This past Valentine's Day, global chocolate empire owner Michele Ferrero passed away at his home in Montecarlo after months of illness. He was 89 years old. According to BBC, his privately-owned firm is famous for its chocolate-hazelnut Nutella spread, Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Kinder eggs, and Tic Tac sweets.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ferrero's father Pietro began making Giandujot - the forerunner to Nutella - when cocoa was still rationed during World War II. This was done by combining a small amount of cocoa and a lot of hazelnuts, as chocolate was very expensive at the time.

Ferrero's son Giovanni is now the current boss of the family, and remembers his grandfather Pietro well. He recalled, "My grandfather lived to find this [Nutella] formula. He was completely obsessed by it. He woke up my grandmother at midnight - she was sleeping - and he made her taste it with spoons, asking, 'How was it?' and 'What do you think?'"

He then continued by mentioning his father, saying, "My father said, 'We can push it further, there are new technologies, there are new ways to integrate this winning recipe." Indeed, under Michele Ferrero, Nutella found its true popularity.

Roberta Sassatelli, associate professor of cultural sociology at Milan University and author of Consumer Culture, stated, "Nutella was something above average, something which was not a necessity. It was something very sweet and modern and different from the classic sweets in Italy...  So, to Italians it meant both modernity and the possibility of giving yourself a treat."

Upon his father's death in 1949, Michele then developed Kinder chocolates in 1968, Tic Tacs a year later, and Ferrero Rocher in 1982. By 1985, Ferrero Rocher chocolates were sold in the United States.

Over the years, the Ferrero family rose to become 30th on the list of the world's richest billionaires in 2014, worth $23.4 billion. The family company became one of Italy's most successful, and is known for spreading affordable chocolate luxuries around the world.

Ferrero is survived by his wife, Maria Franca, and his remaining son Giovanni.