World Nutella Day - facts you didn't know yet

Nutella. This sweet hazelnut spread turns your very dry cracker into a heavenly pastry. February 5 is World Nutella Day and therefore here are some fun (and less fun) Nutella facts.

Nutella fact 1 - Nutella was invented by the Italian pastry chef Pietro during the Second World War. At that time, there was a ration on cocoa, which meant that the baker no longer had enough chocolate. So he started using ground hazelnut to make the chocolate filling and the rest is history!

Nutella fact 2 - Nutella is big (family) business! Michele Ferrero, who perfected his father Pietro's recipe and created Nutella, became Italy's richest man in 2008 with an estimated fortune of $11 billion. This Ferrero died in February 2015 at the age of 89. Grandson Giovanni Ferrero is now the CEO.

Nutella fact 3 - The name Nutella is a combination of two languages. 'Nut' is English for nut and 'Ella' is Latin for sweet.

Nutella fact 4 - You don't say 'Nuutellaa' but you pronounce the word correctly this way: New-tell-uh. I didn't make it up.

Nutella fact 5 - You should not call your child 'Nutella'. In 2015, a French couple wanted to name their daughter 'Nutella', but the judge did not allow this. He thought it was inappropriate and saved this poor girl from a life full of ridicule and humiliation.

Nutella fact 6 - If you mention Nutella chocolate spread, you will be sued. In Italy. Under Italian law, Nutella cannot be called ' chocolate spread ' as it does not meet the requirements for minimum cocoa solids.

Nutella fact 7 - Hold on tight. A jar of Nutella is sold somewhere in the world every 2.5 seconds. Bonus fact: you can buy Nutella in 160 countries.

Nutella fact 8 - All the jars sold annually could cover 1,000 football fields.

Nutella fact 9 - To get an idea of ​​the quantity. The annual production of the pasta weighs about as much as the Empire State Building.

Nutella fact 10 - Another one for your imagination: every year, a quarter of the global hazelnut harvest is used to produce Nutella.

Nutella fact 11 - Nice to know. One 750 gram jar of Nutella contains no fewer than 97 hazelnuts.

Nutella fact 12 - For a long time, the ingredients in Europe and America were different. Nutella now claims that the recipe is the same worldwide. Nutella is made "by seven ingredients, which give it its unique creaminess and intense flavor" . Sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, milk, cocoa, lecithin and vanillin.

Nutella fact 13 - Did you know that there are special locks for the Nutella jar? This way you protect the contents of your jar from your housemates or... yourself. On Etsy you will find various Nutella locks and there is also a pink one!

Nutella fact 14 - Less fun: one tablespoon of Nutella contains 100 calories and a kilo jar contains more than 5,000 calories. FYI: you can order a 3 kilo Nutella bucket for €33.99 (yep, that's 15,000 calories)

Nutella fact 15 - If you are as big a Nutella fan as I am, there is good news. Etsy is full of Nutella fan stuff and you can also find nice Nutella stuff at Bol.com like these Nutella socks - €11.95

Nutella fact 16 - When you talk about Nutella, this fact cannot be missed. In June 2015, French Environment Minister Ségolène Royal condemned the consumption of Nutella on French television because it is made with palm oil. The World Wide Fund for Nature notes that the palm oil trade often destroys the habitats of endangered species such as rhinos and tigers, although Ferrero has committed to sustainable palm oil extraction. However, Italy's Environment Minister Luca Galletti was unhappy with this attack on Italy's prized exports and demanded an apology, as did another Italian politician. Royal later tweeted in French (as translated by Twitter): “A thousand apologies for the #Nutella controversy. Agreed to mark progress.” Nutella then seems to manage the collection of palm oil more sustainably, although as a layman I cannot confirm this with 100%. You will find this Palm Oil statement on the Nutella website.

Happy World Nutella Day

Since I started eating very differently last year due to the chronic migraine I had, I don't really miss much. But Nutella is in my top 5 of things that I secretly miss sometimes. Of course, that shouldn't stop you and that's why I wish you a very happy World Nutella Day!

Sources: Mentalfloss.com and Spoonuniversity | photo: Marko Blažević - Unsplash

The author: Mariko Naber

Branding expert and online entrepreneur Mariko is the happy brain behind Happlify. Together with partner Mark, she runs Happlify, Sell your stuff online and branding agency Loaded ink BNO . She loves feel good, random acts of kindness, meatballs, chocolate mousse, family time, sea, piña colada, sugar & spice and everything nice.