Rather Nutella or Nocciolata? With or without palm oil? Dominant chocolate, hazelnut … or peanut? Some come to blows for promotional jars, while in Turkey others protest against the too low prices paid for hazelnuts. How much do you know about spreads?
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The hazelnut scandals …
In Turkey, the main exporter of hazelnuts, collectors accuse Ferrero, Italian owner of Nutella, of slashing prices.
Already, in April 2019, a New York Times investigation revealed the difficult working conditions of Syrian refugees barely earning enough to cover their costs by participating in the harvest.
Six months later, the BBC went further with a report showing Kurdish children working there.
Ferrero, which buys about a third of Turkish production, especially through wholesalers, then defended himself by asserting not to touch products “manufactured with unethical practices” and by highlighting his program training of farmers.
In 2020, the group was able to ensure the traceability of 44% of Turkish hazelnuts and is aiming for a target of 100% by 2023 despite a slowdown linked to the pandemic.
… and palm oil
More than 50% sugar, around 30% fat (a majority of which is palm oil), 13% hazelnuts and less than 10% cocoa: the nutritional composition of Nutella is far from unanimous among European health authorities.
The palm oil industry is also accused of contributing to deforestation. In June 2015, the French Minister of the Environment, Ségolène Royal, had to present her “apologies” for calling to stop eating Nutella in the name of the defense of forests, angering the group.
For several years, Ferrero has prided itself on being at the top of the WWF ranking of palm oil buyers who favor sustainable sectors and claim 100% traceability. The group alone uses nearly 200,000 tonnes of palm oil per year, or about 0.3% of global production.
Unavoidable
In January 2018, the images went around the world: customers came to blows to recover jars of Nutella on promotion in French supermarkets Intermarché, which will then pay a fine of 375,000 euros for resale at a loss.
There is a World Nutella Day (February 5) and the brand continues to dominate more than half of the global chocolate spread market, according to Euromonitor International.
The heir to the eponymous empire, Giovanni Ferrero, is 40th in Forbes magazine’s billionaire ranking, with an estimated fortune of more than $ 35 billion. The Ferrero Group had $ 15 billion in sales in 2020, but is not disclosing how much comes from spreads.
A multitude of competitors
Milka, Nestlé, Barilla, Banania, Nocciolata, Bonne Maman … A multitude of players are trying to compete with Nutella and take advantage of the growth of the spreads market, with new launches each year in Europe which have slightly increased. lower Ferrero’s share, according to industry analysts.
To do well, its competitors rely on palm oil, vegan or gluten-free recipes, often with higher prices. The share of organic products has continued to increase in recent years.
The unbeatable peanut butter?
More than 300,000 tonnes of Nutella are consumed each year around the world, a weight often compared to that of New York’s iconic Empire State Building.
But, in the United States alone, peanut butter consumption is estimated to be more than 630,000 tonnes per year, according to figures compiled by the American Peanut Council.
Nutella may interfere with pizzas, makis or even oriental pastries, hazelnuts are not ready to replace peanuts on American sandwiches.