A journey among "Mulino Bianco" snacks: product innovation, quality and continuous nutritional improvement
23 March 2018
Product innovation, top quality ingredients, continuous nutritional improvement and care about animal welfare and environmental impact. Conscious consumer education and recycling. These are the cornerstones of innovation in the world of snacks that the Barilla Group talked about today, March 23, in its main Bakery in Cremona. The initiative is part of the journey in the snack industry organized by AIDEPI (Association of the pastries and pasta industries) to talk about innovation in the confectionery sector.
One range that is constantly growing with specific products aimed at people’s new demands: whole wheat products (one new arrival is the Nastrine with 100% whole wheat flour), gluten-free products with no added sugars (Plumcakes will soon be on the shelves next to the sugar-free Cornetti).
Snacks made with only fresh eggs from free-range hens, with top quality Italian milk, filled with yogurts and jams that are 100% Italian. A responsible production chain that uses electric energy only from 100% renewable sources, and making sure animal welfare is a prerequisite. These are some of the pluses linked to product innovation and sustainability in Barilla Group’s snack sector, as shown today, Friday, March 23, in its Cremona main Bakery, on the occasion of the journey into the snack industry conceived by AIDEPI - The Association of the sweets and pasta industries. An initiative to talk about an Italian excellence – snacks - that make quality and innovation the main jewels in its crown. For the occasion, Barilla highlighted results achieved in perfecting its products, and especially in the work it has carried out over the past few years to improve its nutritional profile.
UP TO 59% FEWER SATURATED FATS IN MULINO BIANCO SNACKS
From 2010 to today, the Parma Group has made a huge investment in research and development to improve its nutritional profile for around of the company’s 180 baked goods, in line with the mission “Good for You, Good for the Planet”. In the past 6 years, Barilla has in fact removed 2,700 tons of fats, 3,900 tons of saturated fats, 1,300 tons of salts from its baked goods, adding more fiber, 17 whole wheat products and a range designed for specific needs (for example gluten-free products and those with no added sugars). If we look at just the snack category, Barilla has reduced their total fats by 2.5%, further reducing saturated fats by 59% and today boasts different products with reduced fat content (for example Pangoccioli and Mooncake) and sugars (for example chocolate Flauti and the classic Cornetto).
“In the packaged snack area, there are a lot of misconceptions weighing on product quality, genuineness, and nutritional value”, states Rowena Leardini, Minicakes & Cakes MB Marketing Italy Director. “This is why there is a lot of work to do to educate people on the way we work here at Mulino Bianco, inspired by the mission ‘Good for You, Good for the Planet’, and the way we produce our snacks to guarantee safe, top quality products that are suitable for the occasion they have been designed to be eaten. “And the ‘Mill wheel’ never stops turning on these themes, which are our priority for constant improvement in our products.
“Mulino Bianco’s innovation is a real passion; we are curious, we are aware of personal relations, and we are obsessed with the quality of our products. “All this, together with skills concerning the raw materials and processes, make our products unique,” Corrado Ferrari, Product Development Region Italy & Global Center of Expertise Director, confirms.“The nutritional aspects are crucial to developing new products: we have strict internal guidelines that have been developed in collaboration with world class experts to guarantee offerings that are appropriate to people's needs.”
SAFE, QUALITY RAW MATERIALS
Food safety and control of the production chain are two cornerstones of Barilla’s “know how”. For example, every year Mulino Bianco oversees 45,000 checks on wheat flours and 6,000 on milk. All suppliers are also subject to continual inspections and confirmations by company experts in order to guarantee maximum food safety.
BARILLA ON THE FRONT LINE FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
Barilla is committed to animal welfare and makes sure that the farms and relative production chains have a low environmental impact. Last month, Barilla was the confirmed leader among the seven Italian food companies that were analyzed for global business benchmarks on farm animal welfare (BBFAW) carried out by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and World Animal Protection. Barilla stood out especially for its detailed communication and transparency in animal welfare themes, which included not only defining concrete objectives but also the progresses made year after year to achieve them.
BARILLA’S “EVER TURNING MILL WHEEL” CAMPAIGN
In recent years, “The Ever Turning Mill Wheel” campaign in Italy has reported on the nutritional progress made by the Group as a result of innovations made to Mulino Bianco products and the benefits resulting from continuous improvements in production quality. With the Tour 2018, setting off in April, Mulino Bianco will be bringing the culture of eating well to Italian piazzas and will be energetically meeting up with the people who - through their favorite products, their ideas and desires - have chosen to be a part of the Mulino. Mulino Bianco’s choices for quality and transparency provide the energy for a Tour that will bring the pleasure that only well-made food can all over Italy.
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