Ferrero Rocher

Ferrero Rocher (Italian pronunciation: [ferˈrɛːro roʃˈʃe]) is a chocolate and hazelnut confectionery produced by the Italian chocolatier Ferrero.

Ferrero Rocher
TypeChocolate
Place of originItaly
Created byFerrero
Main ingredientsMilk chocolate, hazelnut, sugar, palm oil, wheat flour
Food energy
(per serving)
76.6 kcal (321 kJ)

History

Ferrero Rocher was introduced in 1982 in Europe. Shortly after its release, production was halted due to a problem with label printing.[1] Michele Ferrero, the credited inventor, named the chocolate after a grotto in the Roman Catholic shrine of Lourdes, Rocher de Massabielle.[2] Rocher comes from French and means rock or boulder.[3]

Layer by layer comparison of the Ferrero Rocher

Ingredients

The chocolate consists of a whole roasted hazelnut encased in a thin wafer shell filled with hazelnut chocolate and covered in milk chocolate and chopped hazelnuts.[4] Its ingredients are milk chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skim milk powder, butteroil, lecithin as emulsifier (soy), vanillin (artificial flavor), hazelnuts, palm oil, wheat flour, whey (milk), low fat cocoa powder, sodium bicarbonate (leavening agent), and salt.[5]

Production

The production process is secretive, with no smartphones or notebooks allowed inside the production facilities. As of 2015, few journalists have ever been invited to visit.[6] As of 2015, the production in the Alba factory totals 24 million Ferrero Rochers a day.[6]

The sweet is produced by machinery. The process begins with flat sheets of wafer with hemispheres moving down an assembly line.[7] The hemispheres of the wafers are then filled with a chocolate hazelnut cream and part of a hazelnut. Next, two of these wafer sheets, one with a hazelnut and one with hazelnut chocolate cream, are clamped together. The excess wafer is cut away producing wafer balls. These balls are then coated with a layer of chocolate, a layer of chopped hazelnuts, and a final layer of milk chocolate[7] before the chocolate ball is wrapped in its prominent gold foil.[1]

Ferrero Rocher in 24-pack boxes being sold during the Christmas Season

Distribution

Roughly 3.6 billion Ferrero Rochers are sold each year in over 40 countries.[8] These include 28 countries in Europe, 9 countries in the Americas, 9 countries in Asia, 2 countries in the Oceania region, and 2 countries in Africa including Mauritius.[9]

Cultural impact
A Ferrero Rocher in packaging

Christmas

Ferrero Rochers are associated with the holiday season during Christmas and New Year. As of 2015, 61% of Ferrero Rochers were sold within the last three months of the year.[6]

United Kingdom advertisement campaign

In the United Kingdom in the 1990s, an advertisement series was based upon a party in a European ambassador's official residence and it has been repeatedly parodied in popular culture since.[10] In 2000, the ambassador’s party commercial was ranked 21st in Channel 4’s poll of the "100 Greatest Adverts".[11]

Hong Kong and China

Ferrero Rocher chocolates, along with baby formula, are one of the top items smuggled across the border from Hong Kong into mainland China.[12]

See also

References
  1. Allen, Lawrence L. (1 January 2010). Chocolate Fortunes: The Battle for the Hearts, Minds, and Wallets of China's Consumers. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. ISBN 9780814414323.
  2. Caldwell, Zelda (8 May 2018). "How Ferrero Rocher chocolates were inspired by the Virgin Mary". Aleteia.
  3. "rocher - traduction - Dictionnaire Français-Anglais". WordReference.com.
  4. "A Brilliant Idea …". Ferrero Rocher.
  5. "Ferrero Rocher". ferrero.ca. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. Sarah Butler (30 October 2015). "Full steam ahead at Ferrero factory as chocolatier eyes No 1 spot in UK". The Guardian.
  7. "Loynds Ferrero Rocher Type Production Line". Loynds. 29 December 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2016 – via YouTube.
  8. Iyoob, Umar. "Report on Ferrero (Rocher)". Scribd. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  9. "Ferrero - Worldwide". Ferrero. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  10. Wood, Zoe (17 November 2009). "Family behind Ferrero Rocher linked to deal with Cadbury". The Guardian. London.
  11. "The 100 Greatest TV Ads". London: Channel 4. 2000. Archived from the original on 18 June 2001. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  12. Sturzel, Winston (11 January 2018). "Milk and Chocolate SMUGGLING worse than HEROIN smuggling in China!". Serpentza (YouTube channel).
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