Barilla with Brazilian way

After 136 years since the founding of the Italian Pasta Maker Barilla, the world, the three brothers who now run the company decided to break a century-old tradition to win Brazilians ' desk space. For the first time since the Barilla was a small artisanal Pasta House in Parma, in Northern Italy, the company gave up the most important ingredient in their products to develop a formula that would please to Brazilians.
Recognized for having led to more than 100 countries the true Italian pasta recipe, the Barilla exchanged wheat flour of the type ' grano duro ', which leaves the pasta al dente, tender grano ' flour ', which makes the noodles get squishy. Looks like a replacement gastronomic purposes only, but is not.
Unlike Italy and other European countries, in that the mass consumption of type ' grano duro ' is prevalent, in Brazil, it represents only 3% of 1 million tonnes of pasta sold per year. As this variety of wheat isn't produced here, Brazilians are accustomed to eat the ' tender ' grano, besides being softer, costs less than half the price.
The unprecedented change for Barilla in the world-initiates a new phase in the Country, with custom product and manufactured locally. The new line of Barilla, more popular, reaches the supermarket shelves in the Southeast this week and will share space with the traditional mass, imported since the 90 for Brazil.
The Italian brand debuted in the Brazilian market with the economic opening and went on to attend the menus of restaurants chics and pantry who could spend on imported. Until recently, the brand had an Office with just 12 employees in Sao Paulo. Today, there are now 34. "At the end of 2011, the Barilla family elected Brazil and China as its priority markets", says the Brazilian operation, Maurizio Scarpa. "That's when we start to plan a twist of Barilla in the country."
The first step was to develop a product that would make the company participate in the category of most popular among the masses. The recipe was developed last year at the research center of Parma, with raw material taken from here. As the Italian manufacturer had a hurry to begin production, have opted to make a partnership with local companies. The masses will be produced in the unity of Vilma, in Minas Gerais, and sauces, in Favourite factory, in São Paulo. At the same time, the Barilla family hired the bank Goldman Sachs to search for acquisition targets in Brazil.
With the strategy defined, two of the three brothers Barilla-members of the fourth generation of the family-came to know the country that would become the target of a considerable part of the 150 million annual investment. Guido, the President of the Council, and Paolo, the vice President, visited suppliers, supermarket chains and distributors in São Paulo, Santa Catarina and Porto Alegre.
Even before coming to the country, Guido had already established an ambitious goal for the Brazilian operation of Barilla. He relies on Brazil to double by 2020 the global revenue of 3.1 billion company, which has been recording fall in sales since the financial crisis of 2008. Italy and United States, its main markets, saw the mass consumption falling in recent years because of the recession.
China is also in the crosshairs of the Italians, but the Brazil just alighting at the front with the expansion project, due to the cultural proximity and have some "allies" of weight within the array. In Office since October last year, the President of Barilla, Claudio Colzani, commanded the Brazilian between 2002 and 2005 Unilever. The Italian Gianella Alvarez, responsible for Barilla America, is reportedly an impassioned by the country: know all the States and has lived in São Paulo, when he was the Executive Kimberly Clark. "All the multinationals wherever I have, between them, Coca Cola and P&G, had in Brazil one of its main markets," says Arvind, hired by the Italian company two years ago. "It was unacceptable that the Barilla continued with a small participation in the Brazilian market."
National brand. The goal is to put Brazil among the five main markets of Barilla until 2020 and multiply by ten the sales volume, which today is no more than 12 thousand tons per year. With this, the company wants to become the first brand of national bodies of the country-something that none of the 150 Brazilian manufacturers ventured to do until today. "The reason is simple," says Claudio Zanão, President of the Brazilian Association of pasta (Abima). "The product is very cheap, low added value, a freight exceeds 500 miles already comes out more expensive for the company than the actual noodles." This explains why this market is so fragmented. But for Maurizio Scarpa transport will not be an obstacle. "Today, we have the products to the entire Brazil Barilla from the port of Santos. Let's enjoy this structure to make the growth. "
The expansion will start by Southeast. In mines, where a distributor went 200 Grand Lodges, the Italian manufacturer now has eight distributors who will be the new line of pasta and sauces in 10 thousand points of sale. The goal is to reach 30 thousand establishments in the region. Today there are 2.9 million in Brazil.
Already at the start, the Barilla will hit in front with strong competitors. Mining market, will the vendor Vilma and Santa Amalia, acquired in February by Peru's Alicorp. In Sao Paulo, will have to divide the supermarket shelf with industry leaders: M white, owner of Adria and Foundation; J. Macedo, with the Petybon products; and the Selmi, with Renata and Galo. "What all competitors have made so far to expand regional already consolidated brands was to buy and maintain them. Start virtually from scratch is not as easy as the Italians think, "says a competitor.
The fight will be fierce because to win the market, Barilla has no output if not "steal" consumers of competition, since there is almost a decade the masses don't know what is. According to the Abima, annual consumption per person has fallen from 6.5 kg in 2008, to 6, 1 kg. The Italians don't seem to care about the numbers. "Playing in 97% of a market of 1 million tons per year is much more interesting than being tied to 3%", ensures Scarpa.