Barilla has made a decisive leap in its innovation strategy with the opening of BITE – Barilla Innovation & Technology Experience, a new 13,800-square-metre centre that marks the group’s most significant investment in recent years. Designed as a new engine for Italy’s global agrifood leadership, the hub rises next to the company’s mill, pasta factory, and offices in Parma.
The project required more than €20 million, with an additional €2 million per year allocated for ongoing technological upgrades. The centre aims to transform pasta, sauces, and bakery products into advanced sensory experiences by blending scientific research, technology, art, and sustainability.
A 200-EXPERT ECOSYSTEM AND 30 RISING TALENTS
Inside the BITE, 200 professionals—including food technologists, researchers, engineers, food designers, tasters, and chefs—will collaborate under one roof. The centre will also welcome 30 young Italian and international talents each year through internship and academic partnership programmes.
Open innovation is the cornerstone of Barilla’s approach. The company has already activated 84 partnerships with universities and research institutes, including Parma, Wageningen, Federico II in Naples, Bolzano, CNR, and TNO.
“Innovating means placing people’s desires at the centre,” said Michele Amigoni, Head of RDQ at Barilla. “The BITE will be an open centre, where people can see and understand how we imagine the future of food.”
TECHNOLOGY, SENSORIALITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY UNDER ONE ROOF
The BITE includes a 4,800-square-metre Innovation Center dedicated to design-thinking areas, sensory-testing rooms, two experimental kitchens, and an auditorium. Another 9,000 square metres house pilot plants for experimental pasta, sauces, and bakery lines, along with innovative packaging and advanced food-quality and safety systems.
Research spans the entire value chain—from regenerative agriculture to sensory analysis. Each new product takes an average of two years to develop, stretching to 10 years for more complex projects. The centre conducts over 1,000 professional tastings per year.
The new Customer Collaboration Center serves as an immersive space where Barilla co-creates solutions with clients and partners through multisensory experiences, consumer insights, and culinary journeys.
“Barilla must lead and anticipate trends,” said Guido Barilla, Chairman of the Group, during the inauguration. He described the centre as “a precise entrepreneurial choice” to engage with increasingly open and international markets. “The idea behind this structure is to commit to doing better what we are already doing. It is a commitment we share with many people—not a final goal, but an important step in the ongoing journey that defines the life of any business.”
STARTUPS, AGRIFOOD TECH, AND GLOBAL CO-CREATION
BITE is embedded in a broader innovation ecosystem that includes agrifood and tech startups. Through the Good Food Makers programme, launched in 2019, Barilla has received 1,200 applications from 41 countries and initiated 28 collaborations on indoor agriculture, basil traceability, AI-powered logistics, and new sustainable business models.
The hub incorporates advanced sustainability and accessibility standards, relying on renewable energy, tactile pathways, and inclusive solutions developed with Dynamo Academy. It also displays artworks from the Barilla Collection, including Paolo Borghi’s new sculpture The Condition of Time.
L’articolo Barilla Opens BITE Hub to Reinvent the Future of Food Innovation proviene da Italianfood.net.