ZTwo companies owned by Italy's most famous influencer, Chiara Ferragni, have to pay more than a million euros in fines for “unfair business practices”. As the Italian competition authority recently announced, the Instagram star's companies had given the impression that they were collecting donations for children with cancer by marketing a cake.
The Pandoro, a traditional Italian Christmas cake “designed” by Ferragni for the confectionery manufacturer Balocco, went on sale in November 2022. Part of the proceeds were supposedly intended to finance the treatment of children with cancer in a hospital in Turin. According to the authorities, the company had actually donated the agreed sum of 50,000 euros to the Regina Margherita Hospital in advance.
A total of more than a million euros in fines
The companies Fenice and TBS Crew, with which Ferragni markets itself and its brands, earned more than one million euros from the deal “without paying anything to the hospital,” complained the competition authority. Fenice now has to pay a fine of 400,000 euros and TBS Crew 675,000 euros. Balocco was fined €420,000.
The competition authority accuses all three companies of “unfair business practices”. They gave consumers the impression that purchasing the “Pandoro Pink Christmas” Christmas cake designed by Ferragni involved a donation to the Turin Hospital. The fact that the cake was significantly more expensive than a normal Pandoro contributed to the “misleading” of customers.
Meanwhile, Ferragni announced on her Instagram account that she wanted to challenge the fine imposed. On Tuesday she published a video in which she apologized to her around 30 million followers with a serious expression. She made a “communication error” and in the future she will strictly separate charitable and commercial activities. She is also now planning to donate one million euros directly to the Regina Margherita Hospital.
The 36-year-old Ferragni became known as a fashion and lifestyle blogger. She is now above all a successful businesswoman: she has her own shoe collection and works with fashion brands such as Dior and Chanel. Ferragni and her husband Federico Leonardo Lucia, known as a rapper and music producer under the stage name Fedez, are one of Italy's most famous celebrity couples.
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