We're about to see a battle of epic proportions.
Were we talking politics, you might be thinking Democrats vs Republicans. Were we talking phones, you might be thinking Android vs Apple. Trade? China vs the US. Basketball? Steph vs Lebron. Oscars? Gaga vs Glenn. In every case, we're talking about established players with lots of talent, deeps reservoirs of experience and devoted followers on each side. You just know that when they go head to head it's going to be intense, and the winner is anybody's guess.
And it's not going to be any different in chocolate spreads.
In what is likely to be the opening salvo in a messy (and very caloric) food fight, Italy's Parma-based Barilla Group, known mostly on these shores for their pasta and pasta sauces, introduced this week Pan di Stelle Crema, a chocolate hazelnut spread. That pits them head to head with their fellow paesans, Alba's Ferrero Group. Ferrero's portfolio includes Kinder chocolates, Tic Tac Mints and Rocher pralines. But those are mere distractions from their big kahuna, the undisputed leading chocolate hazelnut spread in the world, fabled in song and story and internet meme, found on crepes, bread and spoons from Paris to Pittsburgh, Nutella.
It's not like others haven't tried to muscle their way into that market before. US goliaths like Jif and Hershey's have mass market versions, and there are small organic entries like Nicciolata and Justin's in certain niche geographies. Number two in the overall rankings is Cokokrem, a product of Yildiz Holding, a Turkish conglomerate. But that entry is the runner up in name only. Cokokrem has just a 2% share, while Nutella dwarfs all others combined with a whopping 52% share of the global market.
Still, in spite of that mountain to be climbed, Barilla is diving in. They see an opening based on their current approach to marketing, "Good for You, Good for the Planet." They start with an appeal to their Italian roots, noting that the new product will contain "100% Italian hazelnuts." Then for "you" it has 10% less sugar, compared to Nutella's 21 grams per two tablespoon serving. (The USDA recommends a daily limit of 25g for women and 36g for men.) And for the "planet" it uses more environmentally friendly sunflower oil as opposed to the palm oil Nutella uses, as well as sustainably grown cocoa.
The name of the new product comes from the addition to the crema of crumbles from Pan di Stelle, chocolate biscuits with white stars on them, one of the company's best known cookies. For while we on this side of the Atlantic know Barilla for their primo course entrees, nearly half of the company's profits come from its bakery operations around the world. And therein lies a subplot that gets to the what may be the real motivation behind the rollout. For it may not be a case of just looking to expand into a lucrative market niche, but rather a preemptive shot across the bow of the good ship Nutella.
Seems that Ferrero has had their R&D chefs back in Piedmont working on line extensions. After all, if you have a blockbuster product, you would be crazy not to leverage the name and see how you can broaden its reach. Not surprisingly, one of the items they came up with is a Nutella-filled biscuit, a product rumored to roll out later this year. Interestingly, that is not too dissimilar from a cookie called Baiocchi, a small round sandwich of vanilla wafers with chocolate hazelnut cream in the middle. That cookie is one of the stalwarts of the Mulino Bianco brand. And that brand is owned by, you guessed it, none other than the Barilla Group.
That changes the equation completely. For sure, you can look at Barilla's action as a calculated business decision based on marketing research and demographic trends. But those Italians take their sweets very seriously. After all, it was in "The Godfather" when Clemenza told Rocco after executing Paulie to "Leave the gun and take the cannoli." In that spirit the meaning of Barilla's action is no mere product introduction but rather the opening salvo in a war, and its actions can be reduced to a much simpler calculation that Clemenza would surely appreciate: you come after our biscuit, we go after your spread.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford likes most things sweet. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Were we talking politics, you might be thinking Democrats vs Republicans. Were we talking phones, you might be thinking Android vs Apple. Trade? China vs the US. Basketball? Steph vs Lebron. Oscars? Gaga vs Glenn. In every case, we're talking about established players with lots of talent, deeps reservoirs of experience and devoted followers on each side. You just know that when they go head to head it's going to be intense, and the winner is anybody's guess.
And it's not going to be any different in chocolate spreads.
In what is likely to be the opening salvo in a messy (and very caloric) food fight, Italy's Parma-based Barilla Group, known mostly on these shores for their pasta and pasta sauces, introduced this week Pan di Stelle Crema, a chocolate hazelnut spread. That pits them head to head with their fellow paesans, Alba's Ferrero Group. Ferrero's portfolio includes Kinder chocolates, Tic Tac Mints and Rocher pralines. But those are mere distractions from their big kahuna, the undisputed leading chocolate hazelnut spread in the world, fabled in song and story and internet meme, found on crepes, bread and spoons from Paris to Pittsburgh, Nutella.
It's not like others haven't tried to muscle their way into that market before. US goliaths like Jif and Hershey's have mass market versions, and there are small organic entries like Nicciolata and Justin's in certain niche geographies. Number two in the overall rankings is Cokokrem, a product of Yildiz Holding, a Turkish conglomerate. But that entry is the runner up in name only. Cokokrem has just a 2% share, while Nutella dwarfs all others combined with a whopping 52% share of the global market.
Still, in spite of that mountain to be climbed, Barilla is diving in. They see an opening based on their current approach to marketing, "Good for You, Good for the Planet." They start with an appeal to their Italian roots, noting that the new product will contain "100% Italian hazelnuts." Then for "you" it has 10% less sugar, compared to Nutella's 21 grams per two tablespoon serving. (The USDA recommends a daily limit of 25g for women and 36g for men.) And for the "planet" it uses more environmentally friendly sunflower oil as opposed to the palm oil Nutella uses, as well as sustainably grown cocoa.
The name of the new product comes from the addition to the crema of crumbles from Pan di Stelle, chocolate biscuits with white stars on them, one of the company's best known cookies. For while we on this side of the Atlantic know Barilla for their primo course entrees, nearly half of the company's profits come from its bakery operations around the world. And therein lies a subplot that gets to the what may be the real motivation behind the rollout. For it may not be a case of just looking to expand into a lucrative market niche, but rather a preemptive shot across the bow of the good ship Nutella.
Seems that Ferrero has had their R&D chefs back in Piedmont working on line extensions. After all, if you have a blockbuster product, you would be crazy not to leverage the name and see how you can broaden its reach. Not surprisingly, one of the items they came up with is a Nutella-filled biscuit, a product rumored to roll out later this year. Interestingly, that is not too dissimilar from a cookie called Baiocchi, a small round sandwich of vanilla wafers with chocolate hazelnut cream in the middle. That cookie is one of the stalwarts of the Mulino Bianco brand. And that brand is owned by, you guessed it, none other than the Barilla Group.
That changes the equation completely. For sure, you can look at Barilla's action as a calculated business decision based on marketing research and demographic trends. But those Italians take their sweets very seriously. After all, it was in "The Godfather" when Clemenza told Rocco after executing Paulie to "Leave the gun and take the cannoli." In that spirit the meaning of Barilla's action is no mere product introduction but rather the opening salvo in a war, and its actions can be reduced to a much simpler calculation that Clemenza would surely appreciate: you come after our biscuit, we go after your spread.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford likes most things sweet. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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