Ferrero (company)

Ferrero International SpA(/fəˈrɛəroʊ/fə-RAIR-oh,Italian:[ferˈrɛːro]), more commonly known asFerrero Groupor simplyFerrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters inAlba. Ferrero is a manufacturer of brandedchocolateandconfectioneryproducts, and the second biggest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world.Ferrero SpA is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as "one of the world's most secretive firms".
It was founded in 1946 inAlba,Piedmont,Italy, byPietro Ferrero, aconfectionerand small-time pastry maker who laid the groundwork forNutella. The company saw a period of tremendous growth and success under Pietro's sonMichele Ferrero, who in turn handed over the daily operations to his sons,Pietro Jr.andGiovanni Ferrero(the founder's grandsons).
Pietro Jr., who oversaw global business, died in 2011 of a heart attack while cycling inSouth Africaat 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.
In 1946,Pietro Ferreroinvented a cream ofhazelnutsandcocoa, derived fromgiandujaand called itPasta 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 sonMichele Ferreroas 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 byGiovanni Ferrero, grandson of Pietro and son of Michele Ferrero.
The company places great emphasis on secrecy, reportedly to guard againstindustrial espionage.It has never held apress conferenceand does not allow media visits to its plants. Ferrero's products are made with machines designed by an in-house engineering department.
On 6 April 2022, theEuropean Food Safety Authority(EFSA) and theEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention and Control(ECDC) began investigating a "rapidly evolving" outbreak ofsalmonellalinked toKinder Surprisechocolate eggs.
The outbreak affected European countries, with products beingrecalled"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 inArlonsuspected to be behind the outbreak.On 12 April, the EFSA and the ECDC published a rapid outbreak assessment on a multi-country outbreak of monophasicsalmonella typhimuriumlinked to chocolate products made at the Belgian factory.The report found that in December 2021, salmonella was detected in abuttermilktank 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.
Ferrero produces several lines of confectionery goods under various brand names, as well as the chocolate-hazelnut spreadNutella(since 1964).Ferrero uses one-quarter of the world's annualhazelnutsupply.
It also produces the line of Ferrero branded chocolate products, includingPocket Coffee,Mon Chéri,Confetteria Raffaello,Ferrero Küsschenand the Ferrero Prestige line, which comprises three different brands ofpralines:Ferrero Rocher, Ferrero Rondnoir, and Garden Coco.
Ferrero's Kinder brand line of chocolate products includesKinder Surprise,Kinder Joy,Kinder Chocolate,Kinder Happy Hippo,Kinder Maxi,Kinder Duplo,Kinder Country,Kinder Délice,andKinder Bueno.
The company also producesTic Tacmints,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 producingThorntonsproducts since acquiring the company in 2015.
In 1983, the company established the Ferrero Foundation inAlba, Piedmontat the wish ofMichele 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.