Nutella

What it is

Nutella (UK: nuh-TEL-ə, US: noo-TEL-ə, Italian: [nuˈtɛlla]; stylized in all lowercase) is an Italian brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963.

Key facts

What it is

trademark, food brand source

Made by

Ferrero SpA source

Owned by

Ferrero SpA source

Created

1964 source

Country of origin

Italy source

Made from

palm oil, sugar, hazelnut source

Origin and history

Pietro Ferrero owned a bakery in Alba, an Italian town known for the production of hazelnuts. In 1946, he sold the initial 300-kilogram (660 lb) batch of Pasta Giandujot, derived from gianduja. Originally sold as a solid block, Ferrero started to sell a creamy, spreadable version in 1951 as Supercrema gianduja.

How it is made

The main ingredients of Nutella are sugar and palm oil (greater than 50%). It also contains 13% hazelnuts, (fat-reduced) cocoa powder (7.4%), and skimmed milk. In the United States and the United Kingdom, Nutella contains soy products. Nutella is described as a cocoa and hazelnut spread, although it is mostly made of sugar and palm oil. The manufacturing process for this food item is very similar to a generic production of chocolate spread. Nutella is made from sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa powder, skimmed milk powder, whey powder, soy lecithin, and vanillin. Nutella is produced in various facilities. In the North American market, it is produced at a plant in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and more recently in San José Iturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico. For Australia and New Zealand, Nutella has been manufactured in Lithgow, New South Wales, since the late 1970s.