Ferrero SpA
Encyclopedia
Ferrero SpA is an Italian
manufacturer of chocolate
and other confectionery products, founded by confectioner Pietro Ferrero
in 1946 and based in Alba, Piedmont, Italy
. The company achieved success headed by Pietro's son Michele Ferrero, then Michele's son Pietro (the founder's grandson), who oversaw global business before he died on April 18, 2011 in a cycling accident at the age of 47. Reputation Institute's 2009 survey ranks Ferrero as the most reputable company in the world. It is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as "one of the world's most secretive firms". The Ferrero Group worldwide – headed CEO Giovanni Ferrero – includes 38 trading companies, 18 factories and approximately 21,500 employees.
s and cocoa
, derived from Gianduja
and to be spread on bread, and called it Pasta Gianduja. Therefore Ferrero created the new company to produce and market it. The sons of Ferrero became joint chief executives. Michele Ferrero modified his father's recipe to produce Nutella
, which was first sold in 1964 and has become popular around the world.
The company places great emphasis on secrecy, reportedly to guard against industrial espionage
. It has never held a press conference and does not allow media visits of its plant. Ferrero's products are made with machines designed by an in-house engineering department.
In addition to Nutella, Ferrero produces many other products, including the chocolates Ferrero Rocher
, Pocket Coffee
, Mon Chéri
, Giotto, Confetteria Raffaello
coconut cream candy, Hanuta
chocolate hazelnut filled wafers and the Tic Tac breath mints. A dark chocolate version of the Ferrero Rocher is also available, called the Ferrero Rondnoir, which contains a pearl of dark chocolate in the center instead of a hazelnut
, chocolate cream instead of Nutella and crunchy chocolate bits instead of crushed hazelnuts. There is also a coconut
version, Confetteria Raffaello, which contains milk cream surrounding an almond and covered with meringue and shredded coconut. The Ferrero Prestige collection is a set of three praline
s: Rocher, Rondnoir, and a coconut version called Garden Coco. The Garden Coco candy is similar to the Confetteria Raffaello, but has coconut cream instead of milk cream.
Ferrero also produces the Kinder product series, including Kinder Surprise
or Kinder Sorpresa in Italian (also known as "Kinder Eggs"), Fiesta Ferrero, Kinder Chocolate
bars, Kinder Happy Hippo
, Kinder Maxi, Kinder Délice and Kinder Bueno
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
manufacturer of chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
and other confectionery products, founded by confectioner Pietro Ferrero
Pietro Ferrero
Pietro Ferrero was the founder of Ferrero SpA, an Italian confectionery and chocolatier company. His company invented Nutella, a hazelnut-cream spread, which is now sold in over 75 countries....
in 1946 and based in Alba, Piedmont, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The company achieved success headed by Pietro's son Michele Ferrero, then Michele's son Pietro (the founder's grandson), who oversaw global business before he died on April 18, 2011 in a cycling accident at the age of 47. Reputation Institute's 2009 survey ranks Ferrero as the most reputable company in the world. It is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as "one of the world's most secretive firms". The Ferrero Group worldwide – headed CEO Giovanni Ferrero – includes 38 trading companies, 18 factories and approximately 21,500 employees.
History
In 1946, Pietro Ferrero invented a cream of hazelnutHazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
s and cocoa
Cocoa solids
Cocoa solids are the low-fat component of chocolate. When sold as an end product, it may also be called cocoa powder, cocoa, and cacao....
, derived from Gianduja
Gianduja (chocolate)
Gianduja is a sweet chocolate containing about 30% hazelnut paste, invented in Turin by Caffarel in 1852. It takes its name from Gianduja, a Carnival and marionette character who represents the archetypal Piedmontese, a native of the Italian region where hazelnut confectionery is common.Some...
and to be spread on bread, and called it Pasta Gianduja. Therefore Ferrero created the new company to produce and market it. The sons of Ferrero became joint chief executives. Michele Ferrero modified his father's recipe to produce Nutella
Nutella
Nutella is the brand name of a chocolate spread. Nutella, manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero, was introduced on the market in 1963. The recipe was developed from an earlier Ferrero spread released in 1944. Nutella is now sold in over 75 countries....
, which was first sold in 1964 and has become popular around the world.
The company places great emphasis on secrecy, reportedly to guard against industrial espionage
Industrial espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security purposes...
. It has never held a press conference and does not allow media visits of its plant. Ferrero's products are made with machines designed by an in-house engineering department.
Products
Ferrero Rocher
Ferrero Rocher is a spherical chocolate sweet made by Italian chocolatier Ferrero SpA. Introduced in 1982, the chocolates consist of a whole roasted hazelnut encased in a thin wafer shell filled with hazelnut cream and covered in milk chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. The sweets each contain 73...
, Pocket Coffee
Pocket Coffee
Pocket Coffee is an internationally known brand name of the Ferrero company for a chocolate confectionery. It was marketed for the first time in Italy in 1968....
, Mon Chéri
Mon Chéri
Mon Chéri is an internationally known brand name of the Italian Ferrero company for a chocolate confectionery.The Mon Chéri is a single-wrapped combination, consisting of a "heart" of cherry, floating in a special liqueur and contained in a plain chocolate housing. Each Mon Chéri contains 46...
, Giotto, Confetteria Raffaello
Confetteria Raffaello
Confetteria Raffaello is a sweet manufactured by Italian company Ferrero SpA. It consists of an almond surrounded by a soft cream, wrapped in a coconut wafer shell and coated in coconut....
coconut cream candy, Hanuta
Hanuta
Hanuta is a German sweet by Ferrero consisting of hazelnuts and chocolate sandwiched between two wafers. The name hanuta is an acronym for Haselnusstafel, German for "hazelnut bar"....
chocolate hazelnut filled wafers and the Tic Tac breath mints. A dark chocolate version of the Ferrero Rocher is also available, called the Ferrero Rondnoir, which contains a pearl of dark chocolate in the center instead of a hazelnut
Hazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
, chocolate cream instead of Nutella and crunchy chocolate bits instead of crushed hazelnuts. There is also a coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
version, Confetteria Raffaello, which contains milk cream surrounding an almond and covered with meringue and shredded coconut. The Ferrero Prestige collection is a set of three praline
Praline
Praline is a family of confections made from nuts and sugar syrup.-Europe:As originally inspired in France at the Château of Vaux-le-Vicomte by the cook of the 17th-century sugar industrialist Marshal du Plessis-Praslin , early pralines were whole almonds individually coated in caramelized sugar,...
s: Rocher, Rondnoir, and a coconut version called Garden Coco. The Garden Coco candy is similar to the Confetteria Raffaello, but has coconut cream instead of milk cream.
Ferrero also produces the Kinder product series, including Kinder Surprise
Kinder Surprise
Kinder Surprise, also known as a Kinder Egg or, in the original Italian, Kinder Sorpresa, is a confection manufactured by Italian company Ferrero. Originally intended for children, it has the form of a chocolate egg containing a small toy, often requiring assembly.-Overview:Kinder Surprise...
or Kinder Sorpresa in Italian (also known as "Kinder Eggs"), Fiesta Ferrero, Kinder Chocolate
Kinder Chocolate
Kinder Chocolate is a confectionery product of the Italian chocolate manufacturer Ferrero SpA; it is known in Germany as Kinderschokolade. The German offspring of Ferrero SpA, Ferrero oHG mbH, also formerly known as Assia GmbH, founded in 1956, introduced Kinderschokolade to the German market in...
bars, Kinder Happy Hippo
Kinder Happy Hippo
Kinder Happy Hippo is a cookie/candy made by Ferrero SpA, the same company that makes Nutella, Kinder Surprise and Tic Tacs, among other candies.- Taste :...
, Kinder Maxi, Kinder Délice and Kinder Bueno
Kinder Bueno
Kinder Bueno is a chocolate bar made by Italian confectionery maker Ferrero. Kinder Bueno is a hazelnut cream filled wafer with a chocolate covering. It is sold in packs of two, three, six, and boxes of twelve.Kinder Bueno was first marketed in Germany in 1990...
.