Chocolate wars: Italian confectioners rage at Swiss-owned mega firm

There’s a battle going on across the Alps. And the spoils of war are ... chocolate!

If you know anything about the northern Italian region of Piedmont you may have heard of Fiat cars, the Juventus football team or perhaps Nutella.

But the famous chocolate spread is not the only delicacy the area has to offer — and its second-most famous sweet is now tearing the region apart.

Gianduiotto is a staple of Piedmont’s cuisine: A small, ingot-shaped chocolate made of cocoa, hazelnuts and sugar, all wrapped in gold paper. (Think: solid Nutella.)

To cement the link between the sweet and the region, a group of local maîtres chocolatiers formed a committee to ask the European Union to grant the specialty a Protected Geographical Indication label (PGI), "Gianduiotto di Torino."

But, uh-oh, not everyone is on board — certainly not Big Chocolate.

Caffarel, a Piedmont-based chocolate-manufacturing company owned by the Swiss giant Lindt & Sprüngli, hasn’t joined in on the effort, despite being one of the historic producers of gianduiotti.

The source of discord? The recipe.

The one presented by the chocolatiers’ PGI committee has three ingredients: cocoa, sugar and hazelnuts. Caffarel, however, thinks powder milk should be included too.

“The majority of our consumers prefer our versions that contain milk,” a spokesperson for Lindt & Sprüngli explained, adding it had been producing the sweet under a separate trademark for more than 50 years.

The company also claims to have invented the sweet’s real recipe in the 19th century, which it later adapted.

“We do not want to change the recipe for the traditional specialty,” the spokesperson said. “However, in our opinion, a wider scope, allowing milk, is also well established and common.”

But the confectioners’ committee claims that milk was not part of the original recipe, and that Caffarel simply made it popular by being the first to produce it on an industrial scale.

“They didn’t invent anything,” scoffed Guido Castagna, head of the PGI committee and artisanal chocolatemaker, arguing that Gianduiotto “was born in an artisanal way.”

Regional excellence

The committee secured the support of Piedmont’s President Alberto Cirio, from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party, who believes they are protecting “the excellence of a region, and not the brand of a multinational corporation.”

“Caffarel’s position is not acceptable to us, because the Gianduiotto is an asset of a territory and not of a private company,” Cirio said in written remarks to POLITICO, adding that he personally prefers the milk-free recipe.

But the regional official’s concerns stretch beyond personal taste, as PGIs are also good for business.

Awarding the EU label is expected to significantly boost sales for local producers, as the industry is already worth €200 million, according to the region’s estimates.

Although infighting over food labels is fairly common — and can at times turn into fierce legal battles — it is no coincidence to find Italy involved.

The Transalpine nation, where food is a matter of national pride, is quick to take up arms to defend what it considers to be part of its cultural heritage.

That sentiment has been exacerbated under the current populist government, led by Meloni, which has taken steps to protect what it says is traditional Italian food.

For now, the ball is in the Italian authorities’ court: The label is being examined by the agriculture ministry, which will then decide whether to pass on the request to Brussels, which will ultimately make the call.

But the lobbying battles have already begun. Last week, Cirio and Castagna hopped on a call with European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski to promote the PGI.

Castagna said the commissioner "could not ... say much" at this stage since the request has not yet reached Brussels, but said Wojciechowski was "in favor of PGIs in general," and that the fact they were able to reach him in a matter of days was a positive sign.

The Italian agriculture ministry and Wojciechowski’s office did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.

The road to a PGI is still long for the Gianduiotto, but one thing is certain: If it ever makes it, the proof will be in the pudding.