Barilla almost doubles sales in the country with mass to the class C

Global leader in the market for pasta, Barilla Italian expanded in 84% of volume sales in Brazil in 2013. Significant expansion is attributed to the announcement, a little over a year ago, a cheaper version of its pasta-a pasta with eggs and common wheat flour, manufactured in Contagem (MG) in a joint venture with the Brazilian Vilma Foods. The product costs less than $ 3.
"Brazil was an exception last year and, by the numbers that we have until may, the expectation is very good," said Claudio Colzani, CEO of Barilla, in an interview with value in Parma, city of Emilia Romagna where the company headquarters. "We owe this result to a product designed specifically for the country's population, which is made up mostly by class c."
According to the Executive, after studying the Brazilian market, the company realized it should invest at the bottom of the pyramid. "We realized that we wouldn't have to build a factory, because the country has a very large production capacity for mass," he says. But the recipe would have to change, because Brazil does not have hard grano (special variety of wheat)-essential raw material of the pasta. The input would have to be imported from Mexico, the United States or Argentina. "Imagine the taxes," says Colzani. "So, we went to meet the ingredients and local habits. Because the class C can't spend $ 6 a bag of dough, which is the price of our basic line, the most sold in the world. "
The new product guaranteed to Barilla of Brazil the best performance among the Bric group, followed by China. Until 2020, the plan is to earn between € 100 million and € 120 million in Brazil, with products for all audiences. Although the country is the third global producer of pasta, the Brazilians still consume little: 6 pounds per person per year. In Italy, the per capita consumption is above 20 pounds and, in the USA, around 8.
It is not, however, a small market. The Brazil moves r $ 2.2 billion per year in the segment of pasta. The volume sold, only 3% are masses of grano duro, the other 97%, of common flour. Today, the Barilla is a leader in the Brazilian market of grano duro, with 35%, and, in the future, we intend to be among the leading manufacturers of masses of common flour. "We sell a lot of Barilla of grano duro, but only for classes A and b. Currently, our market share total of masses is 1.5%, but we have plans to grow to 8% to 10% in the long term."
For an even more restricted audience, next month, disembarks in the country the line of pasta Barilla Academy, with designation of origin 100% Italian, gourmet niche-oriented and which will cost around $ 10. The Academy seal is already on sale in Italy and, in addition to pasta, offers regional Italian Cuisine ingredients like olive oil, aceto balsamico from Modena, parmigiano-reggiano and Parma ham. In Brazil, will initially seven formats of dough, which will go to very few points of sale. "We have plans for the Academy line, but our priority in Brazil continues to expand the distribution of pasta with eggs, the cheapest", reaffirms Colzani.
The Barilla is one of the largest food companies of Italy and won € 3.2 billion in 2013, with a high of 2.5%. The Bric countries and North America pulled the advance. For the CEO, the most important thing is that, for the first time in recent years, the company resumed the growth in volume, which was above 4%.
"In Italy do not grow, but we kept the revenues of 2012 and the same volume. Here, the food sector had a fall of 3% over the last five years. Then, in a market which is falling, keep the same level is positive. In fact, we gain participation in the European market and in the world. Grow above 10% in the USA and we expanded our market share in Europe by more than 3%. "
About 80% of the market of Barilla focuses in Europe (51% in Italy). In countries that have grown, the slice is less revenue: 15% in the Americas and 5% in Asia. A lever for increased sales in the United States was the launch, in September last year, the gluten free line. "We arrived very late in this segment, but in a few months we got 30 percent of the market ' gluten free ' in the us. Put the pasta in Italy, in January, and now we have no product to deliver. We're in France and we don't have to go to Germany. The same problem is delaying the release in Brazil ", says the CEO. The gluten free line is produced in Italy, with corn flour and rice, in a specific unit to not be contamination. It is being studied for the construction of a second plant in the USA.
This year, for the first time, the Barilla has launched its annual balance sheet financial and environmental information gathering. In the latter regard, Colzani points out that the company is not just in marketing. Account that € 15 million will be invested to bring an extension of high-speed train to the Pedrignano factory, in Parma. "Our intention is to sell the products for the whole of Europe in this way and take 3.5 thousand trucks of streets and roads each year."
Another initiative is the pursuit of multinational support for the creation of a global agreement in the feed: "Protocol of Milan". This is a letter of intent, which is to be signed by various countries during the Milan Expo, to be held in the Italian city between June and August 2015. The document should propose measures to address such problems as hunger, obesity and waste. "Another theme of the Protocol has a lot to do with the Brazil and we expect your cooperation", stresses the CEO. "We want to limit the use of large tracts of land to feed the cattle and for the production of fuels."
In 2009 the creation of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition represented a change of direction in the company's food policy. With her, the family managers sat at the table with nutritionists, economists, members of FAO and even with the activist Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food movement. Since then, 173 products were reformulated to cause less impact to the environment and less harm to health.
Despite these actions, the company's image suffered wear last year, by a statement to the press the President Guido Barilla, who with his brothers Luca and Paolo, runs the company. In an interview to an Italian TV station, in September, Guido stated that the brand would never do a commercial with a gay couple. The statement had repercussions and the Manager apologized later, but failed to placate the anger against the company on social networks. By all indications, the proposed boycott the mark by the gay community was a subject quite debated in the blogosphere, but not if expressed in a drop in sales. The Brazil say.