I Just Learned What 'Ferrero Rocher' Really Means, And It Makes Sense

You might already know that HARIBO and Twix have sneaky second meanings hidden in their names. 

Maybe you’re aware of what LEGO and Lurpak mean too. 

But if you’re anything like me, you probably never thought about the name Ferrero Rocher ― I just reckoned they were fancy Italian words, the sort of thing you could murmur to an ambassador.

Turns out I’m wrong; the name has a surprisingly geological origin. 

Some people even think it’s linked to religion too.

What does the name mean?

According to Ferrero Rocher’s site, the “rocher” part of the name means “rock” in French.

This is “thanks to its outer coating of hazelnut pieces, which from the outside resembles precious little rocks,” they say. 

Ferrero is the name of the company that invented the product, they add (by the way, their site makes it clear that the correct pronunciation is Ferrero Roh-shay).

But some, like Catholic publication Aletia, say the sweet has a more religious meaning. 

They claim, “It is believed that he named them ‘Rocher’ after the craggy rock grotto, called the Rocher de Massabielle, that marks the place where the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France.” 

Aletia also claims Michele Ferrero, who invented the sweet, said at the company’s 50th anniversary, “The success of Ferrero we owe to Our Lady of Lourdes; without her we can do little.”

HuffPost UK reached out to Ferrero to ask whether this was true and have not yet received a response. 

Ferrero also owns Nutella 

The Ferrero Group also owns Nutella, Kinder (whose Bueno bars use a hazelnut creme in their centres), and TicTac. 

Minty snacks aside, that’s a lot of hazelnuts ― the company sources them from the US, Turkey, Italy, Chile, Argentina, and their very own farms.

In 2014, the BBC says the company was the world’s number one hazelnut buying, snapping up a staggering 25% of global supplies. 

Nutella ― which used to be sold in loaves ― originally got more hazelnuts into its delicious miz because of post-World War II rationing.