Confectionery company Ferrero Australia has appointed Craig Barker as its new Managing Director for the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Mr Barker has 20 years of experience in the confectionery industry, having spent 12 years with Mars in the UK and the last 8 years with Ferrero, working across the UK and Ireland, based in Ferrero’s central headquarters in Luxembourg. He has spent the last three years based in Australia.

“Australians have developed a strong affinity with Ferrero brands over the last 40 years and this continues to grow today,” Mr Barker said. “We look forward to further developing this relationship and ensuring that more people enjoy Ferrero products in the coming years,” he said.

Ferrero is a global company privately owned by the Ferrero family. It was established in 1944 in Abla in northern Italy when the Company’s founder Pietro Ferrero opened a small confectionery shop during the Second World War and used local hazelnuts to create products. The Company has grown to become the leading confectionery manufacturer in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Its products include brands such as Nutella, Tic Tac, Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Surprise and Bueno.

Ferrero expanded to Australia in 1974 and now employs more than 300 people. The Company’s commercial headquarters are located in Sydney, with its manufacturing operations based in Lithgow, west of Sydney, where Nutella and Tic Tac are produced.

Ferrero Australia said Mr Daniele Bondi, Mr Barker’s predecessor, remains an integral part of the Ferrero Group, and has been recently announced as the Global President for Ferrero’s Nutella brand.

“We offer our congratulations to Craig Barker and thank Daniele Bondi for his significant contribution to the growth of the Ferrero Australia business,” said Derek Lath, Corporate Communications Director Ferrero. “We wish them both well in their new professional challenges,” he said.

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