Ferrero is a family-owned company headquartered in Alba, Italy that owns 23 consumer brands through 2 subsidiaries, and has 6 recorded transactions.[1]
Ferrero was founded by pastry maker Pietro Ferrero in Alba, Piedmont in 1946, where wartime cocoa shortages led him to stretch chocolate with local hazelnuts. It remains family-owned through a Luxembourg holding company and has expanded into American biscuits and ice cream by acquisition.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
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Full portfolio, 23 brands, with sources → · Competitors by shared categories →
| Entity | Stake | Jurisdiction | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrara Candy Company | 100% | United States | 2017 | [3] |
| WK Kellogg Co | 100% | United States | 2025 | [6][7] |
Ferrero agreed to buy Purely Elizabeth, a granola, oatmeal and cereal company founded in 2009 in Boulder, Colorado, which had more than doubled its sales in two years and recently moved into protein products. It follows Ferrero's purchase of WK Kellogg Co in 2025 and deepens a confectioner's push into American breakfast. No price was disclosed.
Ferrero bought all of WK Kellogg Co for $23.00 a share in cash, a total enterprise value of $3.1 billion, completing the deal on 26 September 2025 a week after WK Kellogg shareowners approved it. WK Kellogg Co became a wholly owned subsidiary and left the New York Stock Exchange, so the North American rights to Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies now sit with an Italian family-owned group while Kellanova, owned by Mars, holds the same cereals elsewhere.
Ferrero acquired Wells Enterprises, the largest privately held ice cream maker in the United States, bringing Blue Bunny and Halo Top into a company known for chocolate. The price was not disclosed. It followed Ferrero's earlier purchases of American confectionery and made it a substantial frozen dessert business as well.
Kellogg sold Keebler, Famous Amos and the rest of its cookies and fruit snacks business to Ferrero as it concentrated on snacks and cereal. The seller entity later became Kellanova in the 2023 split.
Nestlé sold its United States confectionery business, including Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, Crunch and around twenty other brands, to Ferrero. Nestlé kept its confectionery businesses in every other market.
Ferrero acquired Thorntons for about GBP 112 million, taking a British chocolatier founded in Sheffield in 1911 whose shops had been closing for years as supermarkets took the trade. Ferrero closed the remaining stores and kept the brand on supermarket shelves.
1 recall notice from government regulators matched to Ferrero. Each applies to the specific products, sizes and lot codes named in the notice, not to every product sold under the name.
Reason given: This product may contain pieces of metal which makes the product unsafe to eat.
Recalling firm: Ferrero UK · Brand: Nutella
Matched automatically from FDA, USDA FSIS, UK Food Standards Agency and CPSC records only when the recalling firm corresponds to this ownership record and, for a brand, the brand name appears in the product description. Check the linked notice for exact products and lots. Method.
Ferrero owns 23 consumer brands tracked here, including Brach's, Butterfinger, Rice Krispies, Thorntons, Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Raisin Bran.
Yes. Ferrero is headquartered in Alba, Italy and was founded in 1946.
Ferrero is privately held. Ferrero was founded by pastry maker Pietro Ferrero in Alba, Piedmont in 1946, where wartime cocoa shortages led him to stretch chocolate with local hazelnuts.
The most recent completed acquisition recorded here is WK Kellogg Co, Frosted Flakes, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran and Froot Loops on 26 September 2025.
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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