The History of Barilla Pasta

In 1877, Pietro Barilla opened a bread and pasta shop in Parma. The company’s first factory opened in 1910. Thanks to the innovative “continuous baking” oven, 80 workers were able to produce 8 tons of pasta and 2 tons of bread each day. Over time, the company continued to expand and focused increasingly on pasta production, ultimately closing the fresh bread bakery in 1952. In 1950, Gianni Barilla and Manfredo Manfredi created new cardboard packaging for the pasta (and Barilla products are still packaged similarly today). In 1969, a new plant capable of producing 1,000 tons of pasta a day opened. After a series of acquisitions, the company grew even more. In 1999, the first Barilla plant in the U.S. opened in Ames, Iowa. As Barilla's presence in the U.S. market increased, this was followed by a second plant that opened in Avon, New York in 2007. In 2014, Barilla launched a gluten-free line worldwide. Today, Barilla is still run by the same family that started it all and is one of the most beloved pasta brands worldwide, offering a full range of pastas to choose from.