Louis Vuitton's Nutella stunt: why fans are shelling out R41k for a jar of chocolate spread

Brands these days will do anything to squeeze a little extra cash out of us, and sometimes the stunts are so ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh.

Case in point: Louis Vuitton, the luxury fashion house known for its monogrammed bags, sleek luggage, and basically anything that screams “I have more money than common sense”, recently decided to release… Nutella. Yes, you read that right. Nutella.

Well, kind of. It’s actually an ultra-limited hazelnut-chocolate spread created in collaboration with master pastry chef Maxime Frédéric, who runs Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton.

Basically, it’s a chocolate-hazelnut spread, but made bougie with an added monogrammed flair, turning it into a collector’s item.

The spread originally priced at €35–€50, that’s roughly between R770 to R1,100, was only available at two Louis Vuitton boutiques in Europe: Paris, at the glamorous Place Vendôme (where you could almost trip over a billionaire buying a diamond-encrusted bag), and London, at New Bond Street (because nothing says luxury like spending a small fortune on a chocolate spread while sipping overpriced lattes).

And, of course, with so few jars available, they sold out almost instantly. Honestly, it’s baffling. People literally buy anything just because it has a luxury label on it.

Is the point really to taste chocolate, or to be able to say, “I ate Nutella out of a Louis Vuitton jar”? Somewhere, a regular jar of Nutella is crying in the pantry.

Now, those same jars are popping up on eBay (the online marketplace where people buy and sell just about anything) for nearly $2,000 (around R41,000). Dozens of watchers are apparently willing to pay, and I can’t decide if I admire their commitment or quietly question their life choices.

For the curious, the spread is made from hazelnuts sourced from Piedmont, Italy, the sort of place that makes you feel fancy just by saying it, blended with single-origin cacao.

Louis Vuitton’s signature craftsmanship meets artisanal ingredients, apparently making it the kind of chocolate you’re supposed to taste with a monocle on while debating stocks or your latest online purchase.

The internet, naturally, had opinions. One user wrote, “People who buy this should have their heads examined.”

Another said, “LV is just doing anything at this point. They totally know people would go for it anyway.” And my personal favourite: “If it’s not happening around my arm, I wouldn’t be spending money to put it in my mouth.”