Ferrero SpA, the Italian multinational manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, died on February 14, 2026, at age 87.
Headquartered in Alba, Piedmont, Ferrero was better known as Ferrero Group and was the second largest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world by revenue. The private company was owned by the Ferrero family and had been described as one of the world’s most secretive firms.
Founded in 1946 in Alba by Pietro Ferrero, it grew under Michele Ferrero and later passed to the next generation of the family.
Ferrero International SpA (/fəˈrɛəroʊ/ fə-RAIR-oh, Italian: [ferˈrɛːro]), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba, Piedmont. Ferrero is a manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second largest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world by revenue. Ferrero SpA is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and it has been described as “one of the world’s most secretive firms”.