World's largest Nutella factory reopens after 'quality defect'

The world's largest Nutella factory restarted production on Monday after it stopped work for five days as a precautionary measure over a "quality defect", owner Ferrero's French branch said. 

The factory in Normandy, France stopped making the chocolate-and-hazelnut spread due to a "suspected quality defect strictly limited to the production stage," Ferrero France's communications service told AFP.

It added that the problem was "very early in the process, at the stage of grinding and roasting hazelnuts."

"The factory started up again this morning at 6:00 am (0500 GMT). We are at 100 percent production capacity."

The Villers-Ecalles site in Normandy produces around 600,000 jars a day, or about a quarter of all the Nutella made worldwide.

Nutella's Italian owner Ferrero, whose products also include Ferrero Rocher chocolates, first announced production had been suspended on Wednesday.

"All concerns have been fully lifted," Ferrero France said on Friday. 

"We can say that no products currently on the market are impacted by the situation and that the supply to our customers continues without interruption."

The Ferrero group, with 30,000 employees and 22 production sites around the globe, also makes Kinder surprise eggs and chocolate bars as well as Tic Tac mints. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ferrero nears deal for Nestle's US candy operations

MILAN - Italy's Ferrero is closing in on a $2.8-billion deal for Nestle's US candy business, Bloomberg said Wednesday, amid signs a deal could be completed by Sunday.

Nestle USA registered sales of some 900 million Swiss francs (828 million euros/$900 million) in 2016, in a market worth an overall $8 billion, according to Ibis World -- equivalent to around a fifth of the global market.

The firms declined to comment on the deal.

Earlier reports had said Ferrero, above all known for its Tic Tac, Nutella and Ferrero Rocher brands but which has traditionally preferred organic growth to acquisitions, had been vying with Hershey and private investor groups including France's Rhone Capital for the deal.

Nestle owns brands including Crunch, Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and Skinny Cow.

The acquisition would see Ferrero, world number three in the candy sector after doubling turnover to 10 billion euros in the past 10 years, become the third-largest sweets producer in the United States behind Hershey and Mars.

Currently, its US business only accounts for around 5 percent of its business having bought Ferrara Candy in December.

Family-owned Ferrero has 22 production sites and more than 40,000 employees and sells in more than 170 countries. Its Nutella chocolate spread has 32 million fans on Facebook.

In 2014 it bought Turkey's Oltan, then a year later Britain's Thorntons, before setting its sights on the US market.

With demand for sugary fare stagnating Nestle has been moving toward healthier foodstuffs, while holding on to its prepared-dishes, ice cream and global confectionery businesses, Bloomberg noted.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Nutella maker to buy British rival Thorntons

LONDON, United Kingdom - The board of British chocolate maker Thorntons said Monday it had agreed a takeover deal by Italian rival Ferrero that values the firm at about £111.9 million (156.2 million euros, $177.4 million).

Thorntons chairman Paul Wilkinson urged shareholders to accept the offer of 145 pence a share, a 42.9 percent increase on Friday's closing price.

"Ferrero is a successful global confectionery business with a strong family heritage and as such represents a good cultural fit for Thorntons," he said in a statement.

"The board of Thorntons therefore has given its unanimous recommendation for the offer from Ferrero."

The Italian company, which makes Nutella spread and the Ferrero Rocher and Kinder chocolates, said it wanted to expand further in an important market.

"Our business was founded nearly 60 years ago out of a passion for chocolate and with a commitment to quality," said chief executive Giovanni Ferrero.

"We delivered our best ever results in the UK in 2014, giving us confidence that now is the right time to broaden our roots in this important market."

Thorntons was established in 1911 and employs about 3,500 people, many of them located at its key factory in Alfreton in Derbyshire in northern England.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com