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Diving overview:
- Ferrero Hazelnut Company, a unit of confectionery company Ferrero Group, has invested $340,000 to strengthen hazelnut production in the United States, according to a Nov. 14 press release.
- The investment is split between the two universities, with Oregon State University receiving a $180,000 grant per release and Rutgers University receiving a $160,000 grant.
- The grant aims to support the university’s efforts to collaborate with local hazelnut growers, producers and distributors, in addition to advancing industry sustainability efforts.
Dive Insights:
Ferrero is working to diversify its hazelnut supply in North America, where demand for nuts is high during seasonal festivals such as the upcoming winter holidays.
“Our mission is to master the hazelnut value chain from start to finish, creating and delivering value to our customers, brands and product services,” Tommaso de Gregorio, head of Ferrero’s Agri Competence Center, said in a statement. “This is what we do,” he said.
The Willamette Valley accounts for 99% of the hazelnuts grown in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to a press release, Ferrero has partnered with OSU for several years and the latest grant is intended to support ongoing projects such as controlling invasive species, disease, mold and weed management in hazelnut orchards in the Willamette Valley. To date, Ferrero has donated more than $760,000 to OSU agriculture programs.
Rutgers University is breeding trees on the East Coast that are resistant to the Eastern Filbert Blight fungal disease that harms hazelnut production in New Jersey and other eastern states, said Thomas Molnar, an associate professor in the Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. release.
Ferrero is focused on strengthening its North American supply chain through investments in logistics, research and development, and manufacturing. For example, in 2019, Ferrero partnered with software services company Alloy to improve the use of data to increase supply chain visibility and reduce food waste.
Outside the U.S., Ferrero sources hazelnuts from Italy, Chile, Turkey, France, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Argentina and Serbia, according to the company’s 2023 sustainability report. The company is committed to full visibility throughout its hazelnut supply chain and achieves 90% traceability to origin of its entire supply of hazelnuts.
According to Ferrero’s website, the confectionery company operates a total of 37 manufacturing plants across five continents. In the United States, the confectionery company has manufacturing campuses in Illinois and Ontario, with other facilities in Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to a press release.
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