Dive Brief:

• Ferrero Hazelnut Company, a division of sweets maker Ferrero Group, made a $350,000 investment to strengthen hazelnut production in the U.S., according to a Nov. 14 press release.
• The investment is split between two universities, with Oregon State University receiving a $180,000 grant and Rutgers University a $170,000 award, per the release.
• The grants aim to support the universities’ efforts to collaborate with local hazelnut farmers, producers and distributors, in addition to advancing industry sustainability efforts.

Dive Insight:

Ferrero is making efforts to diversify its hazelnut sourcing in North America, where the nuts are in high demand during seasonal celebrations like the upcoming winter holidays.

"Our mission is to master the hazelnut value chain from end-to-end to create and deliver value in service of customers, brands, and products," Tommaso de Gregorio, head of Ferrero's Agri Competence Center, said in a statement. 

The Willamette Valley accounts for 99% of U.S.-grown hazelnuts, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ferrero has partnered with OSU for years, and the latest grant is intended to support ongoing projects like controlling invasive species, diseases, fungi and weed management in hazelnut orchards in the Willamette Valley, according to the press release. To date, Ferrero has donated more than $760,000 to OSU agriculture programs.

On the East Coast, Rutgers University is breeding trees resistant to the Eastern Filbert Blight fungal disease that harms the production of hazelnuts in New Jersey and other eastern states, Thomas Molnar, associate professor in the Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, said in the release.

Ferrero is focused on strengthening its North American supply chain through logistics, research and development and manufacturing investments. In 2019, for instance, Ferrero partnered with software service company Alloy to increase supply chain visibility and reduce food waste by better leveraging data.

Outside the U.S., Ferrero sources hazelnuts from Italy, Chile, Turkey, France, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Argentina and Serbia, according to the company’s 2023 sustainability report. The company strives for full visibility across its hazelnut supply chain, achieving 90% traceability of its total sourced hazelnuts back to origin. 

The confectionery company operates a total of 37 manufacturing plants across five continents, according to Ferrero’s website. In the U.S., the sweets company has manufacturing campuses in Illinois and Ontario, alongside other facilities in Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, per the press release.

Correction: A previous version of this story included a lower figure for the award to Rutgers University. The figure, and the corresponding total investment value, have been corrected.