We’ve seen it before: Giant discounts on TVs or games consoles or perhaps the latest iPhone generate a frenzy among shoppers.
But in France, it seems, 70 percent off the hazelnut-and-chocolate spread Nutella can also do the trick.
When a supermarket chain slashed the price of 33-ounce jars of the spread on Thursday, scenes grew so heated in one store in Ostricourt, in the north of France, that the police had to be called.
Serieux ??!! Tout ça pour du Nutella ?! #Emeute #Nutella pic.twitter.com/UoNTmK78eE
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•KENNY LE BON• (@kennyLebon)
Jan. 25, 2018
Videos on social media showed shoppers stamping on each other and shouting as they tried to snag the jars at the discounted price of 1.41 euros, or about $1.75.
Some stores resorted to restricting sales to one jar per person, with several quickly running out of stock and having to turn away customers.
La chasse aux pots de #Nutella en promotion se poursuit dans les #Intermarché comme ici à côté de #Toulouse ce matin : pour éviter les débordements, la distribution est désormais organisée et les clients sont “rationnés” à un pot par personne pic.twitter.com/k3WXpObho2
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La Dépêche du Midi (@ladepechedumidi)
Jan. 26, 2018
The spread is a favorite in France, often used for topping croissants and baguettes. Ferrero, the product’s Italian maker, even has one of its biggest factories in Normandy, in northern France.
J’ai eu les mien !!! Merci @intermarche pour la super promo à 1.47e le pot de 950gr !!! #Nutella pic.twitter.com/RHHR4NC7EP
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Wareny (@wareny)
Jan. 25, 2018
Ferrero, however, in an apparent attempt to distance itself from the unsightly hysteria, said that it had nothing to do with the promotion by the supermarket chain, Intermarché.
“We regret the consequences of this operation,” the Italian company said in a statement, saying the offer had “created confusion and disappointment in consumers’ minds.”
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