Did you know that Nutella was originally a chocolate loaf?

Ever ran secretly into the kitchen, away from prying eyes of your parents, to grab that hidden jar of Nutella? Well, your favourite go-to chocolate spread, which you relish so much, has been actually existing since 1964. Let us tell you all about its journey from a chocolate loaf to the creamy spread upon your bread.   

From a solid block to the creamy spread  
First introduced by the Italian company Ferrero, Nutella has very humble beginnings. Actually, Ferrero’s founder Pietro Ferrero owned a bakery in Alba, a town famous in Italy for the production of hazelnuts. In 1946, he sold his initial 300 kg batch of ‘Pasta Gianduja’, derived from gianduja (a homogeneous blend of chocolate with 30% hazelnut paste). This was in the form of a solid loaf of hazelnut chocolate with very little chocolate (as cocoa was in short supply due to World War II  rationing) and more hazelnuts. Wrapped in foil, mothers could simply keep a slice of it on the bread to make sandwiches for their children. But most children would throw away the bread and relish the Pasta Gianduja!  

A few years later in 1951, Ferrero came up with the creamy version of gianduja calling it ‘Supercrema gianduja’. Quite inexpensive, this was a product that everyone could enjoy. It became so popular that that the Italian food stores started offering a service "The Smearing" to attract children. The children would just visit the store with a slice of bread and get a "smear" of "supercrema gianduja." 

Nutella gets its name 
In 1963, Ferrero’s son Michele Ferrero revamped  Supercrema gianduja with the intention of marketing it throughout Europe. He slightly modified its composition and renamed it "Nutella" from the English word ‘nut’ and the Italian soft ending ‘ella’. The first jar of Nutella left the Ferrero factory in Alba in 1964 and became an instant success.  

The secret ingredients  
So, what goes into that jar of Nutella? Though Nutella’s formula is still a secret, it is mainly made up of sugar, vegetable oil, hazelnut, cocoa solids, and skimmed milk. Do you know ‘Nutella’ is even marketed as "hazelnut cream" in many countries? Also, you don’t need to refrigerate Nutella since a large quantity of sugar in it acts as a natural preservative to prevent the growth of microorganisms.  

Strong advertising campaigns  
Over the years, Nutella has become the best-selling spreadable cream in the world, with a production of 365,000 tonnes per year. But what is the reason behind its roaring success? Among so many chocolate spreads in the market, how is Nutella any different? Well, one of the reasons is Ferrero's formidable ability to create demand for its chocolate spread by tuning its advertising messages as per times. While the Nutella campaigns in the 1960s targeted the parents (because in those times, they were largely the decision makers), in the 1970s they addressed the children directly, by listing it as a genuine snack. However, it has also faced backlash for creating false needs. The company, whose success was and still is mainly based on Nutella has faced legal actions in the US for false advertisement stating that Nutella has many nutritional and health benefits. However, there is no denying that the product is very tasty indeed!