Happy 50th Birthday, Nutella

The BBC gives us the birth story of Nutella, setting the scene in northern Italy, “in the hungry months after the end of World War II, [when] a young confectioner has a vision — of an affordable luxury made of a small amount of cocoa and lots of hazelnuts.”

Pietro [Ferrero] was a humble man who lived in an enchanting region famed throughout the land for its delicious and abundant hazelnuts. Times were hard and chocolatey delights were not for the common people. Still, he dreamed of a magic formula that would enable everyone to enjoy his sweet treats.

I think they mean that times were hard because chocolately delights, etc. Anyway, now Nutella buys a quarter of the world’s hazelnut crop, a jar is sold every 2.5 seconds and Pietro Ferrero’s son is the richest man in Italy. A sociology professor quoted in the BBC story notes that Nutella has held onto its initial, groundbreaking vibe of being both Fancy and also For the Masses, and says, “It allows you little forms of transgression… you can dirty yourself a bit, but it’s just for fun. I think that in the course of the history of Nutella, this is something which has been played on a lot — Nutella as a ‘polite transgression’.”

Nutella is also a decent baby name, or at least it can surely keep up with Vanellope, of which there were 63 born last year. [BBC]