Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – "Innovation remains the main pillar, and other market decisions follow suit. Continuing to innovate is certainly what consumers expect." This was stated by Fabrizio Gavelli, President and CEO of Ferrero Italy, at the second edition of Ferrero Innovation Day Italy, organized by Ferrero today in Milan. Five innovations were presented for the Italian market in the year of the company's 80th anniversary: Wonka, Nutella Cookies, Pain Au Nutella, and the new Pocket Coffee Bars and Eggs, as well as Eat Natural Granola.
"The most important innovation concerns Nutella Cookies," Gavelli emphasizes. "After Nutella Biscuits entered the world of cookies, we are introducing a second truly unique cookie. It has a fragrance that only Nutella could bring to the market and is baked very slowly to maintain the cookie's typical crispiness. Inside, there is a significant amount of Nutella, added once the cookie is already baked, thus preserving all the creaminess of Nutella.
Another unique feature, he adds, is that it's individually packaged: this both preserves its quality and makes it ideal for on-the-go consumption. We're officially launching it today and starting a massive sampling campaign with 120.000 pieces across Italy. We'll be conducting a full-scale tour to ensure as many people as possible can try it.
For the first few weeks, this will be the main part of our marketing campaign,” he says.
Another new addition is Wonka. "It's a huge innovation for us," says Gavelli. "A new brand in the Ferrero portfolio, which has held exclusive rights to the Wonka brand for the confectionery sector since 2018. We are present in many categories, and the question that started our Research and Development department was: 'What products would Willy Wonka produce?' We therefore want to bring the magic, wonder, and amazement of the world of Wonka to the chocolate sector and beyond." Alongside the launch, the Ferrero Group announced an exclusive global partnership with Netflix to bring the wonder of Wonka to consumers around the world, leveraging marketing, media, and distribution synergies.
In keeping with this vision, Ferrero is launching "a delicious caramel chocolate bar, Kinder Joy Wonka, two different candy varieties, and pralines shaped like Willy Wonka's hat. It's a truly comprehensive line that aims to bring the magic of Wonka to life," he explains. "Furthermore, today we're unveiling a Golden Ticket that will bring the world of Wonka and Ferrero closer together in a unique way."
"With Wonka, Ferrero is building a new, cross-brand project that speaks to those who have never ceased to be amazed," he explains, "a young-at-heart adult audience seeking surprise, imagination, and moments of escape. Through the magic of Wonka, we want to further broaden the chocolate target audience." But the innovations don't end there. "In addition to what we've said, Pocket Coffee is entering the world of bars with a product that necessarily contains coffee, given its origins, offering a different creaminess with liquid coffee," Gavelli adds. "We're also launching another new product: Pocket Coffee eggs, which are also very creamy and delicious. Additionally, we're launching "Pain au Nutella," produced in Italy at the Fresystem plant in Naples, which we acquired three years ago. The frozen baked goods market is experiencing significant growth in Italy. Last year, we launched Nutella Crêpes, which were a huge success on the market beyond our expectations, and we believe this new product can achieve similar results," he notes.
"The latest major innovation we're launching today is Eat Natural Granola. This is a very important step for us," he emphasizes. "We're entering the cereal market in Italy for the first time. Ferrero is investing heavily in this segment," he explains. "In the US market, we acquired business from Kellogg's to expand our presence in the breakfast world, and on August 14th, we announced the acquisition of Purely Elizabeth, a leading granola and oat cereal brand in the US. The granola launch comes two years after the debut of the Eat Natural brand in Italy. Entering the granola segment means tapping into a rapidly growing market, which represents a third of the Italian cereal market and has grown 7% annually in recent years. We're starting with two products: one protein-rich and the other with dried fruit."
Gavelli then focused on product performance: "In the recently concluded fiscal year, we grew primarily in three categories: chocolate, which is our core business, particularly in the festive segment, which is the primary consumption channel in Italy. Estathé, which experienced significant growth, capturing over half the market share in the ready-to-drink tea segment and gaining a further percentage point, and finally, pralines. These have been highly successful thanks to significant marketing efforts that have increased their visibility in stores," he adds. "Ferrero's decision this year was to raise prices very modestly. It was a winning move, as last winter we increased our market share by half a percentage point. We intend to continue along this path: we believe that maintaining consumer trust also depends on these decisions," he concludes.
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