- The extremely popular Italian model and designer promoted the pink Christmas edition of a Pandoro cake for the manufacturer Balocco last year
- However, it turned out that customers were deceived into thinking the proceeds would go to charity, when in reality €50,000 would be donated regardless of sales
Italy's biggest influencer was forced to make a humiliating apology this week after Italy's antitrust regulator fined him one million euros (£800,000).
Chiara Ferragni received the antitrust fine for making misleading claims related to the sale of a Christmas cake that she said would raise money to help children with bone cancer.
The case has generated significant negative publicity for Ferragni, one of the world's most famous fashion influencers with nearly 30 million followers on Instagram. At the weekend there was even criticism from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The extremely popular Italian model and designer promoted the pink Christmas edition of a Pandoro cake for the manufacturer Balocco last year.
Pandoro is an alternative to the more popular Panettone.
Italy's biggest influencer Chiara Ferragni received an antitrust fine for misleading claims related to the sale of a Christmas cake that she said would raise money to help children with bone cancer. A social media post shows Ferragni, 36, holding the special edition cake she created in a pink box while kneeling in front of a Christmas tree
Social media posts show Ferragni, 36, holding the special edition cake she created in a pink box while kneeling in front of a Christmas tree.
Her followers were told that the money raised would go to Turin's Regina Margherita Hospital for Children and that the money raised would be used for a new scanner to detect bone cancers.
But after a year-long investigation, Italy's competition regulator AGCM announced the fine of 1.075 million euros on Friday.
It emerged that consumers were deceived into thinking they were contributing to the charity and hospital by purchasing a Ferragni-branded Pandoro.
The AGCM also imposed a fine of 420,000 euros on cake manufacturer Balocco.
The conspirators justified the high price of nine euros by saying that the more cakes they sold, the more the children's hospital would receive, AGCM noted.
In fact, according to the investigation, Ferragni and Balocco agreed that only 50,000 euros (£43,000) would go to the hospital, regardless of how well the cake sold.
The regulator added that Ferragni made no personal payments to the hospital, while her companies received €1 million from Balocco for the branding initiative and related promotional activities.
Now AGCM has fined Ferragni €1.075m, equivalent to around £920,000, while cake maker Balocco has been fined €420,000 (£361,000) for its part in the fraud.
The case has generated significant negative publicity for Ferragni (pictured in July), one of the world's most famous fashion influencers with almost 30 million followers on Instagram. At the weekend there was even criticism from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Ferragni's supporters were told that the money raised would go to Turin's Regina Margherita Hospital for Children, and the money raised would be used for a new scanner to detect bone cancers. Ferragni admitted to a “miscommunication” in an apology to her fans on Monday. The video was posted to her Instagram page, which has nearly 30 million followers
Ferragni admitted to a “miscommunication” in an apology to her fans on Monday.
Sounding contrite and almost tearful, the 36-year-old said she would donate one million euros to Turin's Regina Margherita Hospital – the children's hospital at the center of the controversy – to give “concreteness” to her apology.
But she also said that she would appeal the fine herself.
Ms Ferragni said she had not given sufficient control over communications around the sale of Balocco's Pandoro brand with its logo and that she would no longer link charity activities with commercial activities.
“I realize that I made a communication error… My mistake was, in good faith, to combine a commercial activity with a charitable activity through communication,” Ferragni said in an Instagram video.
Ferragni told local media on December 15: “I'm sorry that after all my and my family's dedication on the charity work front over the last few years, we continue to see the negative in an operation where everything was done in good faith was done.”
She added: “The one with Balocco was a commercial operation like I do every day.” In this particular case, I wanted to highlight Balocco's charitable donation to the Regina Margherita Hospital.
“For me it was a fundamental point of the agreement.”
She continued: “The most important thing to know is that the machine that allows us to research new therapeutic treatments for children with osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma is now in the hospital.”
Consumers believed they had contributed to the purchase of a new device for the therapeutic treatment of children with osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma. The 36-year-old said she would donate one million euros to the Regina Margherita, the Turin-based children's hospital at the center of the controversy
Osteosarcoma is a form of bone cancer, while Ewing's sarcoma describes cancers that can occur in both bone and soft tissue.
Ferragni, who has two children with Italian rapper Fedez, said she plans to appeal the ruling. “My family and I will continue to donate to charity as we always have because I will never want to give up that part of my life.”
“And since I consider the decision taken against me to be unfair, I will appeal it to the relevant authorities.”
Balocco also reportedly plans to appeal.
The press release for the launch of the cake in 2022 said: “The historic Piedmontese brand Balocco, recognized and appreciated all over the world for the excellence of its Christmas offering, presents an exclusive novelty: the Chiara Ferragni Pandoro.”
The press release states that the sale of the cake “will be used to finance a research project supported by the Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin through the purchase of a new machine that will allow us to develop new ways of therapeutic treatment of osteosarcoma “suffering children.” and Ewing's sarcoma.'
In a speech on Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized those who make money from misleading charitable statements, clearly referring to Ferragni.
Ferragni, who has two children with Italian rapper Fedez, said she plans to appeal the ruling
“The real role models to follow are not the influencers who make a lot of money by wearing clothes and showing bags … or even promoting expensive cakes that make people think they are charitable,” Meloni said, without Ferragni must be specifically mentioned.
“We have to explain to young people that producing products (Made in Italy) is much more extraordinary than just displaying them,” Meloni said in the speech on the last day of the festival of her right-wing Brothers of Italy party.
Ms. Ferragni started out as a fashion blogger and went on to sell clothing, accessories and makeup under her own brand. She also worked as an influencer for advertising purposes. She is also a board member of the luxury fashion group Tod's.
In her latest post on Instagram, just a day after posting her apology video, she showed off her family's stunning new villa on Lake Como.