Nutella, that sweet chocolate spread French children (and parents) butter on their bread, was not only the most sold product – the brand dominated half of the top 10 ranking.
Claiming the top spot, the Nutella 1kg pot sold €40 million worth in 2020 (the study stopped on June 12th).
The 1kg chocolate pot was so popular that it outranked butter, black coffee and toilet paper (which, in coronavirus times, you know what means).
Fifth, after butter, black coffee and toilet paper, came the 975g pot of Nutella, which sold for a value of €31 million, followed closely by Nutella 750g (€30 million and Nutella 400g (also €30 million).
Then followed more black coffee and milk, eight and ninth respectively, followed by Nutella biscuits, the only non-pot version of the brand on the list.
The study was conducted by Nielsen France, a private company specialising on marketing analysis.
See the full ranking in the tweet below:
? Classement des produits les plus vendus (hors boissons) : 5 références Nutella dans le top 10 en chiffre d'affaires. Pour le classement tous produits confondus ? https://t.co/UGhUyiVVtt pic.twitter.com/FGethKPrQB
— Nielsen France (@NielsenFrance) August 26, 2020
France's longstanding love affair with the chocolate spread Nutella is a faithful kind – so much so that it's tempting to contrast it with that of some French presidents with their wives – that begins, for many, at childhood and lasts for life.
French children smear the hazelnut paste onto their bread in the morning, some dip the tartine in a bowl of chocolate milk. Adults might lay off the topping during the week, but few can resist that occasional tartine de nutella, sometimes toast or drenched in the coffee mug.
And don't forget the absolute classic: crèpes de Nutella:
*tell the universe what you want*
Me: Nutella and Biscoff Crepes by @ptheledge ?? #missguided pic.twitter.com/6C4ixHfrOo
— Missguided (@Missguided) January 23, 2020
A couple of years back, a 70 percent Nutella discount at the Intermarché supermarket chain turned into a 'riot', with customers jostling and battling each other to get their hands on the pots.
Emeute à #intermarché pour du #Nutella en promo à 1€40 !! ?J'ai honte pour eux pic.twitter.com/cnT9O6MZRb
— Jean Zerafa (@Rev_de_Presse) January 25, 2018
READ ALSO: What the 'great Nutella riots' tell us about the French
Everyone loves Nutella. Even French President Emmanuel Macron:
Make our pot de #Nutella great again pic.twitter.com/XDF2btXCej
— ?⭐️ Iron Marmotte ⭐️? (@MarmotteDroite) January 25, 2018
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Obviously the health craze has not arrived here! This stuff is frankly dangerous particularly for children. It rots their precious teeth early and causes terrible obesity. You can see the results everywhere. Fat kids wobbling around followed by their clearly overweight unhealthy parents. It should be banned as if it were a class 1 drug and articles like this singing Nutella’s praise are offensive & unwise.
auitaineguy-I think you need to take a deep breath and look up actual causes of obesity, which is not as simple as eating sugary treats. I don’t know where you are from but the obesity rate in France is a lot lower than the UK or the US.
@aquitaineguy – you left out the fact that Nutella is made with palm oil. Very, very unhealthy – I agree with all you said.
@David – who cares where the obesity rate is lower. The point is, people ARE obese (for no matter what reason) and vasts amounts of Nutella doesn’t help the situation.
The stuff is referred to in the article as a “chocolate spread”. Errrr, it has 7% cocoa, its main “real” ingredient being hazelnut paste, since it was designed in post-war Italy to replace then non-existent chocolate, because of rationing. But the main ingredient of the stuff is… sugar : 53 % !!!! Plus palm oil. So, basically, it’s very, very, unhealthy (and not very good, if you ask me, but that’s personal) and not politically correct, most hazelnuts being picked in Turkey by young children.