Nutella made a cosmic cameo and social media users can't get enough

Nutella has officially gone interstellar, thanks to a brief but unforgettable moment during NASA’s Artemis II livestream that quickly went viral.

During a routine broadcast of the mission, viewers tuning in were stunned to see a jar of Nutella floating across the Orion spacecraft. The sighting occurred just minutes before astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were set to surpass the historic distance record established by Apollo 13 in 1970.

As the astronauts carried out their duties, a jar of the Italian hazelnut spread drifted past Koch, rotating just enough to showcase the brand’s iconic black lid and logo. The unexpected cameo captured the imagination of social media users, many of whom were amazed that a jar of Nutella had made it into lunar orbit.

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Tracking the cosmic ripple

Social media analysis by media intelligence firm Truescope showed just how far Nutella’s viral moment traveled. The firm tracked mentions and engagements from 3 to 5 April (before the livestream) and 6 to 8 April (after). The results revealed a classic viral trajectory.

Before the livestream, the conversation around Nutella was steady but modest. Between 3 and 5 April, mentions averaged roughly 53 per day, while daily engagements hovered around 6,200, with a minor spike on 5 April. This baseline set the stage for what was about to come.

The impact was immediate once the livestream aired. On 6 April, engagements exploded to 1,117,992, even though the volume of mentions remained relatively small at 63 items. This indicated that a handful of high-profile social posts from just 23 key accounts drove the initial viral surge, creating concentrated but highly impactful wave, said Truescope. 

By 7 April, global news outlets had picked up the story, amplifying the conversation. Mentions jumped to 527, with engagements of 296,701, showing how media coverage translated into wider public attention. The next morning, on 8 April, the cycle continued with 8 mentions and 9,935 engagements, reflecting the long tail of virality as conversations trickled across smaller social accounts, said the report. 

Overall, Nutella’s social narrative shifted dramatically. Truescope noted that the brand went from being a beloved culinary staple to a symbol of space exploration, demonstrating how a single, playful moment can transform perception and engage audiences on a massive scale.

No one, however, seemed more excited than Nutella itself. The brand quickly seized the viral moment, posting across multiple social platforms to celebrate its cosmic milestone.

On X, Nutella USA declared it was “honoured to have traveled further than any spread in history. Taking spreading smiles to new heights.”

Instagram followed suit with a series of posts commemorating the out-of-this-world appearance. The first clip captured the jar floating past the astronauts, paired with the text: “Nutella is out of this world.”

Another post placed a jar inside a spacecraft, accompanied by the tagline “Now enjoyed in space.” The caption invited fans to join the fun: “Houston, we have Nutella in space! Tell us the one thing you’d bring into the cosmos for a chance to have your name written in the stars (or on a custom Nutella jar).”

In a subtler post, Nutella showcased a jar lid glowing dimly against the dark sky, with the text: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the Nutella jars.”

The viral moment has not only sparked a flurry of social media reactions but also reinforced Nutella’s playful brand personality, proving that even in the vastness of space, there’s room for a little chocolate-hazelnut joy.

The Nutella moment comes on the heels of another chocolate-related spectacle, albeit much closer to home and decidedly less cosmic. Earlier last week, thieves made off with 413,793 KitKat bars, weighing a staggering 12 tonnes, from a truck travelling from a factory in central Italy to Poland.

Nestlé, which owns the KitKat brand, said it is working closely with authorities and supply chain partners to track the missing bars, warning that they could enter unofficial sales channels across European markets.

Even so, KitKat has leaned into the absurdity of the situation, turning a serious security breach into a lighthearted narrative for fans. US and ANZ branches of the brand have shared a flurry of memes, faux job postings for “chief chocolate protection officer,” and even a mock movie poster called The KitKat Job in collaboration with OTT platform Tubi. The posts included playful nods to pop culture, from Ocean’s Eleven to the Hamburglar, inviting consumers to engage in the hunt for the missing bars. From space-bound Nutella jars making headlines to earthbound KitKats disappearing into the night, it seems chocolate continues to captivate, whether floating past astronauts or mysteriously vanishing from trucks.

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