World Nutella Day Date in the current year: February 5, 2024

Nutella can be considered the “descendant” of gianduja, a sweet chocolate spread that contains about 30% hazelnuts. A Piedmont staple, it is believed to have been invented by a chocolatier in Turin named Michele Prochet during the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1806, Napoleon imposed the Continental System, preventing British products from entering European ports that were controlled by France. Since most of Europe’s chocolate came from Britain’s overseas possessions, the embargo put a strain on cocoa supplies. To make the most of the little chocolate he had, Prochet mixed it with a paste made from local hazelnuts and invented a new confectionery product that is now associated with Turin and Piedmont.

Gianduja was originally sold as a solid block that was cut into pieces. In 1951, a bakery owner from Alba named Pietro Ferrero began to sell a creamy version of the product. Twelve years later, his son Michele Ferrero decided to market it throughout Europe. He slightly modified the recipe and renamed the product “Nutella”. The commercial production of Nutella began in 1964, and it has been widely popular ever since.

The composition of Nutella may vary from country to country, but its main ingredients remain the same. They are sugar, palm oil, 13% of hazelnuts, cocoa solids, and skimmed milk. In many countries, Nutella is marketed as “hazelnut cream” since it contains too little cocoa solids to be labeled as “chocolate cream”.

Nutella can be eaten as is, spread on bread, used as a sweet sauce (for example, for pancakes, waffles or other desserts) or as a filling for baked goods. Although in many countries there are similar spreads with a slightly different composition (for example, a higher content of hazelnuts, peanuts instead of hazelnuts, nougat instead of chocolate, etc.), none of them is as popular as Nutella. Ferrero even reflected this in its motto: “What would the world be like without Nutella?” (“Che mondo sarebbe senza Nutella?”).

World Nutella Day was invented by Sara Rosso, an American blogger living in Italy, in 2007. She loved Nutella very much and felt that this delicious sweet spread deserved its own holiday. Nutella fans loved her idea and promoted it on social media, and so World Nutella Day Was born. In 2015, Rosso transferred the rights to the holiday to Ferrero.

How can you celebrate World Nutella Day? Here are ten ideas that can be found on the holiday’s official website:

• Cook something with Nutella.
• Write a poem or song about Nutella.
• Enjoy Nutella in an unusual place.
• Take a selfie with Nutella.
• Create a Nutella inspired art.
• Experiment by pairing Nutella with various products.
• Relive your first Nutella experience.
• Give a jar of Nutella to someone you love.
• Introduce someone to Nutella for the first time (if you manage to find a person who’s never tried it).
• Throw a Nutella-themed party.

And, of course, the best way to spread information about this delicious holiday is to post about it on social media using the hashtag #worldnutelladay.