When it comes to sweet spreads, nobody does it like Nutella.
The creamy, chocolatey hazelnut-infused spread has been winning over the hearts of consumers
since it was first spread on top of bread.
You may think it's fairly new, but it actually has a very long and crazy history.
Do you ever feel slightly embarrassed when someone corrects you after you've constantly
been pronouncing a word wrong?
Well, we hate to burst your bubble, but you may have been pronouncing Nutella wrong.
While some stress the "nut" part of the word, the correct pronunciation is 'new-TELL-uh'.
Believe it or not, the tasty spread we all know and love may never have existed if it
weren't for a pair of infamous despots.
In 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte blockaded British trade, cutting off the flow of cacao to Italy.
According to legend, chocolatiers in Turin began adding hazelnuts to their chocolate
to stretch out supplies, leading to the creation of a paste called gianduja.
Over a hundred years later, supplies were again scarce thanks to Italy's involvement
in World War II under Benito Mussolini.
Italian baker Pietro Ferrero revived the ancient gianduja recipe to deal with rationing.
In 1951, his son Michele altered the recipe to make it spreadable - and the phenomenon
that would come to be known as Nutella was born!
People love Nutella, and we mean love Nutella.
According to Insider, jars sell at the rate of one every 2.5 seconds, which means the
amount of it sold each year is more than enough to circle the globe.
According to Nutella themselves, the amount of Nutella they produce in year weighs about
the same as the Empire State Building.
That's a whole lot of Nutella love!
And with over 31 million followers on Facebook, it looks like the love is here to stay.
Just how popular is Nutella?
In January, 2018, a French grocery chain implemented a massive sale on Nutella, slicing prices
by 70 percent.
Fans looking to stock up on Nutella swarmed stores, leading to shoving matches, fistfights,
and outright brawls in locations across the country as people clamored to get their share
of the limited supply.
Fans were also riled up in 2017 when it was discovered Nutella had secretly changed their
recipe, adding more milk powder at the expense of cocoa and whey powder.
Angry protestors took to Twitter en masse to decry the decision, with one tweeting:
"Do you see us trying to change Beyonce or Demi Lovato?
No, because you don't go and change perfection!"
Truer words have never been spoken.
It can take up to 94 hazelnuts to make a single jar of Nutella.
Considering how popular the brand is, it may not come as a surprise to learn that according
to BBC News, Nutella actually uses 25 percent of the world's hazelnut production.
But using so many nuts doesn't necessarily mean Nutella is good for you.
In fact, a single serving of two tablespoons contains 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, and
a whopping 21 grams of sugar.
So when Nutella claimed in its advertising that it was a healthy choice, consumers in
California cried foul, filing a class action lawsuit.
“Well, in fact, there is less sugar, tablespoon for tablespoon, in this chocolate icing than
in that Nutella."
In response, manufacturer Ferrero agreed to a $3 million settlement, and had to change
labeling along with some marketing statements.
Nutella is so loved that it has its own limited-edition stamp, issued by Italy in 2014 to honor the
official 50th anniversary of the Nutella brand.
Not only that, but beginning in 2007, fans across the globe began celebrating World Nutella
Day every February 5 in honor of their favorite spreadable snack.
And if you want to celebrate Nutella all year round, you're in luck too, as Nutella has
opened a pair of official Nutella Cafes, one in Chicago and another in New York City.
Letting you get your Nutella fix, the cafes features a Nutella-inspired menu that serves
breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Menu items like croissants and waffles come topped with Nutella, and there are also items
like paninis and crepes.
Of course, it wouldn't be Nutella without making you feel like you're eating inside
of a jar itself.
The entire cafe is decked out in modern Nutella décor.
Cream colored walls, red accents, and lights shaped like hazelnut plant flowers make you
want to indulge in all things Nutella.
Yum!