Nutella

Nutella is a brand of food spread made from sweetened hazelnut and cocoa. First sold commercially in 1964, it is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero, one of the largest chocolate producers in the world. The combination of hazelnut and chocolate dates back to the Napoleonic Wars. Before it became a brand, Nutella was conceived by an Italian baker during World War II who decided to combine hazelnuts and chocolate due to a chocolate shortage in the country. It was later developed as a commercial good and has since evolved to become a mass-produced product containing sugar, palm oil, skimmed milk powder, hazelnut, soy lecithin, and vanillin, however, the ingredient list may differ slightly across countries. It is a popular food spread in many countries that is often used on toast and in dessert recipes.

Overview

Combining chocolate and hazelnut into a food spread was a practice first introduced in the early nineteenth century during the Napoleonic Wars. French Emperor Napoleon I established a continental blockade that consequently severed access to the Piedmont region of Italy in 1806. At the time, Piedmont was the country’s primary chocolate producer, making some of the finest chocolate in the world. The blockage led to a massive increase in demand for cocoa. Chocolatiers had to come up with a way to stretch out their limited chocolate supply in an attempt to appease demand. They decided to add hazelnuts to their chocolate since the nut was plentiful in the region. They called this combination of cocoa and hazelnut gianduja. The mixture was well received by consumers, but when the war came to an end, chocolatiers began using pure chocolate in their recipes again.

Chocolate hazelnut products made a comeback during World War II when food rationing took effect across Europe. Chocolate prices soared during the war, and chocolate became increasingly difficult to acquire. In 1946, an Italian pastry chef named Pietro Ferrero began combining hazelnuts with cocoa to increase his own chocolate supply. His mixture was a sort of paste that primarily contained hazelnut with a pinch of chocolate. He called the paste Pasta Gianduja. It was thick enough to slice into loaves, and the product became very popular among Italian families, who often served it on bread. Ferrero then revamped his recipe to make the product creamier and more spreadable, renaming it Supercrema Gianduja in 1951. His son Michele further improved the recipe in the 1960s, and the family renamed the product Nutella in 1964.

By this time, the war was long over, and Ferrero had begun selling Nutella to countries all over Europe. The Ferrero’s company became one of the biggest chocolate producers in the world over the next few decades, selling its signature product Nutella to countries throughout the world. Nutella became incredibly popular during this period, and by the twenty-first century it had millions of fans across the globe. The first Nutella café opened in Chicago in 2017 and another location opened in 2018 in New York City. Throughout the world, several Nutella-themed restaurants have also been opened. Nutella celebrated its sixtieth birthday in 2024 and in the same year it launched a new plant-based version of Nutella products.

Bibliography

Balkus, Meredith. “The History of Nutella: All’s Fair in Love, War, and Chocolate.” Thrillist, 4 Feb. 2017, www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/what-is-nutella-history-chocolate. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.

“FAQ Nutella® Answers your Questions.” Nutella, www.nutella.com/us/en/faq. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.

“Ferrero Launches New Nutella Plant-Based.” Ferrero, 3 Sept. 2024, www.ferrero.com/int/en/news-stories/news/ferrero-launches-new-nutella-plant-based. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.

Kubala, Jillian. “Is Nutella Healthy? Ingredients, Nutrition and More.” Healthline, 13 July 2023, www.healthline.com/nutrition/nutella. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.

Mitzman, Dany. “Nutella: How the World Went Nuts for a Hazelnut Spread.” BBC, 18 May 2014, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27438001. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.

N., Jamie. “Is Nutella Healthy? A Dietitian’s Review.” The Balanced Nutritionist, 2 July 2024, thebalancednutritionist.com/is-nutella-healthy. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.

“Our Heritage.” Nutella, www.nutella.com/us/en/our-experience. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.

“Our Quality and Ingredients.” Nutella, www.nutella.com/us/en/inside-nutella/quality-and-ingredients. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.