Nutella's a Billion-Dollar Business

Ferrero is highly profitable—Forbes estimates the company nets about 10% of sales—and is sitting on a pile of billions in cash. At its core, the chocolate business is a branding game. Every purveyor sells roughly the same commodities. Yet by some alchemy, or marketing savvy, Ferrero's goods have traditionally commanded a higher devotion. Nutella especially so. When Columbia University began offering the spread (a blend mainly of cocoa, sugar, hazelnuts and milk) at a dining hall in 2013, students smuggled it out like bandits, sending costs up a reported $5,000 in a week. In January, after a French grocery chain marked down jars by 70%, riots ensued.

From “The Nutella Billionaires” by Noah Kirsch for Forbes; Photo from Flickr (secretpizzas) 

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