Restaurants Are Driving Sales With An Ingredient Customers Already Love
Breakfast is a high-impact meal for full-service restaurants, where guests expect both comfort and creativity. According to Datassential, nearly one in four operators have seen an increase in brunch sales in the past year, and 41 percent of U.S. restaurants either serve breakfast or are open during breakfast hours. To elevate their morning menus, many operators turn to premium ingredients with high consumer value and recognition to drive awareness of menu offerings and increase profits.
Nutella® has been a breakfast favorite for more than 50 years, and its popularity in foodservice continues to grow. According to Circana, Nutella is the number one nut spread within broadline foodservice distribution to midscale family-style restaurants, holding a 30 percent share.
“Nutella is best used to amplify a chef’s creativity and elevate customer anticipation by using a well-known and beloved ingredient,” says Victor Dell’Aquila, foodservice culinary chef at Ferrero. “Nutella has a premium quality reputation, and I believe this is important for full-service restaurants in general, as the price points are higher in this setting.”
Dell’Aquila, who grew up eating Nutella for breakfast in a traditional Italian American family, has seen firsthand how it has evolved. “Back then, Nutella was mostly found in Italian markets and was especially popular among Italians and college students who had studied abroad,” he says. “Fast forward to 2017—I started as the restaurant and development chef for Nutella in North America, creating new products and working with foodservice customers on their menus.”
With its signature blend of cocoa and hazelnuts, Nutella pairs well with pancakes, crepes, waffles, and pastries, helping operators create dishes that feel indulgent yet familiar. “The flavor profile and high-quality ingredients of Nutella work especially well with traditional American breakfast foods like pancakes, crepes, and waffles,” Dell’Aquila says. “Just add fresh fruits and you really have a wonderful breakfast.”
With Ferrero’s foodservice-friendly formats, including bulk tubs and ready-to-use piping bags, operators can seamlessly integrate Nutella into breakfast lineups. “With the 6.6-pound tub, you can use your own kitchen utensils for portioning and dispensing Nutella,” Dell’Aquila says. “The 32.5-ounce piping bag gives you flexibility, as you can pipe decorations, fill pastry, and drizzle on beverages—all with one tool that comes ready to use. By simply using a scale, you can pre-portion your servings and have much less waste or overfill on your menu items.”
Beyond traditional breakfast plates, operators are finding creative ways to feature Nutella. “Nutella works best as a topping on a pre-baked item rather than a bake-in ingredient—so I’ve done some experimenting with breakfast items served in parfait glasses and coffee mugs, where I line the inside and rim with Nutella to create Instagrammable photos for breakfast concepts,” Dell’Aquila says. “As for unique pairings, Nutella goes best with fresh fruits—and our customers all love that healthy aspect of eating fruit—but Nutella also goes with surprising and unique flavors like salted caramel, marshmallow, and coffee. The key is to balance the acidity so the chief flavor elements of Nutella—cocoa and hazelnut—can be appreciated by the customer.”
Nutella also works well as a dipper for shareable items, with interactive dishes that appeal to families and brunch guests looking for something beyond the standard breakfast fare. “Nutella works great on a menu as a dipper for small sharing plates—this allows you to offer Nutella on a wide range of items like pretzels, churros, donut holes, and sweet dough knots,” Dell’Aquila says. “Our customers report that the churros and donut holes are doing exceptionally well as far as sales and repeat orders.”
For full-service restaurant operators looking to enhance their breakfast offerings, Nutella provides a simple way to create high-margin, high-impact dishes. With its global recognition and premium positioning, Nutella helps operators attract repeat customers and justify higher pricing.
“As a chef, working with Nutella as an ingredient is easier than I originally thought,” Dell’Aquila says. “It’s such a well-known and well-loved brand that it practically sells itself—I know that sounds cliché, but it’s true.”
To explore Ferrero’s foodservice solutions, visit their website.
By Drew Filipski
Source: FSR Magazine
