Barilla Group has opened its Barilla Innovation & Technology Experience (BITE) in Parma, Italy, marking the company's largest food innovation investment in recent years. The facility spans nearly 150,000 square feet and represents an investment of more than $25 million, with an additional $2.3 million allocated annually for equipment upgrades.

The centre develops products across Barilla's portfolio, including bakery, pasta and sauces. The nearly 52,000 square feet Innovation Centre houses design thinking areas, sensory research facilities and experimental kitchens dedicated to both pasta and bakery development. An additional 96,875 square feet of pilot plants contain research laboratories and experimental production lines for testing new products, processes and packaging solutions.

Development timeline and methodology

Product development at BITE typically requires around two years from concept to market, though more complex projects can take up to a decade. The process encompasses crop variety selection, ingredient sourcing, recipe development and sensory testing with expert panels and consumers.

The facility employs 200 specialised professionals, including food technologists, researchers, engineers, designers, professional tasters and chefs. Barilla recruits 30 interns annually from Italy and abroad, with recent talent coming from Turkey, Belgium, Greece and Spain.

Technology applications

BITE utilises several advanced technologies to optimise production processes. Electronic nose systems and AI-driven smart sensors map aromatic profiles and enhance pasta drying parameters.

A rugosimeter (roughness meter) measures pasta texture at the micron scale, providing data to refine product quality and sensory characteristics.

The centre uses 3D printing and holographic design systems for rapid prototyping, reducing development cycle times. These tools support experimentation whilst maintaining consistency across Barilla's products in over 100 countries.

Research partnerships

The facility operates as the hub of an international network comprising 84 partnerships with universities, research institutions and organisations. Collaborators include Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in Germany, Purdue University in the United States and Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Since 2019, Barilla's Good Food Makers accelerator has received over 1,200 startup applications from 41 countries and established 28 active collaborations. These partnerships focus on areas including sustainable indoor agriculture, AI-driven logistics and ingredient traceability.

"At Barilla, where the product has always been at the heart of everything we do, we know that a fundamental part of our work is to imagine and create quality products that must respond and adapt to people's evolving needs," said Guido Barilla, Chairman of Barilla Group. "Barilla must drive and anticipate trends and be able to engage with markets that are increasingly more open and international."

Operational specifications

The facility runs on renewable electric energy and is surrounded by research areas dedicated to regenerative agriculture practices. Through a partnership with Dynamo Academy, an Italian social enterprise, the building features accessible environments, tactile maps and flexible spaces.

Certified experts at BITE taste over 1,000 samples annually as part of the sensory evaluation process. The centre develops products for all Barilla brands distributed across more than 100 countries.

Michele Amigoni, Head of RDQ at Barilla Group, stated: "The BITE will be a centre open to the world, where it will be possible to see, touch and understand how Barilla envisions the future of food."