Raffaello (confection)


Raffaello is a spherical coconut–almond confection that Italian manufacturer Ferrero brought to the market in 1990. The praline comprises a spherical wafer which is filled with a white milk cream and white blanched almonds. It is surrounded by a coconut layer. Raffaello contains no chocolate, but does contain lactose, making Raffaello incompatible for consumers with lactose intolerance.
Ferrero factories which manufacture Raffaello include Vladimir, Russia; Brantford, Canada; and Arlon, Belgium. Russia is Ferrero's largest market for Raffaello.
In 2008, Belgian company Soremartec began legal action against Landrin, a Ukrainian company which began producing a sweet in 2007 similar to Raffaello, called Waferatto. Soremartec filed a claim on the grounds that Landrin had violated Soremartec's trademark protecting the appearance of the Raffaello sweets. After a lengthy court battle, the High Commercial Court of Ukraine ruled in favor of Landrin, cancelling the validity of Soremartec's trademark.
In 2017, a court in Frankfurt in Germany ruled that Ferrero would have to list the number of Raffaello sweets in each packet sold, rather than simply providing the weight.