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Nutella faces competition from Italian pasta maker

By Anthony Myers

- Last updated on GMT

Jar wars: Nutella faces a threat from rival Italian company
Jar wars: Nutella faces a threat from rival Italian company
Barilla plans chocolate spread launch in 2019 to rival Nutella brand.

Italian spaghetti maker Barilla is reportedly preparing to launch a chocolate spread in 2019, as a direct challenge to Ferrero’s popular Nutella hazelnut spread.

Nutella is the leader in the chocolate spread market commanding 54% of global sales worth $2.3bn, with little competition - up until now.

In July, Lindt launched an exclusive ‘hazlenut cream’ product​ and Cokokrem, produced by Yildiz Holding, is the second most popular spread with a share of only 2%, according to Euromonitor International.

Barilla, best known for its blue-boxed spaghetti and maccheroni, is not commenting on the stories, telling Reuters news agency it would “answer questions about new products in the coming weeks​”.

Reuters reported that Barilla decided to mount a challenge to Nutella after evidence that Ferrero was starting to encroach on the pasta-maker’s lesser-known biscuit business.

One significant leak is that Barilla's new spread, Crema Pan di Stelle​, will not contain palm oil (unlike Nutella), only sunflower oil, 10% less sugar, Italian-only hazelnuts and cocoa sourced from sustainable farms. 

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