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By MARY THERESE BIEBEL marytb@leader.net
Wednesday, March 19, 2003 Page: 1D
Friends spent hours in Jillian Kwolek’s apartment, heating Nutella in a
double boiler and dipping several hundred strawberries into the
hazelnut-flavored chocolate sweetness.
The night before, they made s’mores from Nutella and a marshmallow spread.
And, no, these five University of Scranton students were not having a giant
attack of the midnight munchies.
During a recent week in February, their mission was to introduce fellow
students to a product that is well-established as a breakfast and after-school
treat in Europe yet enormously overshadowed by peanut butter in the United
States.
The project is part of a Public Relations Student Society of America
competition known as the Bateman Case Study, which gives selected teams of
college students an opportunity each year to promote a different product or
idea.
This year’s client is Nutella, and students will be judged on how
creatively and effectively they promote it and on how well they research,
plan, execute and evaluate their campaign. Three teams of finalists will be
invited to Somerset, N.J., home of corporate parent Ferrero USA, from April 30
to May 4 to present their entries.
Meanwhile, their target market – the campus crowd – is asked for a verdict
on the taste of Nutella and if they’d be willing to try it again.
The final numbers haven’t been tallied, Kwolek said Tuesday, but results
have been favorable. The strawberries and s’mores both “went over really
well” and, as for the cookies distributed at a Royals basketball game,
“People were just grabbing them.”
Sounding well-prepared for her planned career in public relations, Kwolek
touted Nutella’s strong points – “It’s lower in fat than peanut butter, with
11 grams compared to 17. And it’s got skim milk in it, so it’s considered a
dairy product.”
She did not focus on its high sugar content – 20 grams as opposed to the 2
grams in several peanut butters – but said her group is working to see Nutella
become a permanent offering in the university cafeteria.
That would be good news for classmate Ingrid Stein, who tried Nutella for
the first time and liked it. Although she describes peanut butter as one of
her favorite foods, she likes Nutella, too, and would eat it regularly if it
were on the menu at school.
“It’s a fun snack,” she said.