🏭 Barilla

Barilla is an Italian family-run company from Parma that has been making pasta since 1877, when Pietro Barilla opened a bread and pasta shop in the city. The first factory followed in 1910; in 1936 the company installed continuous presses that for the first time combined the functions of mixer, kneader and press, and in 1952 it closed the traditional bakery to concentrate on pasta. In 1969 a plant opened in Pedrignano near Parma with a 120-metre production line. Plants in the United States followed in Ames, Iowa (1999) and Avon, New York (2007). Today the company is led by Guido, Luca and Paolo Barilla. In 1973 Barilla took over the shares and management of Voiello, according to that brand's own website.

The brand's Italian website lists nine pasta ranges: I Classici (classic shapes such as spaghetti, penne, fusilli, farfalle and rigatoni), Al Bronzo (raw bronze-die pasta from 100% Italian durum wheat), Emiliane (egg pasta made with 100% fresh eggs from barn-reared hens), Integrale (wholegrain pasta from durum wheat, a source of fibre), Senza Glutine (a mix of white maize, yellow maize and brown rice), Protein+ (durum wheat semolina and pea protein), Piccolini (smaller shapes that cook quickly), Specialità (including orecchiette, trofie and tagliatelle) and Legumotti (grains made from 100% legume flour).

For durum wheat Barilla has drawn up a Decalogue for growing quality durum wheat: ten guiding rules for farmers, technicians and grain handlers, including crop rotation, choice of variety, certified seed and targeted control of weeds and diseases. The decision-support platform granoduro.net, developed in 2009 with Horta S.r.l. and used in Barilla's supply chain since 2011, gives disease warnings and advice on seeding rate, fertilising and plant protection.