Barilla serves up new premium pasta to keep up with consumer tastes

MILAN (Reuters) – Barilla, the world’s biggest pasta maker, is moving upmarket with a new high-end pasta range that aims to keep up with consumer tastes for premium quality foods.

The 145-year old family-owned company unveiled the new pasta this week, packaged in bright red cartons, which will distinguish it from Barilla’s traditional pasta packaged in dark blue boxes. Both the blue and red boxes will carry a new Barilla logo.

Barilla said the new pasta will be sold in eight European countries, including Italy, and in Australia this year. It did not disclose any sales targets.

The new pasta range is made by pushing the pasta dough through bronze dies which produces a more intense taste and a rougher surface for the sauce.

The blue boxes for Barilla’s classic pasta will no longer have a plastic window, which the company expects will cut its plastic consumption by 126 tonnes a year.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini. Editing by Jane Merriman)