Main points
- Unannounced inspections were conducted at Ferrero's offices due to suspicions of violating EU antitrust laws.
- The manufacturer of chocolate-nut spread Nutella confirmed cooperation with the European Commission on April 15.
The European Commission inspects Ferrero offices / Collage of Channel 24, photo by Pexels
Back on April 13, the European Commission announced unannounced inspections at the offices of a leading chocolate confectionery company in two countries. However, the name of the manufacturer was not specified.
What is known about inspections at Ferrero?
The reason was suspicions of a possible violation of EU antitrust law. It later became known that the company in question was the Ferrero group, the manufacturer of the chocolate-nut spread Nutella, Bloomberg reports.
On April 15, the Italian confectionery giant confirmed on-site inspections by European Commission representatives at its offices. However, they did not disclose more specific information about the timing of such events.
The company is fully cooperating and providing the requested information,
– Ferrero emphasized.
The European Commission declined to comment further. However, a previous statement said the investigation into the unnamed company is focused on whether the manufacturer restricted trade in its products between EU countries (the so-called practice of territorial supply restrictions).
Note: Such raids in the EU are a preliminary stage in investigations into suspected antitrust violations. Fines can reach 10% of global revenue, but are rarely imposed in such amounts.
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What is known about the owner of Ferrero?
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Private billionaire Giovanni Ferrero has led Italy's richest family since 2015, following the death of his father, Michele Ferrero, who popularized Nutella and turned the confectionary in the northwest of the country into one of the largest producers of sweets in Europe.
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The Italian businessman focused on acquiring assets in the U.S. as part of a 10-year expansion campaign that doubled revenue and made Ferrero the third-largest maker of sweet packaged foods in the world.