Communication

Communicate fully and transparently, being careful to avoid encouraging excess or inappropriate use of our products compared to basic dietary needs dictated by healthy eating principles, especially where advertising is directed at children.

OUR PRINCIPLES
Barilla has always maintained high communication standards that far exceed compliance with basic regulatory requirements. In addition to following current national guidelines, we have established a series of principles to which we aspire continuously and consistently.

The two cornerstones are:

• the qualities attributed to products must always have been verified scientifically;
• advertising, where the medium used allows, must contain messages relating to brief, simple rules for a healthy lifestyle that should accompany the product’s consumption.

We also try to use different communication tools that complement each other and that
allow us not only to inform people but to stimulate interaction with the public by providing
explanations and requesting feedback.

PACKAGING
Packaging plays a fundamental role in the communication process that goes beyond normal
marketing objectives. The package plays a primary role: consumers are in direct contact
with this tool on a daily basis and it should assist them in making their choice. At the same
time it must be clear, transparent and informative.

Our objective therefore is to offer as much support as possible, from nutritional advice through to cooking instructions and how to dispose of the packaging. In particular it is important to us that we encourage people to adopt healthy, balanced eating habits.

The nutritional table (in line with national regulations in each country) illustrates the calorie and protein content of carbohydrates and sugar. In 41% of cases we indicate the ideal portion size, in 25% we give advice to achieve a healthy lifestyle or balanced diet and in 84% suggestions on preparation and consumption.

TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING
The second communication tool is traditional advertising through television, radio or the
press. Where advertising aimed at children is concerned, we always encourage them to eat in moderation and where possible our adverts involve play situations or open air activities.
Emphasis is placed on the mother’s role in controlling the child’s diet and serving their food.

INTERNET
Internet is taking on increasing importance as it allows us to provide information that consumers need but that due to limited space or time cannot be conveyed through traditional advertising or packaging alone.

We gathered data on 9 of our 12 brands: Barilla, Voiello, Mulino Bianco, Harry’s, Alixir, Misko, Filiz, Pavesi and Wasa. These websites may be accessed through www.barillagroup.com. 8 out of 9 brands have at least one website. 6 of these provide links to detailed nutritional tables, 7 provide suggestions on healthy lifestyles and balanced diets, 3 recommend maximum serving sizes and 5 give instructions on how to prepare the product.

Barilla believes one of the fundamental rights of a consumer is the right to be listened to. Through Internet we are trying to create interactive areas in which people can express themselves, ask questions, bring important subjects to light or make suggestions.

We experimented with the first truly interactive site in 2008, asking consumers to take part in the “Biscuit seeks a name” project aimed at choosing the name for a new biscuit: the Girotondi. This continued with the “Mulino Diaries”, where 10 consumers became bloggers and made comments and suggestions on the Girotondi.

These examples represent the first steps beyond the experimental stages and we are continuing to develop these further. In order to identify as quickly as possible any potential problems or deal with requests made by individuals or families, continuous monitoring tools have been set up on Internet which record comments and suggestions on our products, brands, activities and initiatives.

THE ALIXIR CASE
Alixir is a functional food line consisting of 10 products across 4 benefit categories.
The products in each of these categories contain active ingredients that support the claimed benefits.

The benefits are communicated through “health claims”:

• help control cholesterol;
• improve intestinal function;
• help slow down the cellular ageing process, fighting excess free radicals;
• help boost the immune system.

Under Regulation 1924 issued in 2006, these claims may only be used in Italy where scientific evidence exists to support the advertised benefits.

European regulation has not yet issued a definition of acceptable claims: an official list of health claims is being drawn up by the European Commission in conjunction with the EFSA.

Prior to the launch of Alixir, all scientific data based on the most recent international publications was collated and clinical trials were carried out on each benefit category in the laboratories of 4 of the country’s leading universities. A highly scientific approach was adopted for this project.

The Italian Competition Commission (AGCM) commenced procedures in February 2008
to ascertain whether some of the advertising messages conveyed on the packaging of Alixir
products were misleading. Elements of this advertising were censured in August 2008 despite the existence of documentation to support the 4 health claims. An appeal has been filed against this decision with the Lazio Regional Administrative Court. The Court issued a ruling upholding the sentence of the Commission but declared the penalties to be excessive (2009).

We still consider the accusations made by the Commission to be unfounded. Subsequent to findings by the Minister of Health, a number of inaccuracies in the advertising content were corrected immediately. This demonstrates that we would never willingly mislead our consumers. Final investigations showed that these related to minor imperfections that were corrected on the new packaging.