Nutella making another change only some customers will love

When I was in college, I had a roommate who spent a semester in Europe; she returned to California with a German boyfriend and a jar of Nutella. 

This was years and years ago, before the product was available at Costco and every other grocery store in the world, so the sticky, sweet hazelnut cocoa spread became a treat that we had to seek out at specialty markets.

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Nutella has been a pantry staple in my house pretty much ever since, and it’s been a popular brand across U.S. for decades now. It’s also no longer limited to just a spread. There’s Nutella ice cream and Nutella biscuits, along with a plant-based version for vegans. 

Maybe because it’s a classic comfort food people craved while hunkered down during the pandemic, Nutella’s sales have nearly doubled since 2020, according to the company.

The recipe has also stayed pretty much the same since the product was invented in 1964, with one exception. 

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Back in 2017, Ferrero, the Italian company that makes Nutella, admitted that in Europe, a new recipe contained more skimmed milk powder and less cocoa. The change increased the sugar content and slightly reduced the fat content. It also made people angry.

People took to social media and voiced such dismay, you’d think they’d learned the company was using child labor to harvest those hazelnuts. 

But in the years since, the company has quietly continued to expand its presence in the U.S. through a series of acquisitions, including the Blue Bunny and Halo Top ice cream brands, and Power Crunch, the protein snacks brand. It has also built out manufacturing operations in northern Illinois, according to a report in Food Processing.   

Nutella is giving Americans what they want: peanuts

Now the company is preparing to roll out its first new flavor in the company’s 61-year history. 

Fans of Nutella don’t need to worry that the company is messing with perfection. Instead, they should be thrilled that the company is launching a new version that contains peanuts. 

Nutella Peanut was created with peanut-loving North Americans in mind. According to the USDA, peanuts account for 65% of all U.S. nut consumption (yes, even though peanuts are legumes). That’s almost 8 pounds per person annually. 

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Ferrero is hoping this new flavor combo, which took five years to perfect, will foster further growth in the North American market.

Nutella Peanut will be similar to the traditional spread, but made with cocoa blended with roasted peanuts instead of with hazelnuts. 

Nutella’s new product expected to fuel U.S. growth

This has not been a cheap endeavor. Ferrero is spending $75 million to launch the product, which was developed by Ferrero food scientists in Europe. 

Nutella Peanut will be produced exclusively in the U.S., however, in a former Nestle plant undergoing a makeover, which accounts for part of the company’s investment in Nutella Peanut. 

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The new spread “really shows the focus that [the company has for] this area and for the growth that they want to see in this market,” Senior Director of Marketing Seth Gonzalez told FoodDive.

It’s been a pretty sweet ride for Ferrero so far, since it’s grown to a top-three candy company in the U.S. 

The company’s U.S business has so far avoided the downturn that competitors like Hershey and Mondelēz have seen in sales lately.

Safe to say business is spreading nicely for the Italian confectionery giant.

Nutella Peanut is expected to hit shelves in spring 2026. 

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