Backlash over limited edition ‘Snowdonia’ Nutella jar
Emily Price
Chocolate spread maker Ferrero Rocher has been criticised for its new limited edition Nutella jars which celebrate “Snowdonia” as one of the best breakfast spots in the UK.
Nutella’s new ‘Good Morning’ campaign saw the release of special jars of chocolate spread labelled with UK place names that are especially beautiful in the summer.
Iconic locations include, the Scottish Highlands, Cornwall, the Lake District, Northumberland and Connemara in Ireland.
The campaign features only one Welsh beauty spot – “Snowdonia”.
‘Eryri’
The Nutella website also offers recipe ideas for breakfasts using the sweet spread whilst visiting each UK destination.
Mixed berry and nut yoghurt parfait is suggested for anyone preparing to hike Wales’ largest national park.
The new “Snowdonia” jars are available in supermarkets across Wales and the wider UK.
Several readers got in touch with us pointing out that Ferrero had used the old English place name for the mountainous region now known as Eryri.
One reader said: “I think it’s absolutely disgraceful that they couldn’t use the correct Welsh name for Eryri.
“I wonder if Nutella knew the real name and made a pointed choice not to use it – or if they just didn’t do any research.”
‘Tone deaf’
Another reader said: “Snowdonia special edition jar? Ble Mae’r Gymraeg? Ferrero UK have a word… this is culturally tone deaf.”
Another said: “Reverting Snowdonia back to Eryri was important for a lot of Welsh people. Nutella could have made an informed choice here but didn’t.”
Eryri National Park Authority ditched the names “Snowdonia” and “Snowden” in 2022 following a 5000 strong petition to use the longstanding Welsh names, Eryri and Yr Wyddfa, instead.
The park authority hoped the change would link back to 2,000 years of history and give people across the world the chance to engage with the Welsh language.
Even Google Maps made the switch to Welsh – with the app now using “Eryri” ahead of the old English name “Snowdonia”.
Welsh speakers have pointed out that for them, the names hadn’t change at all because Eryri and Yr Wyddfa were the names they have always used.
‘Longstanding’
In a review of the switch last year, the park noted that its rebrand had caused confusion for some who thought the names were “new” rather than “longstanding Welsh names”.
The report highlighted that some “anti-Welsh sentiment” had arisen on social media as a result of the change – particularly on Facebook and TikTok where using “Eryri” and “Yr Wyddfa” occasionally received a backlash.
But overall Eryri National Park Authority said the overall impact of the change had been “positive”.
We asked Ferrero Rocher why the company had chosen to use the English names instead of Welsh.
A spokesperson said: “Thank you so much for raising this.
“At Ferrero, we are committed to celebrating local heritage and connecting with our consumers through special edition products.
“When developing the campaign, we drew on commonly known destination names with the intention of inspiring families across the UK and Ireland – but we acknowledge that language and place identity evolve.
“We understand that the name ‘Eryri’ holds significant cultural value in Wales, and we recognise that using the English naming ‘Snowdonia’ may have caused concern.
“This will be taken into consideration for future iterations.
“We are committed to being as inclusive and respectful as possible of local identities and languages.
“Again, thank you for sharing this with us.”
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That is a pity as I will have to stop offering my son this treat and head for an inferior own brand – oh dear, never mind.
You missed a trick, Ap Kenneth:
Oh Dear How Sad Never Mind
“Oh dear, look what we have done. We have accidentally on purpose put ‘Snowdonia’ on our jars. Sorry about that, but never mind.” Lies, all damned lies!!!
Their reply, quoted in full above, is one of the best (= worst) examples of a non-apology going. Are they likely to remember this when they have their ‘future iteration’? Of course not – it’s only a few stroppy Taffs making a Snowdon [sic.] out of a molehill, and we’re not really in the business of selling to them, anyway. Yeah, ‘we’re committed to being inclusive and respectful as possible to local identities and languages’, but we’re not going to do anything about it this time. So suck it up, Welshies!’ What I’d like to know is what this ‘as… Read more »
Wonder what the Irish think about including Connemara in a list of UK breakfast spots.
Keep sending them emails. They won’t admit they made a ‘mistake’, but we can help the marketing team learn, and if others see it it’ll help. I wrote a short email, in case others want to copy/paste or edit it and send it to: [email protected] —– Dear Ferrero, I have recently seen the new “Good morning Snowdonia” marketing campaign for Nutella. I am disappointed and ashamed that you have decided to use the old name for the region (using Snowdonia and not Eryri). It’s insensitive and paints your brand as ignorant and backwards looking. Can you please explain your thinking… Read more »
At a time when the Brits are throwing tantrums about people respecting their culture, its ironic that few even have a basic level of respect for the native cultures of the UK.
Even this article manages to not get it right: “Several readers got in touch with us pointing out that Ferrero had used the old English place name for the mountainous region now known as Eryri”.
The region has, in historic times always been Eryri, it isn’t “now known as Eryri”.
Don’t shoot the messenger here but Snowdonia isn’t the ‘old English name’ either. It’s the current English name for the National Park, as the National Park Authority, for whatever reason never officially changed the name, they just stopped publicly using the English name.
Would be nice to have some impartiality in this article. Most people in wales still call it snowdonia. But this paper is only interested in nationalist outrage so not surprised they write biased articles like this.
Lets unpick this. You don’t speak for Wales you arrogant nobody – and this isn’t a paper. Have you heard of the internet troglodyte? 🤪