Mr. Nutella is dead – Hamburger Evening Gazette

Mr. Nutella is dead – Hamburger Evening Gazette

02.16.15, 06:02

Michele Ferrero made the nut cream into one of the most popular products worldwide. Now he died at 89 years

By Tobias Bayer

Milan. You lack in any breakfast. A hazelnut chocolate cream. In a glass with a thick threaded connector. In a word: Nutella. The man who has made Nutella one of the most popular products on the globe is dead. Michele Ferrero, owner of the eponymous confectionery manufacturer based in Alba in Italy’s Piedmont region, died on Saturday at his home in Monte Carlo at the age of 89 years.

Michele Ferrero is, without exaggeration, a century entrepreneur. Born on April 26, 1925 in Dogliani, he formed from the operation, his father Pietro had established a global corporation. He launched next Nutella such best sellers as “Mon Chéri”, “Kinder Chocolate”, “Tic Tac” and “Ferrero Rocher”. Ferrero now employs 34,000 people, has 20 factories, nine farms and has a presence in 53 countries. Ferrero was the richest Italian. In the ranking index of Billionaire Bloomberg news agency, he finished with a fortune of 23.4 billion in the 2014 survey ranked first in Italy. He was out on the world 30.Rang.

Ferrero Nutella and are one of the great success stories of the post-war years. “Lavorare, creare, donare”, “work, creating the transfer,” is the motto of the company’s foundation, which was also the theme of Michele Ferrero’s life.

The beginnings are humble. Father Pietro opened his candy store in 1923 in Dogliani. Eventually a gentleman brings over a glass with a molasses like Gigi Padovani in the book “Mondo Nutella” writes. In his laboratory, Pietro begins with the experiment. With nuts. Coconut cream. He calls his wife and let them taste the cream. “I liked it excellent,” says wife Piera. His son Michele is thrilled. When the family shortly after making the rounds in place to sell the new product, already begging the first shortly afterwards for more? “Signor Ferrero, they still have some When you removing from it candy on bread, which is a delicacy . “

Father Pietro invents the hazelnut chocolate cream. But son Michele sees as one of the first entrepreneurs that the future does not lie solely in Italy. After his father dies, he takes over the reins at the age of 33 years. In the 1950s, he decides to build a factory in Germany. “Signor Ferrero said to me, ‘If we do not anyone in Europe, then we are in Italy, a nobody,’” says ex-Ferrero-executive Amilcare Dogliotti recalls. The choice is on Stadtallendorf in Hesse.

mocks the competition. From the company Motta, famous for panettone, it reportedly: “The Ferrero bowl so even out of the market.” A crass misjudgment. The Germany-adventure is a success and the blueprint for the international expansion that follows: Ferrero it is not about using the shift of production to press abroad costs, but to open up new markets. But Ferrero is not only a pioneer abroad. It also recognizes as one of the first the potential of a well-known brand. With “Mont Blanc”, “Chanel no. 5″, “Nescafe” and “Vespa” Although there are already world and iconic brands. But a real concept in order to make their products known to have the fewest companies handlebar.

Ferrero and his staff labor at length about the appropriate name for their hazelnut chocolate cream. “Nustsy”, “Nutosa”, “Nutina”. So nobody really wants to fit. The brilliant idea comes Ferrero, according to “Mondo Nutella” in Frankfurt after a walk. In the hotel, he asks his wife Maria Franca at dinner: “What do you think of Nutella That sounds like good times we check whether everyone likes?..”

Prototype Ferrero also in succession planning. End of the 1970s, he sends his two sons, Peter and John to study in Brussels. Michele Ferrero later admits his job and moved to Monte Carlo. Take the lead sons. In April 2011, son of Pietro dies in South Africa. Since then, Giovanni stands alone in front of the family.

The news of the death of Ferrero off a wave of sympathy. Italian President Sergio Mattarella sent a telegram to the family. “Ferrero was for many years a protagonist of the Italian industry, thanks to innovative products always keep pace with the changes. He was stubborn and reserved.” For Prime Minister Matteo Renzi Ferrero was “a great Italian, who heads held high has worn the creativity, talent, quality and entrepreneurial skills of our country in the world.”