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10 Things You Didn’t Know About Nutella
There are very few things in life that can compete with the sweet, sweet taste of Nutella. As far as chocolate spreads go, no one does it like Nutella. If you have an unconditional love for the stuff, then you probably already think you know everything there is to know about your beloved brand. But, we’re here to set the record straight and look at 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Nutella.
10. Invented Because Of Napoleon
As you might already know, Nutella is based on an old Italian recipe perfected by pastry-maker Pietro Ferrero. We’ve been spreading this tasty treat around for what feels like forever. But, believe it or not, the world may have been deprived of this chocolatey delicacy if it hadn’t been for Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1806, Napoleon was trying to freeze out British commerce and enacted a blockade as part of his quest to conquer Europe. This caused an interruption in the flow of cacao, making chocolate extremely expensive and harder to find. Determined cocoa-lovers in Turin, Italy, took matters into their own hands after they saw their supply dwindling. Chocolatiers began adding chopped hazelnuts to their chocolate to make the rations last longer. Ingenious thinking resulted in an ingenious outcome. This combination gave birth to gianduia — also known as gianduja, which would later become the Nutella we all know and love today. It was only during World War II, when once again cocoa became scarce, that Pietro Ferrero decided to recreate the recipe. He started modifying ingredients and quantities to create a sort of chocolate brick. It was his son, Michele, who turned it into the now-iconic spread. So, in a way, we should say, thank you, Napoleon?
9. It Spreads Far And Wide
Nutella is famous. And when we say famous, we mean like really famous. Not the “walks around in the neighborhood and gets recognized once” kind of famous, the real kind. It does have over 31 million likes on Facebook, after all. With only a little over 50 years in the bank since its official debut into the world, Nutella is sold in over 160 countries. A pretty impressive achievement, to say the least. Sure, being famous is one thing, but the real reward is being loved. And, as you might’ve guessed, Nutella does pretty well in that department as well. According to reports, a jar of Nutella is sold every 2.5 seconds somewhere in the world. To put this into perspective, a baby is born every eight seconds. You do the math. It also means that the amount of Nutella sold each year would be enough to circle the globe 1.8 times. Or spread over more than 1000 soccer fields – or build 22,000 Big Ben replicas. And in terms of density, it’s even more impressive. The amount of Nutella produced in a year weighs as much as the Empire State Building, according to Nutella. Or, 365,000 tons, to be exact. 365,000 tons of creamy, chocolatey delectable spread? That’s a whole lot of Nutella to love! Maybe it’s because of the delicious taste and the smooth texture, or maybe it’s because of the cute little containers, but whatever it is, Nutella has got one heck of a devoted fanbase.
8. You Might Be Saying It Wrong
Everybody has that one word they simply can’t pronounce right. Whether it’s something foreign like “croissant” or something really simple like “coupon,” it seems like no one can even agree on how to say certain words properly. It’s a potayto – potahto type of deal, basically. Nevertheless, it’s always slightly embarrassing when someone corrects you after you’ve constantly been pronouncing a word wrong. While it’s never fun for anyone, we hate to be the ones to break this to you; chances are, you’ve been pronouncing Nutella wrong for your entire life. Even though most of us stress the “nut” part of the word with an “uh,” apparently, that’s not how it’s supposed to be. Like at all. That came as serious nutty news to many. You’re supposed to accentuate the first syllable as “new” and not “nut.” So, really, it’s ‘new-tell-uh.’ The brand not only put the correct pronunciation under the FAQ section of their website at some point, but it turns out they’ve even made tons of commercials with the right way of saying it. That makes us wonder how some people have still managed to not catch on and have kept getting it wrong all this time. According to a Ferrero representative, the company isn’t “trying to encourage a common worldwide pronunciation,” so really, you keep doing you if you want, we’re just saying. Hey, at least we’re not saying you’re eating it wrong; that’s practically impossible.
7. Tasty? Yes. Healthy? Not A Chance
Nutella has always been advertised as being a healthy, hearty breakfast to give you energy in the morning. All this talk about how the protein and calcium inside every jar could be the best thing for you to start your day right. And why should it not? There are around 94 hazelnuts in each jar, which rounds up to about 5 per serving – and hazelnuts are healthy, are they not? However, no matter how many hazelnuts are used or how the health claims were spread around, it’s simply not the healthy breakfast you were promised. Nutella found itself in hot water when Ferrero was slammed with a class-action lawsuit from a Californian mom after she realized Nutella’s ads were lying about being “good for you.” In fact, it’s almost the complete opposite. The first ingredient isn’t hazelnuts, as we would like to believe, but rather sugar, and let’s just say it doesn’t get any better from there. In just one serving, or two tablespoons, there are a whopping 21 grams of sugar and a massive 11 grams of fat. Still think this is the “health-conscious” choice for you? It’s like spreading a candy bar on to a piece of bread. Plus, who only eats two tablespoons of Nutella anyway? The lawsuit was settled after Ferrero agreed to pay $3 million and changed the labeling along with some of their marketing statements.
6. There’s A Nutella Cafe
This one was basically inevitable. When so many people like something with that much passion, there is bound to be some next level dedication to it. Just think about the Big Mac Museum, for instance. So, of course, there was going to be a Nutella Cafe eventually. It was only a matter of when and where. So, in 2017, Nutella fans were treated with the opening of the first-ever Nutella Cafe in Chicago on Michigan Avenue! Over the years, following the raging success of the first location, the idea quickly spread around, and more cafes began to open up – notably, one in New York City that opened only a year later. The cafes feature a Nutella-inspired menu that serves a variety of unique dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Whether you’re just grabbing a bite to go before work or you feel like sitting down and taking your time, there’s an option for everyone. Everything has been specifically crafted to ensure that Nutella is the focus of attention. Croissants baked daily filled with Nutella, pound cake “Panzanella,” gelato, overnight oats, hot beverages – you name it, all infused with Nutella in some way. There are even items like paninis for when you’re in the mood for something more substantial.. All of this is served in a modern space with Nutella inspired décor like cream-colored walls, red accents, and lights shaped like hazelnut plant flowers. If this sounds like a dream come true, you now know where to go!
5. An actual Breakfast Of Champion
Even though Nutella has been debunked as a healthy choice for breakfast, that doesn’t mean that people have stopped eating it. In fact, the chocolatey spread even holds a pretty impressive world record thanks to the most important meal of the day. Back in May of 2005, Nutella entered the record books – the Guinness Book of World Records – which is a pretty remarkable feat. As people gathered for the 40th celebration of Nutella in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Nutella won the title for the World’s Largest Continental Breakfast. And for good reason. It wasn’t just some amateur gathering with only a few people; no, Nutella went all out – it was huge. Actually, huge might even be an understatement. A total of 27,854 people attended the celebration and enjoyed a meal that consisted of a little bit more than just Nutella – although just serving Nutella would’nt have been such a bad thing. Each guest was greeted with bread rolls, orange juice, butter, cream cheese, yogurt, and, well, obviously, a generous portion of Nutella. It looks like Nutella is making breakfast history in more ways than one.
4. Nutella Day Is A Thing
Nowadays, it seems like there’s a day for everything. There’s a taco day, a Napping day, and even a stuffed mushroom day. A little odd, but still a fun little bit of trivia to bring up with your friends and feel a little smarter than everyone else. So, obviously, if there’s a day for stuffed mushrooms – something that is far from being universally liked, there’s got to be a day for Nutella which is loved by millions, right? Well, Nutella fans, in case you didn’t already know, you’ll be happy to hear that on the 5th of February, it’s World Nutella Day! Celebrated every year, World Nutella Day was created in 2007 by Sara Rosso, an American blogger and Nutella lover who was living in Italy at the time. She loved the spread so much; she wanted to honor it in the best way possible; by dedicating an entire day just for it. Fans from all over the world take to social media to share their love for Nutella by sharing Nutella recipes and memories, as well as some decadent-looking pictures of the stuff. The best part is, there is really no wrong way to celebrate World Nutella Day. No matter how you spread it, melt it, or share it, you can show your love and appreciation any way you like. It became official in 2015 when Nutella maker Ferrero officially took it over. So, next time February rolls around, get ready to see your social media feed filled with Nutella pictures and maybe share some yourself? After all, every day with Nutella is one of the best day ever!
3. A Nutella Stamp
If you thought having a day dedicated to your brand and breaking world records was impressive, wait until you hear about this other groundbreaking milestone Nutella has accomplished. To mark another anniversary, this time, for Nutella’s 50th in 2014, the iconic hazelnut spread’s homeland, Italy, wanted to celebrate in a way that would be just as iconic. It wanted to do something really special – and they did not disappoint. A stamp was issued with the big, recognizable brown jar. That’s right, Nutella has its own limited-edition stamp! The commemorative stamp was designed by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato and around 2.7 million stamps were released. All of them were part of a series of stamps designed to celebrate Italy’s economic system. The stamp features a trusty jar of Nutella along with two dates; 1964 and 2014. 1964 is the year Nutella officially started marketing its product, and 2014 is the year the stamp was issued. This anniversary was also marked with the launch of the Nutella Stories website, but to be completely honest, it’s pretty hard to outshine your very own stamp. Imagine sending your friends or family a postcard with a Nutella stamp on it? It takes Nutella fandom to a whole other level!
2. A Devoted, Slightly Crazed Fan Base
Where there’s love, there’s passion. And, where’s there’s passion, there also tends to be some frenzy – and it’s not everybody who can always control that frenzy. Exhibit A; the Nutella fanbase. Sure, it can be fun to go completely crazy over a product that you love, but there are some limits that shouldn’t be crossed. Unfortunately, over the years, some devoted fans have stepped over that line. In fact, they’re so far past the line; the line has become a dot to them. A little nod to Friends there. To put it simply, don’t ever change the price of Nutella, or you’ll have a riot of angry French customers on your hands. French grocery chain Intermarché found that out the hard way when it dropped Nutella prices by 70 percent. Obviously. this caused a massive stockpiling craze as people hurled themselves over each other to buy jars in mass quantities. It might sound like a great sale, but without regulating the crowd, it was a recipe for disaster. Fights started to break out, shortages were happening left and right – things were getting out of hand. Turns out, the sudden price fall might have violated France’s strict trading laws, and the whole escapade went under investigation. So, next time you notice Nutella’s price fall drastically, it may be a cause for concern, so stay alert and watch out for anyone trying to get their hands on the last jar – it could get ugly.
1. You Can’t Name Your Kid Nutella
As new generations start having kids, with it comes updated and sometimes peculiar names. We’re looking at you, X Æ A-12. But besides the obvious questionable names parents decide to give their children, there are others that you probably never even thought of. Like naming your kid Nutella. You love your kid, and you love Nutella, so why not? Well, it turns out that, even if you wanted to give your kid that name, you wouldn’t be allowed to. At least not in France. Yes, again, Nutella controversy in France. It might even be fair to say that Nutella has more run-ins with the law in France than anywhere else. Back in 2015, a couple attempted to name their daughter Nutella, but a judge actually forbade them to. He ruled that the name was inappropriate and that the girl would risk being mocked by her fellow classmates. He pronounced that it was “contrary to the child’s interest to have a name that can only lead to teasing or disparaging thoughts.” The judge ordered that the name be shortened to something more appropriate, and the little girl was named Ella instead. However, chances are, her parents probably still call her Nutella, only not officially.
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