Celebrating our first 145 years of history and passion for good food
10 May 2022
Like every story made up of passion, ours began with a dream that has become a consolidated reality, made possible thanks to the commitment and dedication of many people.
It all began in 1877, when Pietro Barilla Senior opened a small bread and pasta shop in the heart of Parma: this was the starting point for a journey of quality, innovation and love that has brought us to be today, 145 years later, an international food group that exports its products to over 100 countries.
SINCE 1877, OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
“The generations of people who have worked with dedication to build Barilla did so while preserving the values that still drive us today: making quality products respecting local communities” as Paolo Barilla, Deputy Chairman of the Group, has said many times. For us, the anniversary we are celebrating this year reiterates the importance of cultivating those values, with their capability to overcome the challenges of change and to contribute to a high-quality future.
Looking at the road we have traveled, our changes and progress make us proud of who we are today: from the establishment of the first pasta plant in 1910 to the 1969 inauguration of Pedrignano, the largest pasta factory in the world; from the 1975 launch of Mulino Bianco, our iconic bakery brand, to the acquisition in the ‘90s of major brands from all over the world, such as Pavesi (Italy), Wasa (Sweden), MISKO (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), Vesta and Yemina (Mexico), Harrys (France).
These days, conscious of the past, we continue to work on the company’s future; to celebrate our roots and the values that have guided us since 1877, we have reopened the doors of the historic Bottega Barilla in recent months. Come inside, take a look at the counter, the black and white images on the walls, the spaces dominated by blue and red, and explore the kitchen: all to understand how these great memories look ahead to the future.
That future is driven by the major challenge we have set ourselves: to bring the joy of good food to tables all over the world, to contribute to improving people’s lives and the well-being of the Planet, by means of the quality of what we do.
AL BRONZO, AN EXPERIENCE FOR ALL THE SENSES
“Al Bronzo” is the latest demonstration of the attention to quality we have been nurturing for 145 years: a new line of Barilla pasta, launched in January 2022 to celebrate our anniversary, based on the tradition of “Lavorazione grezza”. A pasta that has to be seen, in its ten formats with their unmistakable amber-yellow color. It has to be touched, to discover its marked roughness; to be smelled, to pick up on the wide range of aromas. And, of course, to be tasted, for an authentic, immersive experience.
Al Bronzo is both memory and future: it is actually an ancient pasta, recreating traditional production, drawing from the use of bronze dies. And it is new, for the reinterpretation of the method via a process of extruding the dough through bronze dies, threaded on the inside to make a surface that acts as a “mesh of micro-incisions”. Their ridged, grooved and curved structure and the pasta's density makes Al Bronzo suit sauces perfectly, providing a unique, intense taste experience.
A NEW PASTA, EVEN MORE GOOD AND SUSTAINABLE
The Al Bronzo taste experience takes advantage of the raw materials used: a wide range of fine Italian durum wheat, selected for its excellent quality and high protein content (over 14%). A durum wheat grown responsibly and increasingly sustainably, made possible by the decades-long relationships of trust we have established with over 8,000 farmers. The same sustainability can also be found in the packaging, which uses 100% recyclable cardboard from responsibly managed forests.
READY FOR THE FUTURE
There are two other striking aspects to the Al Bronzo packaging.
The first is its sheer bold red: a tribute to the Barilla passion for pasta. The other is the new logo, marking a change in the brand identity after 25 years.
The new oval leaves behind the white element, while the red has been intensified and now dominates in full. The new logo also celebrates our heritage, adding the year we were founded – 1877 – and the registered trademark sign to emphasize its authenticity.
Our heritage remains the starting pointfor our future: In the words of Gianluca Di Tondo, Chief Executive Officer at Barilla: “The new visual identity and commitment to sustainability brings the Barilla brand even closer to our vision of the future: pasta as a sign of love, for people and the planet.”
A sign of love that has inspired our work for 145 years and nourishes our future, in the name of quality as a tangible decision to move towards a better tomorrow. This is our story since 1877: this is our future to work on, together.
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