Rubbiano: where the pesto and sauces of our dreams come true
21 May 2024
A “monument to the industry” is how Guido Barilla defined the new Rubbiano factory during the event that accompanied its inauguration. “There is no industry without a factory”, said our Chairman that day, “and I believe there is no greater moment in the life of an industry than when a new one is opened”.
On 8 October 2012, the factory built to manufacture our pesto and sauces finally opened its doors for the first time. And it did so in Rubbiano, where, in 1965, our first factory for a commodity other than pasta had been set up outside the city of Parma. In 1965, we decided to make way for the production of Mulino Bianco rusks and breadsticks. Almost forty years later, however, we were ready to take another decisive step forward.
From day one, Rubbiano sauces has been driven by the two missions we still pursue today: a national one, deeply rooted in the territory of Parma and Italy and expressed in each of the ingredients and recipes used for our sauces, and an international one, fuelled by the desire to take the goodness and quality of our products all over the world.
FROM 2012 TO THE PRESENT
Designed by our own people, when it opened, the Rubbiano sauces factory employed 120 people and produced 35,000 tonnes of sauce per year on two production lines. Since 2012, the tomato and basil used in Rubbiano, the two main ingredients of our recipes, are 100% Italian.
Then, in 2018, Rubbiano sauces increased its capacity. By adding two more production lines, it doubled the annual quantity of sauces made, thus providing employment for a growing number of people. And again, in 2021 it made room for a fourth production line, inaugurated in 2023.
Over 400 employees now ensure that Rubbiano sauces processes 131 ingredients, which combined give rise to 42 different recipes. And for each of them, we never lose sight of our goal: to offer our consumers genuine products made using techniques that strive to reproduce traditional sauce preparation methods.
THE PESTO WE LOVE
Tomato sauces, meat sauces, red sauces, pesto sauces: these are just some of the 42 recipes created in our Rubbiano factory every day. They include one with a flavour that everyone loves, and which is celebrating its first thirty years: the recipe for our Pesto alla Genovese.
Since 1994, our Pesto alla Genovese has been made with a passion for traditional recipes and a focus on high quality Italian ingredients. Today, each jar of our Pesto contains a carefully selected mix of 100% Italian basil leaves combined with Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, in a surprisingly creamy texture guaranteed by our delicate processing method.
And to meet current needs, in 2020 we created our Basil Charter – a document that tells the story of our sustainability journey and testifies to our commitment to protecting biodiversity, promoting soil health and enhancing farming communities. This is how we ensure that every basil leaf in our pesto and sauces comes from sustainable agriculture, in compliance with the sustainability criteria of the ISCC PLUS certification system.
EVEN MORE SUSTAINABLE
In a world that increasingly encourages us to reduce our environmental impact, our goal is to continue to improve our technological processes to contribute to the wellbeing of people and the planet.
For this reason, we have decided to invest in the installation of a new photovoltaic system at our Rubbiano plant, which is once again confirmed as the most sustainable sauce factory in Europe. The new 1.49 MW plant, operational since February this year, covers a total surface area of approximately 10,000 square metres and has the capacity to generate up to 1.7 million kWh per year, guaranteeing between 8 and 10% of Rubbiano's energy requirements. As a result, our atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide will be reduced by over 767 tons.
This is part of a broader project of promoting the importance of a culture of sustainability and energy saving, to which we are the first to commit. We are in fact proud to be able to state that 64% of the electricity purchased by our Group now comes from renewable sources and has a certification of origin.
THE FUTURE OF RUBBIANO
And in addition to the opening of the new photovoltaic system, there is another development at Rubbiano sauces. We have in fact started a new production line – the fifth – which will allow us to produce an additional 15,000 to 18,000 tons of sauces. Thanks to this new line, we hope to reach 130,000 tons of sauces per year - almost five times the production capacity with which we inaugurated the Rubbiano plant in 2012.
“Rubbiano sughi was truly born with the idea that everything is designed for the future”, says Plant Director Giancarlo Minervini – “the future of our Group, our employees, our products, our consumers, and the planet we inhabit. The aim is to produce pesto and sauces in the quantities required by the market, respecting the highest quality, hygiene and food safety standards, supported by a strong commitment to guaranteeing and improving people’s safety, our impact on the environment and our efficiency".
OUR PLAYLIST OF THE MONTH
If you want to delve deeper into the topics we have just addressed, here are some reading, listening and watching suggestions:
- Luca, an animated film by Enrico Casarosa in which Liguria – and Pesto alla Genovese – are the backdrop to the adventures of a very young sailor named Luca;
- Climate change. The Great Challenge, a documentary by Sidney Beaumont and Michael Bonfiglio that focuses on the climate challenges of the present by highlighting energy saving.
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