Nutella, the popular chocolate hazelnut spread, has faced an unusual legal challenge in France due to its name. In 2015, the company was sued by a French consumer group and forced to change the labeling on Nutella jars sold in France. The reason? Claims that the name “Nutella” was misleading to French consumers.
Opening Summary
In a nutshell, the controversy stems from the fact that Nutella contains a relatively small amount of hazelnuts compared to other ingredients like sugar and palm oil. Yet the name “Nutella” emphasizes the hazelnut content. The consumer group argued this was misleading and contravened French food labeling laws. After losing in court, Nutella’s parent company Ferrero was required to modify the product’s name and pay a fine. For a time, Nutella jars in France were labeled as “chocolate hazelnut spread with skimmed milk” rather than just “Nutella.”
The Lawsuit Against Nutella
In May 2014, the consumer advocacy group UFC-Que Choisir brought a lawsuit against Ferrero, the manufacturer of Nutella. They petitioned a French court to force Ferrero to stop using the brand name “Nutella” on products sold in France, alleging it violated the country’s consumer protection laws.
Specifically, UFC-Que Choisir argued that Nutella’s name emphasized the presence of hazelnuts when the spread actually contained only a small amount of hazelnut paste – just 13% according to the group. The next major ingredients were sugar and palm oil, making up over 50% of the spread. The group said this made the name “Nutella” misleading to consumers.
French food labeling laws prohibit brand names that give a false impression of a product’s main ingredients. Since hazelnuts made up such a small percentage of Nutella, using the nut in the name contravened these laws, according to the consumer group.
The Court’s Ruling
In April 2015, after months of legal proceedings, the Court of Paris ruled in favor of UFC-Que Choisir, decreeing that the brand name “Nutella” was illegal under French consumer law.
The court stated that Ferrero had “invested in the nurturing qualities of its Nutella product while failing to inform consumers that sugar represented more than 50 percent of the product.” It ruled that simply adding a label showing nutritional information was insufficient – the product name itself was misleading.
As a result, Ferrero was fined €300,000 (around $340,000 USD at the time) and ordered to change the name within a six month period. Otherwise, they would face a penalty of €1000 per jar sold in France.
The Aftermath and Name Change
In the wake of the ruling, Nutella jars in France were rebranded as “chocolate hazelnut spread with skimmed milk” rather than just “Nutella.” The detailed name aimed to make the chocolate and sugar content clearer to buyers.
Ferrero decried the court’s decision and initially appealed the fine. However, in May 2016 the company reached a settlement with UFC-Que Choisir to end the legal battle.
As part of the agreement, Ferrero agreed to pay the €300,000 fine and pledged to provide more nutritional transparency on Nutella jars sold worldwide. This included clearer labeling of the chocolate content and visual representations of the ingredients on the packaging.
However, Ferrero did not have to change the brand name to “chocolate hazelnut spread” long term. In 2018, the company announced it would revert to labeling Nutella with just its brand name in France. The detailed description would be removed as it was deemed no longer necessary following the new transparency initiatives.
Why the Controversy?
At its core, the dispute reflected differences between consumer expectations of Nutella and its actual nutritional makeup. Many customers evidently assumed from the name that hazelnuts were the primary ingredient rather than sugar and palm oil.
The impression of Nutella as a hazelnut-based product traces back to its origins in Italy in the 1940s. The spread was created as a way to extend hazelnut supplies during a post-war shortage. The name “Nutella” comes from NOI (nut) and ELLA (hazelnut in Italian).
However, over the decades Nutella morphed into a chocolatey, sugary spread. By the 2000s, it contained only around 10% hazelnuts. Yet the traditional brand name remained, arguably misleading consumers about the spread’s composition.
The French lawsuit brought wider international attention to the mismatch between Nutella’s branding and ingredients. It highlighted how customer perceptions weren’t aligned with the product’s nutrition facts.
Nutella’s Ingredients
Here is the typical ingredient breakdown of Nutella as of 2022:
| Sugar | 50.5% |
| Palm oil | 17.4% |
| Hazelnuts | 12.9% |
| Cocoa powder | 7.4% |
| Skim milk powder | 6.6% |
| Soya lecithin | 0.5% |
| Vanillin | 0.1% |
As this shows, the two main ingredients are now sugar and palm oil, together making up over two-thirds of Nutella. Hazelnuts have been relegated to the third spot at around 13%.
The high sugar content reflects Nutella’s evolution into more of a chocolate spread than a hazelnut one. The pure hazelnut paste originally used has been boosted with extra cocoa powder and cocoa butter over time.
Nutella’s Marketing
Critics of Nutella have highlighted how its marketing emphasizes hazelnuts over other ingredients like sugar:
- TV ads and commercials prominently featuring hazelnuts
- Labeling highlighting the spread’s “hazelnut goodness”
- Branding associating Nutella with wholesome breakfasts
This kind of messaging fuels perceptions of Nutella as primarily hazelnut-based. Yet the reality is hazelnuts, while providing flavor, are minority ingredients compared to sugar.
The French felt particularly misled thanks to Nutella’s marketing in France as a breakfast spread. Customers apparently assumed from this it was healthier than the sugar-laden reality.
Nutella’s Response
Both before and after the French lawsuit, Nutella defended its nutritional values and ingredients:
- Emphasized the quality of the hazelnuts, imported from Italy and Turkey
- Stressed that Palm oil, while high in saturated fats, was essential for the spread’s texture
- Noted that the sugar was necessary as a preserving agent given lack of artificial preservatives
- Argued that Nutella was meant as an occasional treat, not everyday breakfast
Ferrero also disputed claims it was misleading consumers, arguing it had always adhered to labeling requirements in each country where Nutella was sold.
Impact on Nutella Sales
The “Nutella scandal” as it was dubbed didn’t seem to dent enthusiasm for the spread, at least initially. In 2015, the year of the court case, Nutella sales in France rose over 4% to around $450 million. Globally, revenues topped $3 billion that year.
However, there are signs the controversy may have taken a toll more recently. In November 2020, Ferrero reported financial losses and falling Nutella sales, which it blamed partly on growing concerns about processed foods and sugar.
While the brand remains widely popular worldwide, the French lawsuit helped spur wariness about Nutella’s high sugar levels and lack of hazelnuts. The resulting shift in consumer attitudes seems to have led some health-conscious buyers to cut back.
Conclusion
The legal challenge to Nutella’s name in France highlighted a disconnect between customer perceptions of the spread as hazelnut-based and the reality of its sugary nutritional makeup. Though the company didn’t have to permanently alter the Nutella name, the controversy delivered a public relations challenge.
In response, Ferrero has tried to counter the criticisms by providing more transparency about Nutella’s composition. However, the lawsuit delivered lasting scrutiny to the mismatch between the Nutella branding and its actual ingredients.
While still widely enjoyed as an indulgence, Nutella’s reputation has likely been dented by concerns about its high sugar content. The French case spotlighted an ingredient list at odds with many people’s assumptions about the chocolate hazelnut spread bearing the Nutella name.