People love Nutella -- like, really love it. We get that. But to what extent? Apparently, thieves in Germany are willing to go to extremes to get their sticky fingers (pun totally intended) on the chocolate-hazelnut spread.
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According to a German news site, about 11,000 pounds of Nutella was stolen over the weekend. To put it in perspective, that's about 27 million calories or about $20,701 worth of chocolate-flavored goodness.
According to reports, the Nutella went missing from a truck parked outside a former truck stop in Niederaula. The thieves apparently broke the lock on the truck and made off thousands of jars of product. Police reports say they think the thieves transferred the stolen goods to another truck at the station, because how else are you going to transport more than five tons of chocolate spread?
According to reports, thieves in the area also snagged a truckload of energy drinks in the past. And a truckload of coffee was stolen in the past few weeks. Apparently, the police should be looking for a crew of energetic criminals on a sugar high.
And if you're wondering about the value of Nutella on the black market, just ask the Ivy League students of Columbia University.
In March, the New York Times reported on a spree of Nutella theft from a Columbia University dining hall. After adding the spread to its daily dining menu, the school apparently realized students were hoarding the product at an alarming -- and costly -- rate. The article says one school official estimated the theft cost the school $5,000 in just the first week. Estimates say students were consuming (or stealing) more than 100 pounds of the product a day.
We can totally understand why people go so crazy for Nutella: It's chocolate, it's delicious, it has no preservatives. But at about $6 a jar, it's not exactly cheap. That makes it about twice as expensive as peanut butter. Regardless, we'll get our fix the legal way.
