5. Nutella was invented because of a shortage of a chocolate
Nutella is the undisputed king of chocolate spreads and enjoys a cult following around the world, somehow appealing to children and adults alike. In 2013 alone, 365 million tonnes were consumed worldwide. But despite its decadent taste, it was actually invented in a time of crippling austerity. Pietro Ferrero (1898-1949) was an Italian pastry maker from Piedmont, a region rich in hazelnuts. Chocolate shortages following WW2 meant that few people could afford it, and Ferrero didn’t think that was right. He began to experiment with making a sweet paste from crushed hazelnuts and a little cocoa, and voila!
Nutella was born. Originally, it was a solid block which had to be sliced, but a few years after the first lumps were made available the Supercrema variety familiar today was invented. The importance of this spreadable type of chocolate was that it encouraged people to buy chocolate as an everyday item, rather than reserving it for special occasions. After all, you could simply put it on bread if you wanted (and everyone seemed to). Emerging at a critical time when people needed cheering up and didn’t have much money, Nutella has gone from strength to strength ever since.