Barilla pasta

Barilla was founded in 1875 by Pietro Barilla. The bread and pasta shop in Parma produced 50 kilos of pasta every day. 33 years later he grounded an industry with 80 people and a production of more than 80 metric tons of pasta per day.

In 1952 the production of bread was given up to focus on pasta and to increase its quality. At the same year, the advertising campaign ‘With Barilla it is always Sunday,’ created by Erberto Carboni – one of the masters of Italian advertising - won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France.

Barilla became the first Italian company to market its pasta - sold in bulk until 1955 - in packages.

In 1971 the American multinational W.R Grace & Co of New York bought the majority of shares of Barilla. The new American management initiated a program of diversification at Barilla. One area of diversification explored by Barilla was the biscuit market.

In 1979 Barilla was re-bought by the Italian family and since 1993 the company is led successfully by the three Barilla brothers Guido, Luca and Paolo Barilla. In the late 1990s Barilla was the leader in Italy in the pasta and pasta sauce businesses and the world leader in the pasta business.

Today Barilla is one of the top food companies and has become popular worldwide as a symbol of Italian cooking.
Barilla pasta