From Nutella to Froot Loops: Ferrero’s Efforts to Become America’s Next Packaged Food Giant

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Ferrero Group, best known in the United States for Nutella and gold-wrapped Ferrero Rochers, is expanding its U.S. ambitions through a series of acquisitions and major innovations in its core brands as it aims to better compete with packaged confectionery giants such as Hershey and Mars.

Since 2018, Luxembourg-based Ferrero has purchased a number of iconic confectionery packaged food brands, including: hello top ice cream, Butterfinger candy Bar, Keebler Cookies and power crunch Protein bar. Just last month, that Completed $3.1 billion acquisition of WK KelloggCereals like Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, and Rice Krispies give Ferrero a place at your breakfast table.

In an era where large food companies such as Neat Dr. Pepper and kraft heinz We’re breaking up, 79 years of food huge We are taking the opposite approach. The strategy so far is paying off.

“I’ve never seen a company like Ferrero do large-scale M&A and large-scale organic growth at the same time and do it somewhat well,” Michael Lindsey, president and chief business officer of Ferrero North America, said in an interview. “The growth rate was amazing.”

As a result of a careful combination of multibillion-dollar acquisitions and sweeping innovations for some of our most popular brands, our U.S. sales soared to $3 billion this year, nearly four times more than in 2018. The company has outperformed many of its competitors, posting a compound annual growth rate of 7.9% over the past four years.

Ferrero’s goal is to become the largest packaged snack food company in the U.S., currently dominated by candy and snack giants Hershey and Mars, Lindsey said.

But while the company has built a vast portfolio ranging from cereals and protein bars to ice cream and cookies, it is still a relatively unknown name in the United States. The problem is that Ferrero will spend millions of dollars in 2026 to alleviate this.

Ferrero will embark on its largest global marketing campaign in history, investing more than $100 million during the Super Bowl and World Cup to show consumers that the company is more than Nutella, Ferrero Rocher and Tic Tacs. The company is optimistic that its marketing efforts will drive sales by increasing awareness among consumers as they shop and encouraging them to purchase more of its brands across a variety of categories.

At the same time, Ferrero is spending heavily to transform some of its core brands. It recently launched square versions of its gold-wrapped praline treats, Ferrero Rocher and Butterfinger with salted caramel. Last year it debuted Tic Tac ChewieIt is the confectionery giant’s first product outside of the chocolate or mint division. Ferrero also plans to introduce Nutella and its fast-growing Kinder Bueno snacks to the U.S. frozen food market starting in December.

“There is a broad recognition that we need to show the American consumer who Ferrero is, the breadth and quality of our products, the breadth and quality of our brand, and the scope of what we can do in terms of our core business and innovation,” Lindsey said.

A key part of Ferrero’s U.S. expansion will be spending money to build out its manufacturing and logistics footprint to keep up with demand and innovation for cookies, biscuits and confectionery. Starting in 2019, the company will invest $5 billion to expand its manufacturing capacity in North America, including in Chicago. We open our first innovation hub outside of Europe.

“I think that’s what sets us apart,” he added. “In the current economic climate, (we’re) one of the few manufacturers that’s still talking about big investments, big capital, big marketing programs, big new innovations. And that’s the beauty of a private company: It’s a company that’s willing to keep investing through the ups and downs.”