This Beloved Italian Chocolate Brand Is An American Grocery Store Staple

Italy has one of the most delicious cuisines in the world, and its confections are no exception. One of the best-known is Ferrero Rocher. The bite-sized bonbon features a whole hazelnut encased in chocolate surrounded by a thin wafer shell, which is then covered in more chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. Wrapped in classy gold foil and nestled in a clear box, Italy's signature truffle is instantly recognizable.

Ferrero Rocher first hit the European market in 1982, and ran its first TV ads that helped cement its popularity in 1983. The brand arrived in the U.S. in 1988, before expanding worldwide. Over the next several years, it became a popular chocolate in the U.S., widely available in grocery stores across the country. Ferrero is now the second-largest chocolate producer in the world, beloved in the U.S. and globally.

The company that Ferrero Rocher got its start from dates back generations. In Alba, Italy, in 1946, brothers Pietro and Giovanni Ferrero were working in their family's small pastry shop. Pietro, nicknamed "the scientist" by friends, loved to experiment with new and creative flavors for customers to try. In post-World War II Italy, chocolate was costly, but the hazelnuts that grew throughout the Piedmont region were plentiful. In an effort to create a more inexpensive chocolate product, Pietro combined the two, making Italy's unique gianduja chocolate. Delicious and affordable, gianduja was an instant hit and helped lay the foundation for the Ferrero family's confectionery empire. After Pietro suddenly passed away at age 51, his brother Giovanni took the reins before eventually handing the company over to Pietro's son, Michele.

Pietro Ferrero turned gianduja into a smoother version called Super Crema after World War II — the forerunner to Nutella, the chocolate-hazelnut condiment you can use in many creative ways. His son, Michele Ferrero, rebranded Super Crema as Nutella in 1964. Ferrero is also behind the creation of brands like Kinder, a chocolate bar aimed at children with a milky filling — now with numerous variations –  that launched in 1968, followed by the famous Kinder Surprise egg with a toy inside in 1974. The company also created minty Tic Tac tablets, which they call the "rebel" of their product line in 1969. The Ferrero family didn't create the iconic truffles their name is perhaps most associated with — Ferrero Rocher — until 1982. This was followed by the addition of the coconut almond truffle, Raffaello, in 1990.

Ferrero eventually acquired Kellogg's and select Nestlé products. Today, it has 35 brands under its umbrella. Still, the Ferrero Group continues to evolve and put new products on the market. It launched a new chocolate line that's a twist on its signature offering back in 2022: Ferrero Rocher chocolate bars. It took a team of 50 people three years and over 300 recipes to perfect the final product. The bars combine the best qualities of Ferrero Rocher: A chocolate base with a creamy filling, topped with chopped hazelnuts. The bars' five flavor combinations include milk hazelnut, dark hazelnut, white hazelnut, macadamia & hazelnut, and dark hazelnut & caramel.