When Italian candy and food giant #Ferrero announced it would acquire WK #Kellogg— the cereal maker behind Froot Loops and Corn Flakes—for $3.1 billion on Thursday, it wasn’t just one of the largest deals in the food industry in the past year. It also marked the crowning achievement of Giovanni Ferrero, the #billionaire executive chairman and majority owner of his family’s company, who has led a decade-long campaign to evolve his #Italian brand well beyond European chocolate treats and turn it into a food powerhouse in the United States. Forbes estimates the firm has spent more than $13 billion (including the deal announced Thursday) buying up at least 21 companies in 9 countries in the past 10 years, ranging from a snack producer in Brazil to a butter cookie maker in Denmark. “Over recent years, Ferrero has expanded its presence in North America, bringing together our well-known brands from around the world with local jewels rooted in the U.S.,” Ferrero said in a statement on Thursd...