Nutella sourced in NJ: Rutgers gets $170K for exciting hazelnut research

🔶 Rutgers gets $170K grant
🔶 Parent company of Nutella supports NJ research
🔶 Acres of disease-resistant trees planted

NEW BRUNSWICK — Imagine opening a jar of Nutella, harvested from hazelnuts grown in the Garden State.

That’s an ultimate vision of Rutgers University researchers working with a $170,000 research grant from Ferrero Group.

The Italian-based company, which also owns Ferrero Rocher, announced the funds in November to be disbursed over a four-year span.

That was in addition to $60,000 from a partnership with Ferrero that started in 2020.

New Jersey has already been a trailblazer in hazelnut growing on the East Coast, supported by research programs led by Thomas Molnar, Associate Professor in the Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

Oregon produces 99% of the nation's crop.

Yet much of what we eat in the U.S. is already from imported nuts, Molnar said in a written release.

Another pressing factor has been a new strain of eastern filbert blight that showed up in Oregon decades ago, potentially impacting production.

Molnar and his team, along with researchers at Oregon State University, planted tens of thousands of trees over nearly two decades, adapting resistant strains to NJ.

In 2020, Rutgers released four “robust cultivars”– named Raritan, Somerset, Monmouth and Hunterdon.

These cultivars, along with others in development, are expected to be the foundation of an expanding hazelnut industry in the mid-Atlantic.

Molnar said more than 30 growers have already planted 100 acres of trees in NJ.

Including parts of Pennsylvania and New York, more than 150 acres of Eastern filbert blight-resistant hazelnuts are now growing across the mid-Atlantic — with a next step of commercial-grade harvesting.

“Growers are just beginning to see nuts on their trees, but the yields are still small – only a few thousand pounds statewide,” Molnar said. “In the next few years, we’ll need to scale up harvesting and processing efforts significantly.”

He added growers would also need to figure out marketing and selling their crop, either independently or by collaborating.

Ferrero has been a supporter of Molnar’s efforts for more than 15 years. Company representatives visit Rutgers to check on progress and assess opportunities for expansion.

The program is also supported through partnerships with chefs from Razza in Jersey City and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, NY – and chocolatiers, Thomas Sweets in New Brunswick and Philadelphia’s Shane Confectionery, who source Rutgers-grown hazelnuts.

"New Jersey’s farms are diverse in terms of the crops they grow and hazelnuts can add another option," Molnar said. "They’re resilient and adaptable. These hardy trees thrive even through short droughts or temperature swings, offering stability in unpredictable weather. And the nuts are non-perishable, storing for over a year when in the shell and retaining their high quality, providing a long window for sale.”

Globally, Turkey is the top hazelnut producer and exporter, accounting for about 70% and 82% of the world`s production and export, respectively, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Italy trails in second, with nearly 20% in production and 15% in export.

Ferrero has facilities in NJ, PA, Ohio, Georgia, Kentucky and Arizona with over 5,300 workers across the U.S. and Canada.

The company has manufacturing campuses in Illinois and Ontario and its first ever North American Innovation Center and research and development labs in Chicago, IL, since 2023.

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