Antonella Sottero heads the Italian multinational Ferrero in Spain and Portugal. Among the objectives of the company, founded by Michele Ferrero and directed by his son Giovanni, is to expand its range of products to seasonally adjust income. With iconic brands such as Ferrero Rocher or Nutella, they expect a good Christmas campaign thanks to the boost in consumption.
What volume of business do you have in Spain and what place does the country occupy among all your markets?
Our fiscal year runs from September to August, so we are now starting a new year. In 2022-2023 we obtained a net turnover of 228.7 million euros in Spain, and in Portugal, a country that is also under my responsibility, 85 million euros. These results represent a net turnover of Ferrero Ibérica of 313.8 million and a growth compared to the previous year of 8.5%. The Ferrero group earned 14,000 million last year, 10.4% more, and Spain and Portugal occupy the sixth place among all our markets. The main ones today are Italy, France and Germany, although in the future I think we will be able to develop the United States and Asia more. We probably have a different balance.
How is consumption going this Christmas? Is the economic situation affecting the campaign?
In recent years we have observed a tendency for consumers to delay purchases until the last few days, making it more difficult to make estimates. Now, the sector has had a year of declining volume and positive value, which means that there is a dynamic of rising prices. In the final stretch of the year, however, there has been a change and the volume is also growing. As for Ferrero, we expect to close with a positive result. We have a very well segmented portfolio, with a part of products for adults, such as Ferrero Rocher, Mon Chéri and Pocket Coffee, and a part for children with Kinder and Nutella, so we have the market well covered.
There is increasing concern about healthy living and governments regulate so that fewer high-calorie and sugary products are consumed. How are they adapting to it?
We have not changed our recipes, but we have always had portions in very small formats. 85% of our offer is in very small formats, with an average caloric intake of 143 calories. Therefore, it is easier to control consumption.
Food and raw materials have suffered strong inflation since 2022. How has it affected them?
In our case, two of our main raw materials have had enormous inflation. Cocoa has become 40% more expensive and we are at the highest levels in the last forty years. And the same thing happens with sugar. The price increase has been 40% due to a drop in production due to the El Niño effect. In this context, we have tried not to pass the increase on to the consumer, but to absorb at least a part. And also look for efficiencies in all our processes. But above all, the key has been not to pass on the entire increase to the consumer. The fact that we are a family business has helped us with this, because it allows you a medium-long-term vision.
Where do they get their supplies from?
We work directly with the countries that produce our raw materials. In the case of cocoa, they are Ghana, Ivory Coast or Cameroon. We work palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia. And with Türkiye, which is the world's largest producer of hazelnuts.
In 2019 they bought an ice cream factory in Valencia. What results has it delivered and how does it support your growth strategy?
This acquisition responds to the logic promoted by Ferrero in recent years of not remaining only in chocolate products. We want to enter new categories, such as cookies and ice cream with our best-known brands. This allows us to deseasonalize the business. The Christmas campaign weighs 30% on our annual turnover, but in the coming years this percentage will decrease. If we work well on the new categories, it means that we will have a more balanced billing throughout the year. Ice creams have an inverse seasonality to chocolates. Cookies are sold all year round. This is the challenge, to create a much more homogeneous billing base in all months of the year.
Do you plan to launch new products with the objective of further deseasonalizing sales?
Yes, we will continue with innovation. Innovation has always been one of the company's fundamental pillars. Our founder, Michele Ferrero, is the person who created all the company's products and always did so without following the market, trying to be a little out of the box. For example, the Kinder Surprise is a small Easter egg that is sold all year round. It seems like a banal and simple idea, but it is not like that. The same with our most iconic chocolates and with Nutella, which is a world leader. Spain is the only country in the world where we have another strong competitor in cocoa cream with Nocilla. Therefore, we are always analyzing the consumer and creating innovative products.
And do you foresee new acquisitions in Spain to continue with this strategy?
In the ice cream category we want to consolidate our presence worldwide. They are processes that are done little by little, they also require learning, because they are new categories. We know everything there is to know about chocolate, but ice cream is new to us. So, little by little we are building know-how and we are investing a lot at an industrial level as well. At the moment we have no new acquisitions in sight.
What is the product that sells the most?
The Ferrero Rocher around the world. In Spain and Portugal we have a 24% share with this product.
And which one is your favorite?
Nutella, which always accompanies me in my breakfasts.
He comments that Ferrero Rocher is his flagship product. In Spain it achieved great popularity thanks to the campaign starring Isabel Preysler in 1999. Many still remember the advertisement in which she entertained her guests with chocolates. Was it a turning point for the company in Spain?
Ferrero Rocher and Isabel Preysler were a perfect pairing, because she embodied the values of a territory where Ferrero wanted to enter. The campaign was a great success, creating an iconic and different territory compared to the other chocolates present on the market and attracting new consumers. In terms of impact on sales, it was a super success and also in image creation. The fact that after 25 years almost everyone remembers that campaign indicates that it has become a kind of cultural heritage.
What new ambassadors are you looking for now?
The consumer and society change. Probably the territory that Isabel Preysler embodied is no longer so relevant, because now we have a more modern consumer. We have a new initiative, Together We Shine More, a competition of towns in Spain with a lot of visibility and with Jesús Vázquez as ambassador. Jesus has been with us for ten years with this and he does it very well, communicating a closeness and affection that are the new values we need. Empathy, rather than a slightly distant iconicity.
