Pietro Giovanni Ferrero was born in Farigliano (CN) on 2nd September 1898.

The son of farmers in the Piedmont Langhe, he soon decided to open a pastry shop in Alba (CN) and to launch innovative but inexpensive confectionery products on the market that could be affordable for everyone.

After much experimentation, he came up with a soft hazelnut paste, much cheaper than chocolate, sold in the form of a loaf, easy to transport and designed to be spread on bread. This was an optimal idea for the needs of the many workers in those areas, who lived in poor economic conditions.

The hazelnut cream was so successful among the many workers in Alba that it gave a boost to the Ferrero small pastry shop, which was established as an industry in 1946.

The work of the Ferrero family and the fame of that spreadable cream – which a few years later would be perfected, becoming known worldwide as Nutella – grew exponentially in the years that followed.

Pietro Ferrero died in Alba on 2nd March 1949.

You can consult the birth certificate on the Ancestors Portal: Archivio di Stato di Cuneo > Stato civile italiano > Farigliano > 1898

The original is kept at the State Archives of Cuneo