Italian company Ferrero to invest US$ 94 million in Chile

Ferrero Hazelnut Company CEO Marco Botta said Chile is key to the company’s global supply chain. The company has already invested US$ 330 million in the country.

It all started like many things in the agricultural business: as an experiment to evaluate plantations in new regions; in this case, the southern hemisphere.

That is how the Italians from Ferrero – through their subsidiary AgriChile – arrived in Chile in the early 1990s with a couple of European hazelnut trees. The plant, typical of the Mediterranean, was unknown to Chilean soil, but it would quickly take root and expand through crop trials along 600 kilometers of the national territory, explains Diario Financiero.

Thirty-five years after that first Italian mission, Chile is now the second largest producer and exporter of hazelnuts in the world, and one of the four main countries from which Ferrero sources its key ingredient.

So, yes. Nutella, Rocher chocolates and Kinder Bueno are made from Chilean hazelnuts. In line with the country’s growth, the iconic chocolate brand’s investment in Chile is also increasing.

«Given that Chile is growing and has achieved excellent quality, it has become one of the pillars of our sourcing strategy. Therefore, this year is a good opportunity to announce a new round of investments worth € 80 million (US$ 94 million), » reveals Ferrero Hazelnut Company CEO Marco Botta, as he meets with DT in downtown Santiago amidst an intense schedule of meetings with authorities.

The executive, originally from Piedmont, has visited Chile six times in four years, and if there is one thing he emphasizes during the interview, it is that the firm’s vision in the country is «long-term» and also «a beautiful story to tell. »

New investments

Since its pioneering foray into the Maule Region, Ferrero has invested US$ 330 million in the development of the local industry. This has included the expansion of their own 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres), but also the training and technical support they have given to more than 800 local producers, from whom they also buy hazelnuts.

They have the Alto Camarico cleaning and drying plant in the Maule Region, inaugurated in 2015, and the San Gregorio processing plant in the Ñuble Region, operational since 2024. The investment announced by Botta includes improvements to both factories, the expansion of the logistics network and the construction of a third plant in the La Araucanía Region, in the municipality of Cunco, which would receive around half of the amount to be invested (US$ 45 million).

« La Araucanía is a region where the hazelnut is booming, and this, combined with the plantations in the Los Ríos and Los Lagos regions, justifies the construction of a shelling plant, » explains Camillo Scocco, general manager of AgriChile, who has lived in Talca since the early 2000s and has been Ferrero’s key figure in the industrialization of the sector in Chile.

According to both executives, the facility has virtually no environmental impact, since it is a purely physical process that, through high technology, shells and calibrates the hazelnuts for later export.

Depending on their weight and size, they end up being transformed into Nutella or Rocher. The Italian group says they have already started the municipal procedures and expect to finish construction by the end of 2027.

And after 2027, what are the plans for Chile? «The central focus of this family company’s strategy is the long term, and we will have to see how the situation evolves by 2027. We have invested a lot in terms of capital, human capital, time and effort in Chile, because in other countries the hazelnut value chain was already present or had developed independently of Ferrero. For us, this is a story we are very proud of, because I don’t know how many examples you can find of a company that builds a vision, pursues it for 35 years and maintains it for the future, having started from scratch. That’s why we have a special bond with Chile, and it’s a country where Ferrero wants to continue growing, » says Botta. When asked about the company’s view of the new government, Botta emphasizes the excellent relations they have maintained with the various administrations.

Chilean market

European hazelnut plantations were practically non-existent in the country in the early 2000s. In 2015, the Office of Agrarian Studies and Policies (ODEPA) counted 8,712 hectares (21,528 acres); by 2025, the figure had skyrocketed to 50,000 hectares (123,553 acres).

According to Ferrero’s calculations, the planted area already exceeds 60,000 hectares (148,263 acres), with the Maule Region accounting for nearly a third of the total. And that’s not all.

In terms of crop yield, the executives say that Chile is currently positioned as a world leader, surpassing even Turkey and Italy, with three tons per hectare (versus 1 to 1.5 tons per hectare in other countries).

Annually, the CEO says, they export US$ 600 million worth of hazelnuts from Chilean ports. Regarding the current stage of development of the local industry, Botta says that «Chile is a young adult. She has emerged from a splendid youth and has now entered a phase of full maturity, but still with great vigor and so much ahead of her. »

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