Last week, Sara Rosso, an emphatic fan of Nutella, got some not-so-sweet news from the spread's producer. Her annual World Nutella Day website and all of its accompanying social media outlets were ordered to cease and desist.
Rosso, an American blogger who lives in Italy, launched the site and holiday in 2007 as a fan of the creamy hazelnut chocolate spread, which is made by the Italian company Ferrero.
Says the Huffington Post:
"This is something I did as a fan," Rosso said. "I have a full-time job; I'm not trying to make a business out of this." She declined to identify her day job, saying she would prefer not to involve her employer.
Since its founding, World Nutella Day has taken on a life of its own. Its Facebook page has just under 40,000 "likes" and the event has almost 7,000 followers on Twitter. Both accounts are managed by Rosso, as is the associated blog Nutelladay.com.
Many of those fans were outraged by the company's actions. Some theorized the reasoning behind them shutting down the holiday is so that they could launch their own marketing initiative. But it was just announced on
World Nutella Day's Facebook page, that the two parties have smoothed things over.
"I’m relieved to say there’s been a positive resolution to the situation. Ferrero employees reached out to me directly after I had posted my fan letter online and sent my formal reply to their C&D. They were very gracious and supportive and we were able to have a productive discussion about World Nutella Day living on for the fans, which is the whole point... I believe they were truly interested in resolving the situation in a way that preserved the spirit of the fan-run holiday."
So the fan-made holiday will live on. Viva Nutella!
