Michele Ferrero was an Italian billionaire businessman. He owned the chocolate manufacturer Ferrero SpA, Europe's second-largest confectionery company, which he developed from the small bakery and café of his father in Alba, Piedmont. His first big success was adding vegetable oil to the traditional glandular paste to make the popular spread Nutella.

Ferrero International SpA, more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba. Ferrero is a manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second biggest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world. Ferrero SpA is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as "one of the world's most secretive firms".