Nutella, Noutella or Newtella? We’ve been pronouncing it wrong for decades

Nutella has been around decades. The brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread is manufactured by Ferrero in Italy and was first introduced in 1964. And we’ve been pronouncing it wrong since then.

It was World Nutella Day on 5 February, and Ferrero used the opportunity to clarify how the name ‘Nutella’ is pronounced. Why? Well, because apparently, 87% have been saying it incorrectly for years!

How to pronounce Nutella

Nutella, Noutella or Newtelluh?

A recent study by Ferrero found that 78% of consumers thought it was pronounced the same way it’s spelt – Nut-ella – while 12% thought it was Noutella, as in “now-tella”.

Another six percent said the first syllable should be new, as in New-telluh. James Stewart, Marketing Director for Nutella, Ferrero UK & Ireland has now confirmed that yes, “Noutella” is indeed, correct.

Congrats to the 12%, we suppose? Stewart added though the pronunciation is not all that important to the team. They would much rather we enjoy the taste than worry about how to say it.

“As Nutella is enjoyed in every corner of the world, there has long been some fun debates on how it should be pronounced. Our Nutella team wanted to share how we pronounce the iconic spread’s name. We emphasise the ‘NOU’ in ‘NOU-tella’, but we don’t mind how our fans decide to pronounce it – the most important thing to us is that you enjoy it!”

Nutella’s false advertising

Fun fact, back in 2012, Ferrero was sued in a class action for false advertising regarding Nutella’s nutritional and health benefits, with an advert at the time claiming that the delicious spread was “part of a nutritious breakfast”.

Ferrero had to cough up a cool $3 million – roughly $4 per jar for up to five jars per customer – as well as make changes to how the product is packaged and marketed to consumers. Some of these changes included scrapping several television ads and removing misleading health claims from the brands official website.

In case you were wondering, the tasty treat contains 10.4% of saturated fat and 58% of processed sugar. While it’s often marketed as a chocolate and hazelnut spread, it’s mostly just sugar and palm oil. 

A two-tablespoon contains roughly 200 calories, including 99 calories from 11 grams of fat and 80 calories from 21 grams of sugar. Other ingredients include 15 mg of sodium and 2 grams of protein per serving.

That said, the ingredients different from country to country. Consumers in Australia, India and Italy will be getting 13% hazelnuts. The recipe was also adjusted in Germany, much to the dismay of consumers. Ferrero said at the time:

“The quality, safety, sourcing and all the other characteristics of Nutella remain the same. However, the consumer association noted that the colour of the spread was now lighter. As the colour of the new Nutella is lighter, we are working on the assumption that skimmed milk powder was added at the expense of cacao”.

Also read: Valentine’s Day Gin Cocktails – Fall in love all over again