Pasta giant Barilla has posted a turnover of €3.48 billion, up 3% year-on-year, in its financial year 2018.
Pasta, sauces and ready meals accounted for 53% of the company's total turnover, followed by bakery products (46.5%) and other brands (0.5%).
The company generated 45.9% of its turnover in Italy, 31.5% in the Rest of Europe and Russia, 18.6% in the Americas and 4% in Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Barilla has 28 production sites – 14 in Italy and 14 abroad – producing more than 1.9 million tonnes of food products annually, which are exported to more than 100 countries.
Product Categories
Barilla said that it delivered positive results in the pasta category at a global level.
The sauce category also performed well, backed by its production facility in Rubbiano that is dedicated exclusively to the production of sauces and pestos.
Barilla's bakery products delivered positive results in some markets, including Italy, where it consolidated its position as a leader in the category.
Product Innovation
The group also confirmed that it was on track with its 2017 plan to invest €1 billion over the next five years.
In 2018, it allocated €236 million (6.8% of turnover) to product innovation, as well as improving production capacity, efficiency, and sustainability.
Barilla also continued to implement its 'Sugar 2.0' programme, which is aimed at reformulating various categories of products to reduce the sugar content in its recipes.
It has aligned 80% of its products to the Barilla Nutritional Guidelines, which require sugar to account for 20% or less of the weight of a portion of sweet products, and 10 grams or less for single-portion products.
It also revised 33 recipes in order to reduce the content of salt, saturated fats, and sugars.
Its Mulino Bianco brand launched a new range of single-portion products including gluten-free cocoa biscuits and other biscuits that do not contain added sugar.
Responsible Agriculture
In 2019, Mulino Bianco introduced the new 'Carta del Mulino', a charter for more responsible agriculture, launching the product Buongrano – the first made from 100% sustainable flour.
The group has also promoted the development of soft bread with no added sugar for the Italian and French markets.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
