Pietro Ferrero

Nutella started as a hard chocolate stick nobody could spread

In post-WWII Italy, when chocolate was a luxury, the Ferrero founder sold a hard, butter-stick-shaped chocolate meant for toast, and customers complained it didn't spread. He fixed the form factor with a creamy jarred version called Super Crema, which his son later reworked and renamed Nutella after the government banned 'Crema' in the name.

“So he tries the bar. People don't like it. They're complaining. They're like, it's too hard, doesn't spread easily. So he's like, okay, I got to solve the spread problem. And he comes up with a jar with like a creamy chocolate, like a jam, basically. And it's like a precursor to Nutella. It wasn't quite Nutella yet. But the idea was like, make it super spreadable, put it in a jar, and it was called Super Crema.”

Steal thisWhen customers like the idea but complain about the format, fix the form factor before you touch the product.