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“The goal is to create a product that becomes a staple in North American households,” Thomas Chatenier, global president of Nutella, said in a separate interview. “Something that you can expect to see on every kitchen shelf across the region.”
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Ferrero doesn’t plan to stop there. For now, the company is focused on integrating the operations of WK Kellogg and Wells. Martinez Carretero said Ferrero has “opportunities in most of the categories,” including ice cream, cookies and “Better for You” products like Power Crunch protein snacks, purchased last year. In the future, the company will consider more potential M&A, he said.
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Ferrero is scheduled to report results on Friday for the fiscal year ended in August. Sales are expected to rise to about €20 billion ($23.6 billion), up from €18.4 billion the prior year. Net income was €1.15 billion in fiscal 2024.
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The 2025 revenue estimate excludes Kellogg’s, acquired in September after the fiscal year-end. The standalone cereal company generated $2.7 billion in revenue in 2024, its last reported year.
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The US has become more prominent for Ferrero in the decade since Executive Chairman Giovanni, the grandson of co-founder Pietro Ferrero, set out to lessen the company’s dependence on mature markets like Europe.
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Giovanni Ferrero and his family have a net worth of nearly $58 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The company, founded as a pastry shop in 1946 by two brothers in the town of Alba, now sits behind only Cadbury’s owner Mondelez International Inc. and M&M’s maker Mars Inc. in the €630 billion global sweet packaged foods category that includes cookies, ice cream, candy and desserts, Ferrero said, citing GlobalData research.
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Fannie May chocolates and Ferrara Candy’s gummies were added in 2017, followed by the Nestle US confection unit and Kellogg Co.’s cookie brands like Keebler and Famous Amos. By 2022, the US, Canada and the Caribbean made up 18% of Ferrero’s revenue, rising to 24% in fiscal 2025.
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Kellanova, the former Kellogg Co. snack business that includes Pringles and Pop-Tarts, was split from cereals in 2023 and purchased separately by Mars last year.
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Like other global food companies, Ferrero has worked to localize operations, with offices and manufacturing in more than 50 countries. This has insulated it somewhat from President Trump’s tariffs, though not entirely.
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“With the new administration we have seen certain volatility, and one example is the tariffs,’’ Martinez Carretero said. “Our agenda hasn’t changed.”
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Ferrero, which has about €6.5 billion in debt, has been building its US business at a time when competitors and consumers have pulled back from sugary foods. Those trends are only accelerating with popular obesity drugs and Make America Healthy Again initiatives like phasing out some food dyes.
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The Italian company inherits a Kellogg’s business with shrinking sales, battling intense competition, fluctuating commodity prices and an uncertain geopolitical climate, said Morningstar analyst Erin Lash.
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WK Kellogg as a standalone had less bargaining power with retailers than General Mills Inc. and Post Holdings Inc., she added.
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“The business’s biggest risk has been the plethora of nutritious and convenient breakfast alternatives jockeying for a share of shelf and stomach,” Lash said. “We don’t think these competitive pressures will likely subside, even after eating away at the cereal category for years.”
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