Overview
It was founded in 1877 in Parma, Italy by Pietro Barilla. The company is privately held, and remains in the fourth generation of Barilla family ownership and control through three brothers, Chairman Guido Barilla, and Vice Chairmen Luca Barilla and Paolo Barilla.
It controls Barilla (multinational pasta maker), Mulino Bianco, Pavesi, Voiello, Alixir and Academia Barilla (Italy), Wasabröd (Sweden), Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), Yemina and Vesta (Mexico) trademarks.
It produces several kinds of pasta and it is the world's leading pasta maker with 40-45% of the Italian market and 25% of the US market. It produces 4,000 tons of dried pasta annually in over 120 shapes and sizes. It is also the leading seller of bakery products in Italy. Through its acquisition of the Swedish company Wasa, it is the world's leading producer of flatbread (a Scandinavian staple), selling 60,000 tons annually.
Barilla Group has several production plants all over the world: in Italy, Greece, France, Germany, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, the United States (in Ames, Iowa and Avon, New York), and Mexico. The company also operates mills in Italy, Greece, Sweden, Turkey, and the US. While its central office is in Parma, Italy, it has corporate offices in several other countries as well, such as Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and Japan. Barilla's Italian production facilities are located at Parma, Foggia, Marcianise, Castiglione delle Stiviere, Cremona, Melfi, Rubbiano, Novara, and Ascoli Piceno. Its plant in Greece (near Thiva) is the third largest in Europe. The plant where the pasta was made is noted on the packaging by a code letter, whereas products made in Italy are explicitly labeled as such. The wheat used to make the final product is purchased from around the world.
The company sponsors Italian race car driver Alex Zanardi.
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