fox's Biscuits is a British biscuit manufacturer, founded by the Fox family in a terraced house, 17 Whitaker Street, Batley in West Yorkshire in 1853. The head office and main factory are based in the town and has another site in Wesham in Lan ...
for £250 million. In December 2020, Ferrero announced it was acquiring healthy snack company
Eat Natural.
* In June 2021, Ferrero bought British firm
Burton's Biscuit Company
Burton's Biscuit Company is a British biscuit manufacturer. It is recognised in the UK as the second-biggest supplier of biscuits. The company was formed by the merger of Burton's Gold Medal Biscuits and Horizon Biscuit Company in October 2000. ...
, which at the time of purchase employed 2,000 people at six plants in the UK. It is believed the transaction was made for about £360 million.
* In April 2022, it was announced Ferraro had acquired the
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
-based vitamin and protein bar producer, Fulfil Nutrition.
On 7 December 2022, the company announced its acquisition of
Wells Enterprises, an American ice cream manufacturer based in
LeMars, Iowa
Le Mars is the county seat of Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. It is located on the Floyd River northeast of Sioux City. The population was 10,571 at the time of the 2020 census. Le Mars is part of the Sioux City metropolitan area.
Histor ...
. Wells Enterprises is best known for Blue Bunny, Blue Ribbon,
Bomb Pop, and
Halo Top brands. Wells Enterprises also has facilities in
Henderson, Nevada
Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Val ...
and
Dunkirk, New York
Dunkirk is a city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 census. Dunkirk is bordered on the north by Lake Erie. It shares a border with the vi ...
.
2022 salmonella outbreak
On 6 April 2022, the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) began investigating a "rapidly evolving" outbreak of
salmonella
''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are '' Salmonella enterica'' and '' Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is ...
linked to
Kinder Surprise
Kinder Surprise ( Italian: ''Kinder Sorpresa'' or ''Ovetto Kinder''), also known as Kinder Egg or Kinder Surprise Egg, is a milk chocolate consisting of a chocolate egg surrounding a yellow plastic capsule with a small toy inside. Manufactured by ...
chocolate eggs.
The outbreak affected European countries, with products being
recalled "as a precautionary step". Products were also recalled in Canada and the US.
On 8 April, Belgian authorities ordered the closure of a Kinder chocolate factory in
Arlon
Arlon (; lb, Arel ; nl, Aarlen ; german: Arel ; wa, Årlon; la, Orolaunum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in and capital of the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. With a population of just over 28,000, it is th ...
suspected to be behind the outbreak. On 12 April, the EFSA and the ECDC published a rapid outbreak assessment on a multi-country outbreak of monophasic ''
salmonella typhimurium'' linked to chocolate products made at the Belgian factory. The report found that in December 2021, salmonella was detected in a
buttermilk
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...
tank at the Belgian establishment during the manufacturer's own checks, and the chocolate products were distributed across Europe and globally.
As of 8 April 2022, 150 cases had been reported in ten European countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Products
Ferrero produces several lines of confectionery goods under various brand names, as well as the chocolate-hazelnut spread
Nutella (since 1964).
The production of Nutella uses one-quarter of the world's annual
hazelnut
The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...
supply.
It also produces the line of Ferrero branded chocolate products, including
Pocket Coffee,
Mon Chéri
Mon Chéri is an internationally known brand name of the Italian Ferrero company for a chocolate confectionery.
The phrase "mon chéri" is French for "my darling". The ''Mon Chéri'' is a single-wrapped combination consisting of a "heart" of ch ...
,
[ Confetteria Raffaello,][ Ferrero Küsschen and the Ferrero Prestige line, which comprises three different brands of pralines: Ferrero Rocher, Ferrero Rondnoir, and Garden Coco.]
Ferrero's Kinder brand line of chocolate products include Kinder Surprise
Kinder Surprise ( Italian: ''Kinder Sorpresa'' or ''Ovetto Kinder''), also known as Kinder Egg or Kinder Surprise Egg, is a milk chocolate consisting of a chocolate egg surrounding a yellow plastic capsule with a small toy inside. Manufactured by ...
, Kinder Joy, Kinder Chocolate, Kinder Happy Hippo
Kinder Happy Hippo is a biscuit/candy made by the Italian chocolate and confectionery company Kinder owned by Ferrero.
Taste
The candy consists of a wafer biscuit shaped like a hippopotamus. Inside the crisp hollow biscuit are two flavours of i ...
, Kinder Maxi,[ Kinder Duplo,] Kinder Country, Kinder Délice, and Kinder Bueno
Kinder Bueno (''Kinder'' is German for "children", ''bueno'' is Spanish for "good") is a chocolate bar and wafer confection made by Italian confectionery maker Ferrero. Part of the Kinder Chocolate brand line, Kinder Bueno is a hazelnut-cream-f ...
.
The company also produces Tic Tac mints, available in a variety of flavours, along with sugar free versions. Other Ferrero products include Giotto, Fiesta Ferrero, Hanuta chocolate hazelnut-filled wafers and Gran Soleil frozen desserts, which won the company an innovation award in March 2011. Ferrero has been producing Thorntons products since acquiring the company in 2015.
Philanthropy
In 1983, the company established the Ferrero Foundation in Alba, Piedmont at the wish of Michele Ferrero. The foundation promotes activities in the areas of art, science, history and literature by organizing conventions, conferences, seminars and exhibitions. It also offers health and social assistance to ex-employees who have been with the group for at least 25 years.
See also
* List of confectionery brands
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Italian chocolate companies
Multinational food companies
Multinational companies headquartered in Italy
Food and drink companies established in 1946
Italian companies established in 1946
Alba, Piedmont
Italian brands
Confectionery companies of Italy
Companies based in Piedmont