Source : THE AGE NEWS
If there was a throne for the king of sweet spreads, Nutella would sit on it.
Australians ate 15 million kilos of the chocolate hazelnut spread last year. It is far and away the flagship product of Ferrero, the Italian family business that also makes Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Kinder Surprise, Kinder Bueno and Tic Tacs.
Nutella has been rated the No.1 spread for 2023 and 2024, according to a Circana sales data shopping panel. By the numbers, Ferrero’s Australian business is selling more chocolate: revenue rose 10.1 per cent to nearly $382 million in 2024, with Nutella comprising a third of that. Profits rose 6.5 per cent to $14.5 million.
Nutella and Biscoff are both well-loved sweet spreads, but they take different approaches to reach new audiences.Credit:
With a 50-year legacy of local production behind it, the iconic chocolate hazelnut spread practically sells itself.
“We are definitely eating more [Nutella],” said Ferrero Australia head of business development Azzurra Puricelli. “It’s amazing to see the penetration; the number of consumers buying Nutella has grown in the past 10-15 years. Now we are present in one of three households.
“It’s such a loved brand. Every time we do a consumer campaign, you really perceive the consumer love.”
But Nutella, itself, is not a product that has seen much innovation. For the very first time in 60-odd years, Nutella has teased a new flavour: peanut, to hit shelves in North America in a year’s time (there are no immediate plans for it to reach Australia).
New products are led and developed at Ferrero’s company headquarters in Luxembourg. About nine new Ferrero products have hit Australian shelves over the past five years, like the popular Nutella Biscuits, Ferrero Rocher ice-cream stick, and a new chocolate protein bar called Fulfil.
Australia is one among several other international markets that must jostle for attention with global HQ to bring innovations Down Under. But some items recently introduced to Australian cafes, such as frozen muffins and frozen croissants with a Nutella centre, are far and away from what younger consumers – driven increasingly by TikTok recommendations and viral recipes – are hungry for.
While Nutella boasts the enviable status of being a staple in pantries and kitchens across the globe, it has not been the most visible. Recently, Belgian multinational Lotus Bakeries’ caramel and cinnamon-spiced biscuit and spread, Biscoff, has been prolific in appearing before consumers, who seem to be responding enthusiastically.
It has partnered with global and local food chains and national supermarkets to insert the flavour into drinks and desserts at McDonald’s (Biscoff McFlurry) and Hungry Jack’s (Biscoff Storm sold out twice); released Biscoff cheesecakes, hot cross buns and trifles with Woolworths; donuts with Coles; mousses with Aldi; drinks with local chains Gloria Jean’s; and cinnamon buns at Brumby’s Bakeries. Melbourne food blogger Nick Vavitis’ cheesecake cookie pie with Biscoff has just landed at fast-growing frozen yoghurt chain Yo-Chi.
Biscoff has been so active that some Reddit users have swapped notes on their observations. Google Trends data indicates local web searches for Nutella outstripped Biscoff for decades until mid-2023.
“We saw that in many countries … bringing the Biscoff taste in a spreadable form opened complete new dynamics into the category of spreadables,” said Bart Bauwens, general manager of international distribution at Lotus Bakeries.
Woolworths’ hot cross buns with Lotus Biscoff.Credit: Dallas Kilponen
“We see a massive explosion of our business in the Middle East, driven by spreads. We see the same in Australia. We see the same in Asia,” he said.
“It opens up a new potential for us … it’s not only spreading on bread during breakfast or midday, but also on pancakes, in drinks, in cakes.”
A 2018 partnership with local distributor Stuart Alexander, which also distributes for Hershey’s, Reese’s, Guylian and Chupa Chups, marked a “breakthrough” turning point for Biscoff’s presence in Australia, said Bauwens.
Nutella has its own partnerships and activations, such as a high tea with hotel chain Hyatt, a promotion with kitchen appliance maker De’Longhi, limited edition Nutella Oodies, and a recent one-day cafe pop-up at Caffe Gigi in Sydney’s Circular Quay.
Nutella and strawberry dessert pizza at Fratelli Pulcinella, Parramatta: the chocolate hazelnut spread is a staple in pantries and kitchens around the world.Credit: Nikki Short
Retail Doctor founder Brian Walker said Biscoff poses a challenge to Nutella’s more “conservative approach” to partnerships and innovation by tapping into a younger generation who resonate with “co-created and experiential brand moments”.
“Biscoff has become a breakout success with Gen Z through high-impact social media virality – think TikTok recipes, dessert hacks, and visually engaging food content. It’s also partnered locally with a range of foodservice and retail brands, embedding itself in everything from ice-creams to bubble teas,” Walker said.
“At the core, this story is about the shift from scale to speed, and from traditional brand authority to community-driven discovery.
“It raises important questions about how long-established brands can stay relevant in a landscape where consumers want to participate in the brand narrative, not just consume it.”
Could Biscoff be the next Nutella? Bauwens says it isn’t an ambition of Lotus Bakeries, which has its sights set on becoming the world’s No.3 cookie.
And is Nutella worried? “Not really,” said Ferrero’s Puricelli. “The size of Nutella, but also the type of investment, the marketing behind Nutella, is so strong.”
She acknowledged that Biscoff were very active. “Of course, they are much smaller,” she said. Ferrero, a private family company, reported turnover of €18.4 billion ($32.4 billion) for the 2024 financial year, growth of 8.9 per cent.
Its sales dwarf that of Lotus Bakeries’, listed on the Euronext Brussels stock exchange, which notched €1.23 billion ($2.2 billion) in turnover for the same year. But Biscoff’s parent company is growing at nearly twice the rate (16 per cent).
“It’s definitely interesting to see how active they are in different spaces,” Puricelli said.
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