Alba is a small town in the heart of Piedmont, Italy. It's surrounded by rolling hills, endless vineyards, and hazelnut groves. Today, it's world-renowned for its white truffles and wines, but in the 1940s, it was primarily a post-war town clinging to traditional crafts. It was in this setting, in a building on Via Rattazzi, that master pastry chef Pietro Ferrero opened a small confectionery workshop in 1942. He worked almost in secret, testing, adjusting, and perfecting a recipe with a long history: gianduia cream, created in Turin at the beginning of the 19th century as a response to a cocoa shortage. What Ferrero sought was his own version, lighter in cocoa but rich in hazelnuts, mixed with sugar, and stable enough to spread on bread. In 1946, this spread became the first official product of his workshop. Its success was immediate: it was both delicious and affordable.

In the business world, there are also trends and changes in strategy. And sometimes, they work like a pendulum: in some periods, concentrations prevail, through mergers or acquisitions; and in others, separations. The American giant Kraft Heinz is a recent example. A decade after integrating brands such as Philadelphia cheese, the famous Heinz ketchup, and Oscar Mayer sausages into a single group, the two companies are separating.