Ferrero SpA

Ferrero is an international Italian confectionery manufacturer.

Consisting of 36 companies Group of companies operates globally with 15 production facilities and employs approximately 21,400 employees. In fiscal year 2007/2008 Ferrero had a turnover of 6.2 billion euros. The company holding Ferrero International SA is registered as a limited company in Luxembourg, has its operational headquarters but in the Piedmontese town of Alba.

The seat of the German Ferrero is located in Frankfurt am Main, the production site in Stadtallendorf 105 km away. The following comments relate primarily to Ferrero in Germany.

History

Ferrero International

The company was founded in 1946 by confectioner Pietro Ferrero 1898 born senior in Alba (Italy). Pietro Ferrero is the inventor of Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut cream that already sold the company since the 1940s in Italy under the name of pasta gianduja. Pietro Ferrero in 1951 improved the recipe and named the product into Super Crema, until in Italy the term "Super" was banned in product name.

After Pietro Ferrero's death took a short time his widow Piera Cillario Ferrero, the shops, it was followed by their son, Michele Ferrero. Under his leadership, the company became world famous. 1962 married Michele Maria Franca Fissolo. From 1997 to 2011 Giovanni Ferrero managed the company together with his brother Pietro Ferrero junior, who, however, died in April 2011. The Ferrero Group is still family out under the guidance of the Son Giovanni Ferrero in the third generation and completely family owned.

1984 rose with the Ferrero Ferrero Asia Limited in the Chinese market. Today Ferrero is also active in Eastern Europe, the USA, South America and the Far East. Great media interest was the company, as it in 2000 with a view to its own brand children's chocolate, the use of the domain name " kinder.at " wanted to stop by others. In court it was subject in all instances.

Ferrero Germany

Ferrero Germany was founded in September 1956 in Stadtallendorf. First, Ferrero oHG operated under the name Assia GmbH ( Assia is Italian for Hessen). Initially ordered the German Ferrero five staff: a Turin engineer, a German secretary and three workers from the mother plant in Alba. Initially, only the product Cremalba was produced and sold in 200 -g- cups. Six months later, Ferrero Germany has about 60 employees, had towards the end of 1957 already 150 In the same year the work in Stadtallendorf reached the set production targets. Later, the administrative headquarters in Frankfurt was located on Main after the originally selected, nearer at the production site Marburg wanted to provide sufficient commercial space available, not to contend with another larger company by the Behring its character as a university town on the line.

The cherry chocolate Ferrero Mon Chéri helped the final breakthrough on the ( West) German confectionery market. Already 1957, Ferrero daily produces about 9000 kg Mon Chéri. A year later the production was increased to 20,000 kg per day. The term " Piedmont Cherry " is a pure invention of the advertising department. " Piedmont " is based on the region of origin of the Ferrero family. A variety of cherry that name does not exist. A large part of the cherries used comes from the Ortenau (as of 2008 ).

Today Ferrero employed by its own account in Germany 3600 people, the vast majority (around 3400) works at the site Stadtallendorf. There are also several thousand seasonal workers, such as for Easter or Christmas production.

Party funding scandal of the Hessian CDU

In the wake of the scandal over faulty accounting reports of the Hessian CDU was announced that the CDU state association had regularly receive donations from Ferrero since the 1980s, but this is not recorded. According to the Bundestag, the donations add up to a total of 255.646 euros. In the CDU annual reports they had not shown up. The then President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Thierse (SPD ) imposed on the Hessian CDU therefore a fine of 511,000 euros.

As the auditing office of the district of Marburg -Biedenkopf in 2000 noted the company has done for years to low business tax prepayments for his work in the Hessian Stadtallendorf. While the investigators considered for the years 1993 and 1994, advance payments of 40.2 million DM each appropriate to put the financial management of the CDU -governed community of only 6.8 million DM. For the years 1994-1996 Ferrero therefore had to pay extra to trade tax in the amount of 52 million DM. Interest gains generated by the low Ferrero advance payments are estimated at 13 million DM.

Trademark dispute over children

Ferrero must continue to accept products from other manufacturers with the name component children. On 20 September 2007, the German Federal Court in Karlsruhe rejected the action brought by Ferrero, the product name children should ban stuff the competitors Haribo. The term children is entirely a matter no trademark protection because it only rename the target group for these products, the court ruled.

Criticism

The Albert Schweitzer Foundation for our contemporary world has revealed on their website " Kaefigfrei " that Ferrero eggs used from the non- species-appropriate caging. After more than 6,000 signatures collected online and intensive discussions with the manufacturer had been led, Ferrero announced in 2010, to renounce to the end of 2012 eggs from any form of caging, ie to eggs from as early as the beginning of 2012 in the European Union banned conventional battery cages as well as eggs from the allowed to continue there attitude in so-called enriched cages.

In the discussion about the traffic light food labeling Ferrero is in criticism, as a nutritional table on most products lack.

The makers of the cuts brought in an advertisement the impression that the product is healthy because of the milk component and an alternative to break bread. The product contains 60 % but with relatively more fat and sugar than a cream cake, so excessive consumption to obesity and associated diseases can result. In the online poll to the Golden puffs for advertisers lie of 2011 consumers have set the dairy sections of Ferrero to square one. Approximately 43% of participants considered advertising for the milk product as a light snack for the three test case of misnomer, as the consumer organization Food Watch announced. A similar misleading Ferrero for Yogurette accused, which consists to 36 percent from fat, and contrary to what is suggested in advertising, a high-calorie candy is.

In the 1990s, Ferrero was criticized, who demonstrated as consumer centers in milk cuts, children Pingui, Kinder Bueno, Kinder Maxi King and alcohol. This is problematic because children can get used by the consumption of these sweets to the taste of alcohol so and this may make the threshold to try out "real " alcohol is reduced. Ferrero responded to the criticism and indicates since mid-2000, no more alcohol to use as an additive for its products.

Like other cocoa company Ferrero is also to tolerate suspected exploitation and child labor in its supply chain for cocoa and hazelnuts. Ferrero indicates that 2009/10 10% of the cocoa used come from traceable, sustainable sources. In his mission Ferrero check the WDR concludes that it is amazing that Ferrero has not a single product on the market that could be characterized as fair, quite unlike, say, the manufacturer Mars Incorporated. Ferrero points out in comments on his " commitment against abusive child labor " toward, but not denied the allegations.

Products

Ferrero is the umbrella brand for a range of individual brands and brand families

• Bueno
• Brioss
• Duplo
• Estathé ( black - drink)
• Ferrero: The Best of Ferrero, Ferrero cappuccino, Ferrero Garden, Ferrero Kisses
• Fiesta
• Garden
• Giotto
• Hanuta
• Children: Kinder Bueno, children Choco Fresh (formerly Prof. Rino ), Kinder Country, Children's Delice, a children's joy, kids friends, Kids Happy Hippo Snack, Kids Happy Hippo Cacao, children Happy- Hippo Crocky, Kinder Joy (only from May and July), Kinder Maxi King, children Paradiso, children Pingui, children Pingui Cocos cocoa, Kinder Riegel, Kinder Chocolate, Kinder Schoko - Bons, Kinder Surprise ( colloquially: surprise / Ü-Ei, is the world the term "surprise" each translated into the local language )
• Milk cuts
• Mon Chéri
• Nutella, Nutella & Go
• Pan e chioc
• Pocket Coffee
• Raffaello
• Rocher
• Rondnoir
• Tic tac, tic tac Icegloo
• Tronky
• Yogurette

Production

• Italy: Alba, Pozzuolo, Avellino, Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, Balvano
• Germany: Stadtallendorf
• Ireland: Cork
• Poland: Belsk Duży
• Belgium: Arlon
• France: Villers- Écalles
• Canada: Brantford
• Australia: Lithgow
• Puerto Rico: Caguas
• Argentina: Los Cardales
• Brazil: Poços de Caldas
• Ecuador: Tumbaco
• USA: Somerset
• India: Baramati
• Russia: Vladimir
• Turkey: Manisa