Ferrero in UK and Ireland

OUR HISTORY

Ferrero has been a leading confectionary-maker for over 70 years.
The Ferrero story began in 1946 with a small factory in the northern Italian town of Alba.

Just 20 years later, the firm opened its first operations in the UK and has been committed to providing our consumers with high brands such as Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac, Nutella and Kinder Surprise ever since.

Ferrero UK & Ireland is a dynamic, progressive company, fusing modern, innovative approaches with a rich confectionery heritage, whilst staying true to our values as a family-owned business.

Delivering innovation through our brands

Ferrero has always had a keen focus on meeting and exceeding the expectations of consumers.
Nutella was one of the first products sold in the UK.
Did you know that to overcome the cocoa shortage following the Second World War, Pietro Ferrero invented a cream made from hazelnuts and cocoa, called Gianduja? This invention, which eventually became Nutella, put the Ferrero Company on the map.

Shortly afterwards, in 1970, Ferrero launched the Fresh Mint tic tac — the first “pocket mint” to hit UK stores with the Lime & Orange variety following just a few years later.

In 1974, Ferrero launched the iconic treat Kinder Surprise to the UK, an egg that can be enjoyed all year round. A combination of Kinder Chocolate, with a surprise and toy in every single egg creates a world of fun and entertainment that children and parents enjoy together to this day.

Kinder Chocolate made its UK debut in 1990 and featured a recipe based around more milk and less cocoa. This provided a treat that can be enjoyed in small portions by children while also reassuring parents at the same time.

Quality at the heart of everything we do

We are passionate about the quality of our products and only select the highest quality raw materials.

Some of the world's most delightful and iconic confectionery products come from Ferrero.

Our determination to bring you only the very best lies at the heart of everything we do. We know that it's the details that matter to guarantee the quality of our unique products and brands.

Our dedication to quality and excellence, our heritage and our family values, our respect for the environment and the communities in which we work: all of these are reflected in our desire to sustain and celebrate life's special moments.

Growing responsibly in the UK

As a responsible company, Ferrero has three core nutritional principles that underpin everything we do. Ferrero believes that there is no such thing as good or bad foods but rather a balanced and varied diet combined with small portion sizes and physically active lifestyles are important.

Examples of our responsible approach include:
- Small portion sizes
- Physically active lifestyles

Small portion sizes


We have always had a responsible approach and creating small and individually wrapped portions has been our philosophy since the start. That is why more than 95% of our products are less than 150 kcal and can be enjoyed as part of a balanced and varied diet.

We are continually looking at new ways to grow responsibly. For example, we, along with the wider confectionery industry, voluntarily put in place a 250 kcal limit on all single serve chocolates in 2015.

Additionally, we have taken a central role in helping launch the Be treatwise initiative.
As one of the leading UK confectionery companies, we joined the Be treatwise initiative, to help the nation have a balanced approach to treating.

Physically active lifestyles

However, behaving as a responsible corporate citizen does not end with our approach to nutrition.
We are committed to encouraging physically active lifestyles and in 2013, we partnered with the English Football League Trust to launch our flagship sports and education programme, +Sport Move and Learn (Joy of Moving programme) in the UK.

Working alongside the English Football League Trust, Scottish Professional Football League Trust and the Football Association of Ireland, we have helped to deliver sessions designed to have a lasting impact on the exercise levels of UK children.
The programme has grown every year and now positively encourages tens of thousands of children to discover the joy of moving and the benefits of an active lifestyle.

MARKETING

We are also committed to acting responsibly with our advertising and marketing communications concerning our products, which are only ever directed at adults (over 16s).

The future


We are growing and innovating all the time, the recent acquisition of the much-loved domestic chocolate-maker Thorntons in 2015 made us the fourth largest confectionery manufacturer in the UK with factories in Alfreton, Cork, and headquarters on a 23-acre site in Greenford.

Like Thorntons, ours is a family business with a rich heritage, driven by a commitment to quality and excellence and built around the hard work and shared values of our employees.
In the UK market, we aim to deliver pleasure to the life of our consumers through our high quality and premium treats.