Ferrero owns a surprisingly large portfolio of candy, cookie, ice cream, and snack brands. The Italian company is best known for Nutella, Ferrero Rocher, Kinder, and Tic Tac, but a series of major acquisitions over the past several years has expanded its reach well beyond those flagship names.
Ferrero’s Original Brands
Ferrero was founded in Alba, Italy, in 1946 and built its reputation on a handful of iconic products that are now sold in dozens of countries. The core portfolio includes:
- Nutella, the hazelnut-chocolate spread that became a global pantry staple
- Ferrero Rocher, the gold-wrapped hazelnut chocolates often associated with gift-giving and holidays
- Kinder, a line of chocolate products originally developed for children, including Kinder Bueno, Kinder Joy, and Kinder Chocolate
- Tic Tac, the small mint and candy brand recognized by its distinctive plastic container
These four brand families still form the heart of the company’s identity, but they now share shelf space with a much larger roster of acquired names.
Former Nestlé Candy Brands
In 2018, Ferrero purchased Nestlé’s U.S. confectionery business for $2.8 billion. The deal brought several well-known American chocolate bars under Ferrero’s roof:
- Butterfinger
- Baby Ruth
- Crunch (sold as Nestlé Crunch at the time)
- 100 Grand
- Raisinets
- Laffy Taffy
- Nerds
- SweeTarts
Nestlé had been looking to exit the mass-market U.S. candy business as consumer preferences shifted. Ferrero used the acquisition to establish a much larger footprint in the American market, instantly gaining brands with decades of name recognition.
Keebler and Other Cookie Brands
Ferrero made another major U.S. move by acquiring Kellogg’s cookies, fruit snacks, and pie crusts businesses. That deal added a strong lineup of cookie and snack brands:
- Keebler, one of the most recognized cookie brands in the country
- Famous Amos, known for its bite-sized cookies
- Mother’s, a premium family cookie brand
- Murray, a sugar-free cookie line
The acquisition also included fruit snack products and ready-made pie crusts sold under the Keebler name. This purchase gave Ferrero a major presence in grocery store cookie aisles, a category it had no real stake in before.
Ice Cream: Blue Bunny, Halo Top, and More
Ferrero expanded into frozen desserts by acquiring Wells Enterprises, one of the largest independent ice cream manufacturers in the United States. The deal brought in several popular ice cream brands:
- Blue Bunny
- Halo Top, the lower-calorie ice cream brand
- Bomb Pop, the classic red-white-and-blue frozen treat
- Blue Ribbon Classics
Wells continues to operate as a standalone business with production facilities in Iowa, Nevada, and New York. Ferrero has described ice cream as a strategic growth category for the company, and it has also launched Nutella and Ferrero Rocher branded ice cream products in various markets.
How Ferrero’s Portfolio Fits Together
What started as a single Italian confectionery company now spans chocolate, candy, cookies, mints, spreads, and ice cream. Ferrero’s expansion strategy has been fairly consistent: acquire established brands with strong consumer loyalty, often from larger food companies looking to slim down their portfolios. The Nestlé and Kellogg deals in particular transformed Ferrero from a European specialty player into one of the largest candy and snack companies in the United States.
Across all its divisions, Ferrero ranks among the top confectionery companies in the world by revenue, competing directly with Mars and Mondelez for market share in chocolate and sugar confections.