Ferrero’s Butterfinger debuts first major innovation in nearly a decade

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Ferrero is hoping more consumers will lay a finger on Butterfinger following the candy bar’s first major innovation in nearly a decade.

The sweets giant behind Ferrero Rocher and Nutella is rolling out Butterfinger Salted Caramel, a limited-time offering that will be the first of several temporary flavor launches in the “very near future,” Neal Finkler, Ferrero’s senior marketing leader and general manager, said in an interview.

Butterfinger Salted Caramel includes the same peanut butter taste as the traditional bar, but instead it will be enrobed in a caramel coating, rather than milk chocolate. It will be on shelves for a few months, starting in April.

Ferrero acquired the 101-year-old Butterfinger in 2019 from Nestlé along with Baby Ruth, 100 Grand, Raisinets and Crunch, among other brands, for $2.8 billion to increase its presence in mainstream confections.

For the first few years following the purchase, Ferrero focused on adding higher-quality ingredients to Butterfinger — like jumbo runner peanuts in the bar, as well as a higher percentage of cocoa and milk in the chocolate coating — while changing the packaging to a more yellow color from orange to help it stand out on shelves.

Until now, Ferrero hadn’t felt comfortable introducing a major flavor innovation. It chose instead to roll out different shapes for Butterfinger, including a skull for Halloween, and Butterfinger-Tini, an adult cocktail inspired by the peanut-buttery and chocolatey elements of the candy bar.

“We’re at a point now where we feel like we have reset the foundation, and we are ready to take off and to continue to start expanding the brand,” Finkler said. “That’s why this for us, it is the right time to launch some innovation, bring in some new flavors to help complement our core business and continue to drive growth on the brand.”

Butterfinger sales, which top $200 million annually, have grown 12% annually since Ferrero added the confection to its portfolio five years ago. Finkler said innovations like Butterfinger Salted Caramel should accelerate growth by drawing in lapsed consumers and increasing consumption among existing users.

Initially, the new flavors will be temporary but Ferrero could choose to make popular ones permanent fixtures in the market.

Butterfinger is the first brand among the sweets Ferrero purchased from Nestlé to debut a major innovation. Finkler said Ferrero plans to add new flavors and textures to Crunch “within a year” and potentially Baby Ruth.

“Innovation is a big component of what many of the mainstream chocolate brands are doing,” Finkler noted. “We feel really good about the pipeline that we’re developing.”