Barilla wants to eat his pasta to Chinese
Pasta with pesto sold alongside kebab silkworm larvae or fried chicken feet? This is the crazy challenge of Italian Barilla, which hopes to soon be eating his pasta to the Chinese. "Fast food is an effective way to install the brand and a direct relationship with consumers, said Guido Barilla, chairman of the Italian group that carried out last year EUR 4 billion in sales. If food purchases for the home are traditional, there is now a real interest of people in the street to the kitchens of the world. "
In the Middle Kingdom as in the rest of Asia, food is becoming more and more often on the go, bought in the shops that fill the streets.Or international chains of fast food like McDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken, which are present in large cities.
"The goal of Barilla is to be present in twenty years with an offer dedicated to Asia, which is consistent with the true Italian gastronomic tradition, says Guido Barilla. We look at different ways to adapt the offer to local habits with recovery modes that do not exist in the business portfolio of Barilla. "
Ready meals in Europe soon
Therefore no question of selling Barilla noodles Asian or to eat his pasta with chopsticks. The Italian group, which wants to reach consumers in major cities of the region is still at the beginning. He formed earlier this year a regional team of five people based in Singapore. He also sent ten people in Tokyo.All work closely with the headquarters in Parma.
In emerging markets, which account for only 7% of sales, Barilla also looking to South America. "Barilla is a family business, we are not pressed by the objectives of growth or profitability, says Guido Barilla. Our priority now is to install Barilla in new geographies. But we do not make shots. What matters are the group's financial stability and product quality. "
The internationalization of the Italian group has accelerated since the mid-1990s, when Guido and his brothers and sister took over the reins of the company at the death of their father, Pietro, grand-son of the founder.
After settling in France – its second largest market after Italy – and Germany in the 1980s, Barilla headed for the United States.Three years ago, he won first place in the pasta market. Barilla, which generates $ 500 million in sales in the U.S., it now holds 30% market pulp and posted growth of 4 to 5% per year. The Italian was offered four years ago a second plant in the country, near New York. The growth potential is enormous. If the Italians consume 27 kg of pasta per year per capita, Americans eat three times less …
Meanwhile, Barilla brand of pasta popular in Greece and Turkey. In Europe, where the group wants to expand its business scope, it introduced last year pasta with vegetables. This board today the launch of cooked pasta, bearing the signature of chefs.France, where the brand holds 20% of Barilla pasta market, would be among the first countries to sell this product.
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