Nutella brand owner Ferrero has big plans for its flagship spread. And the first car in a whole North America-targeted train of Peanut-specific innovations is about to leave the station. Behold the emergence of new Nutella Peanut!
Nutella Peanut is touted as, “combin[ing] the distinctive creaminess of Nutella cocoa hazelnut spread with the delicious taste of roasted peanuts.”
According to the official announcement, it’s the first major innovation in Nutella products in more than 60 years. And maybe not the last…
But what is it, really?
The forgoing description clearly states it’s a combo of traditional Nutella hazelnuts and peanuts. Which might be overkill. Or, without trying it first, might seem like a potential flavour clash. Yet, brand owner Fer-rero insists its ‘the best of both worlds’.
“We didn’t want it to be [just] another peanut butter,” Seth Gonzalez, the Senior Director of Marketing for Nutella, told reporters. “There’s a reason why cocoa is still connected as a peanut-and-cocoa formula, instead of just peanuts. It’s more afternoon snacking than lunch, for example.”
And the brand’s brain trust has indicated it plans to use the new flavour as the ‘springboard’ to a whole new world of peanut-associated products and further innovations.
“It’s definitely something we’d like to have on the radar,” says Gonzalez. “Of course, we need the success of this product first to build a platform off of it.”
Major NA expansion planned
“Our momentum here has never been stronger,” said Michael Lindsey, President and Chief Business Officer of Ferrero North America. “Developing Nutella and Ferrero Rocher products specifically for the North American market represents a defining moment in our company’s history. These innovations will engage both loyal fans and new consumers, boosting our power brands and further solidifying our position as a category leader in North America.”
To that end, Ferrero has already committed to a (US)$75 million expansion of its Chicago-area Franklin Park manufacturing facilities dedicated to making peanut-associated products.
My take
In spite of what intuitively sounds like a flavour clash in the making, I can see how the hazelnut-peanut team-up could work. But it will depend on how dominant the cocoa component remains in the new formulation.
And I can’t leave this topic without observing how brave it is of Ferrero/Nutella to make such a major commitent to the Nutella brand amid the current peril in which the global cocoa industry finds itself. Perhaps Ferrero is party to good news the rest of us haven’t yet heard?
Meanwhile… Nutella Peanut is slated to launch in Spring, 2026…
~ Maggie J.