Barilla was founded in 1877 when Pietro Barilla senior opened a bread and pasta shop in Parma in strada Vittorio Emanuele no. 252.
The Group operates directly in 20 countries, exports its products to over 100 countries and owns 54 manufacturing plants in 11 countries.
The main headquarters of the Barilla Group is in Parma at the following address:
via Mantova, 166 43100 Parma, Italy
Tel. +39 0521 2621
Fax +39 0521 270621
relazioniesterne@barilla.it
The turnover of the Barilla Group in 2008 was over 4.5 billion Euro. For further information on the company's finances, see THE BARILLA GROUP
Barilla employs over 16,000 people worldwide.
Barilla is privately owned by the Barilla family. The fourth generation of the Barilla family is as committed to producing quality and innovative products today as its great-great grandfather was over 130 years ago.
Barilla does not actively "promote" guided tours, but is always happy to open its doors to those who want to witness the manufacturing process first hand (e.g. school trips). For organisational and safety reasons, tours are only available to groups (not individuals) and only at the plant in Parma, where the headquarters of the Group is located. Requests for guided tours should be made to the Chairman's Office via fax (+39 0521 262083).
In the News & Media section
For information about the Group not relating to products or individual marketing areas, contact the External Relations Office: Tel. +39 0521 262438, fax: +39 0521 262083, e-mail relazioniesterne@barilla.it
Barilla si focalizza prioritariamente su due aree di prodotto: Primo Piatto all’italiana e Prodotti da Forno. I prodotti vanno quindi dalla pasta (di semola, all’uovo e integrale) e sughi pronti ai biscotti, fette biscottate, cereali, snack, pasticceria, pani morbidi, brioche e merende, torte e pani croccanti.
Almost all of our brands have a dedicated website with descriptions of the characteristics and preparation methods of each product. Visit the BARILLA BRANDS page for a list of all the available websites.
Barilla uses the following ingredients:
Dozens of other ingredients are also used (fruit, yoghurt, yeasts, flavourings, etc.) which, though used in smaller quantities, contribute to the vast range of Barilla products available.
Bread wheat and durum wheat belong to two different species: "Triticum aestivum" and "Triticum turgidum durum” respectively. Despite being similar in appearance, the two species have notable differences, such as different adaptive properties: whilst bread wheat suffers in hot arid climates and is cultivated in cold rainy climates such as North Italy and North Europe in general, durum wheat adapts well to the climates of the Mediterranean basin (South Italy, Spain, Greece, North Africa, etc.). A fundamental difference between the two species lies in the protein composition of the caryopsis: in the case of durum wheat, it is composed of a tough gluten well-suited to the production of pasta, while in the case of bread wheat it is composed of a more extensible gluten better suited to the rising phenomenon typical of bread and bakery products.
Products and packaging are designed simultaneously to achieve the greatest efficiency in terms of functionality and sustainability. We have started the progressive elimination of non-environmentally friendly components (inks, printing aids and other materials), and we use homogeneous packaging materials that are easier to recycle.
Freezing uncooked pasta provides no conservation advantages. Freezing a prepared dish is possible but should be done according to good freezing and defrosting practice. Incorrectly freezing or defrosting a pasta dish with dairy-based ingredients in the sauce for example, is not recommended. Aside from this, after being frozen and defrosted, a pasta dish will always loose some of its flavour and structural properties, thus becoming more fragile.
Barilla can take pride in a well-established tradition where sustainability issues are concerned. The real change is that these activities are now part of an overall plan: rather than a problem, sustainability is now seen as an opportunity for further growth and development, managed like any other company operation. We could sum up by saying that the ethical dimension, always a concern of the Barilla family, which for four generations has pioneered “sustainable” thinking, is now boosted by more focus on the development of strategies and activities.
Many companies, including our main international competitors, publish sustainability reports and have introduced activities relating to sustainable development. However, we would say that some of them do this in a rather auto-referential way. We shall be publishing in advance the goals we intend to pursue and giving an account to the general public at regular intervals. In defining our sustainability model we involved some two hundred people - colleagues, customers, suppliers, NGOs, journalists and scientific bodies -, who gave us their views on the areas in which they expect Barilla to play a specific, proactive role. This “census” of the expectations of civil society has ensured that we are working within an objective, rational framework of reference, not based entirely on our personal perceptions. In future, we propose to identify our most significant interlocutors and set up focus groups to which we will periodically submit a set of questions regarding sustainability issues as they concern Barilla.
The sustainability process is perfectly integrated with our corporate strategies. The issues of sustainability and social responsibility are a constant point of reference in decisions relating to all company activities.
Everyone at Barilla is involved. The Chairman, the Vice-chairmen, the Chief Executive Officer and the senior management provide the strategic direction, monitor initiatives and check the results. An interfunctional group of managers implements the activities, proposes indicators for assessing sustainability-related projects and gathers and manages information. The Communication and Human Capital Departments work closely with the operational group, take care of communication activities, both in-company and external.
Barilla invited a group of people (in-company and external consultants) to carry out an assessment of our sustainability policies. They examined no fewer than 480 internal documents, publications, assessments, video material, communication activities and corporate processes, all relating to aspects of sustainability and responsibility. The work group then interviewed dozens of managers and employees involved in these processes, in order to obtain objective information. From all this material, gathered in 2007/2008 in Italy and abroad, they identified strengths and areas needing improvement. The analysis was used in drawing up a profile useful for activating processes designed to integrate company strategy and social responsibility. Business and sustainability are by no means opposing concepts. Sustainability, when properly understood and built into our business strategy, is an additional competitive weapon.
A responsibility model serves to identify a company’s characteristics where responsibility and sustainability are concerned. In other words, it identifies the areas critical to the company’s achieving sustainability. A company’s responsibility model is unique and specific, determined by its history, culture, values, ownership, management, business activities and objectives.
The critical factors or areas define a company’s priorities when it comes to drawing up strategies and setting objectives. They are those which a company decides to measure and report on publicly to point out the way ahead and gauge progress in the various areas, and also to encourage reflection on internal and external processes and how best to bring about improvements.
At Barilla, we have identified seven critical factors selected based on our history, culture, values and the vision and mission that make us distinctive. An initial selection was based on assessment, comparisons and dialogue with in-company specialists and authoritative groups of stakeholders, then there was a final selection involving senior management.
By using performance indicators (KPIs), which measure and explain a particular phenomenon which needs to be taken into account. They are expressed in figures or qualitative judgements which define and describe the company in terms universally understood within the business community, making it possible to arrive at an overall comparative judgement of the company proposing them. In the first phase of screening, Barilla identified over 400 potential indicators. We are selecting those we consider to be most appropriate and indicative of the various areas in which we want to measure and monitor sustainability issues.
Barilla’s management have of course made a fundamental contribution, but the stakeholders have also been involved, right from the beginning. We would also like to confirm that this form of proactive consultation and involvement will continue, even when we are drafting reporting documents such as the sustainability assessment.
Involving stakeholders is important because it makes the process truly objective. It prevents us from just rubber-stamping our own activities. Documents concerned with social responsibility and sustainability often report a few positive results and try to conceal the real problems. But civil society is asking us not only “what” we are doing, but “how” we are doing it. Increasingly, society is asking questions about how companies behave, independently of the financial results they report. The issue is no longer how much turnover and profits were generated, but whether they were generated in compliance with ethical principles.
The seven critical sustainability factors are the most significant and relevant to Barilla and are also important for the growth of our company’s business. In the next three-to-five years, we shall be concentrating on actions and activities having a strong and clear connection with the critical factors selected. The social responsibility assessment is a complete and complex document providing a full survey of our business activities seen through the lens of sustainability. Every activity can in theory be classified on the basis of the impact it has on society, on the community, on people. We shall be assessed on transparency, completeness, precision, logical consistency.
“Stakeholder” is a general term for all persons with a real or potential interest in a company’s activities. Some are natural partners, such as customers or consumers, or suppliers, with whom our relationships have to be far more than purely contractual. We might call them strategic customers or suppliers, where the development of the business is concerned.It is therefore a good thing for companies to define precise categories of stakeholder, and criteria to assist in planning long-term relationships with them. With significant stakeholders (for example, consumer organisations and journalists), we think it useful to establish transparent, enduring relationships that enable us, through dialogue, to grasp the requirements and wishes of individuals and society generally. Using a “grid” of criteria, we have examined and evaluated the different categories of stakeholder and, with help from the managers responsible for each major area, have identified those which matter most. This research is helping us enormously in taking decisions about our principal target groups and the best ways of approaching them with a view to engaging in structured dialogue.
Relationships with stakeholders serve to make company communications and decisions less auto-referential. Through its relationships with stakeholders, the enterprise must demonstrate that it has taken on board the wishes, needs and aspirations of the individuals and groups that represent them. Involvement consists in a transparent, on-going exchange of ideas on different topics that will help guide the company’s sustainability-related activities.
By clicking on the link “current job opportunities” you can directly access our vacancies in a specific geography, location, or job family
15-20 minutes
Absolutely, click on the link “Graduates” and you will access all current opportunities available throughout our locations
Following your online application, the recruiting manager will prescreen all applications. Suitable candidates will be interviewed via phone, and if their expectations and background match the job requirements, they will be invited to a personal interview with the recruiter first, then with the hiring manager(s) who are part of the recruiting panel for the specific vacancy. End-round candidates will be asked to complete an on-line self-assessments, before the final interview with the role owners.
Our career progression is driven by merit and potential. We are dedicated to developing our future leaders from within our own ranks and strongly believe in on-the-job development. Through our talent management framework and cycle we ensure career opportunities in line with your background, expertise, and career aspirations. We offer both structured career paths within our core job families, and we strongly believe in cross-functional moves.
The Barilla LAB for Knowledge and Innovation is our multidisciplinary corporate university aiming at up-skilling our people on our path towards technical and leadership excellence. Through a variety of leadership development and training programs, as well as ad hoc initiatives we support the development of skills and competencies needed to successfully deliver current and future objectives.
Our Company is characterized by a supportive and collaborative work environment, open door policy and accessibility of top management. We offer a wide range of different benefits across our locations, from company canteens, public transport facilitation, company stores with your favorite products at a reduced price, and social activities.