Easter is usually something like the fifth season for Ferrero. But celebrating is out of the question for the Italian sweets manufacturer this year.
The salmonella scandal, which EU authorities say was triggered by contamination in a buttermilk tank at the Ferrero plant in Arlon, Belgium, is spreading. Across Europe, 100 salmonella cases have already been confirmed, and there are said to be six possible cases in Austria this week. Ferrero lists affected products on its website. Production in Belgium is at a standstill.
However, the image damage is likely to be more severe than the economic one. Insecure customers avoid the products of the billion-dollar company, which is considered a model company in its home country because of the higher wages than the national average.
Giovanni Ferrero, grandson of the company founder Pietro and owner and CEO of Ferrero, is now in particular trouble. With a fortune of 35.9 billion US dollars, the 57-year-old is the richest Italian and is referred to as the “chocolate king”. Brands such as Duplo, Giotto, Hanuta, Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, Raffaello, Kinder Surprise and TicTac belong to the group, which has around 40,000 employees and recently had a turnover of 12.7 billion euros. Only US-based Mars is bigger in the industry.
With a cream to world fame
The cornerstone of Ferrero’s empire was laid by pastry chef Pietro Ferrero in 1946, when he mixed hazelnuts and cocoa into a hazelnut and nougat cream in the town of Alba in Piedmont. This became Nutella in 1964. However, the company became known worldwide under the management of his son Michele, who expanded the range of products. The patriarch died in 2015, and his son Giovanni has held the reins ever since – also because his brother Pietro Ferrero Junior died in a bicycle accident in South Africa in 2011.
The salmonella crisis is the toughest test so far for the Ferrero boss. The married father of two sons has not yet made any public statements about this. In any case, Giovanni Ferrero is more interested in writing: He is the author of eight books dealing with marketing and corporate management.
Source: Nachrichten
