How can we bring the excellence of Italy's gastronomic tradition into the future? How can we transform everyday products into experiences that surprise the senses, spark emotions, and lead people through moments of pleasure, sharing, and discovery? Barilla's answer is called BITE (Barilla Innovation & Technology Experience), the new Innovation Center located in Parma next to the mill, pasta factory, and company offices, strengthening its ties to the region where it was founded 148 years ago. BITE opened its doors today, attended by national and local institutions, academics and research leaders, stakeholders, and the media.

A cutting-edge facility spanning nearly 14,000 square meters, the equivalent of two soccer fields, it represents the Barilla Group's most significant investment in food innovation in recent years and strengthens Italy's leadership in the global agri-food sector. Pasta, sauces, and baked goods—foods that speak to the heart of our culture—become a haven for exploration, where research and technology serve Barilla's passion for good, safe, and sustainable food.

BITE will welcome 200 professionals, including food technologists, researchers, engineers, food designers, professional tasters, and chefs. For those dreaming of building a career in Made in Italy food, BITE represents a hub for growth, training, and contributing to the future of Italian gastronomy. Through internship programs, BITE will host 30 young talents each year, confirming Barilla's role as a driver of skilled employment in the country. The center also represents the beating heart of an open innovation ecosystem that already includes 84 active collaborations with universities and research centers in Italy and around the world.

"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 imagining and creating quality products that must respond and adapt to people's new needs," says Guido Barilla , President of the Barilla Group. "BITE, in addition to shaping the products of tomorrow, represents a very specific business choice. Barilla must lead and anticipate trends, and be able to engage with increasingly open and international markets."

BITE is structured across 4,800 square meters dedicated to the Innovation Center, which includes a Design Thinking area, spaces for tastings and sensory studies, two innovative pasta and bakery kitchens, and an auditorium. In addition, 9,000 square meters of pilot facilities will be built, housing laboratories and experimental lines for testing, prototyping, and developing pasta, sauces, and baked goods, designing innovative packaging solutions, and developing advanced systems to ensure excellent food quality and safety.

Barilla has invested over €20 million to develop BITE, and will spend approximately €2 million annually on specific plant upgrade projects, thus maintaining a constant focus on innovation across all product categories. BITE also houses the new Customer Collaboration Center (CCC), the beating heart of the interaction between Barilla and its customers.

"Innovation means putting people's desires at the center," explains Michele Amigoni , Head of QA at the Barilla Group. "It means understanding in depth how their needs related to food and nutrition will evolve, and from there developing ideas that are new, good, and sustainable. BITE will be a center open to the world, where it will be possible to see, touch, and understand how Barilla envisions the future of food."

BITE consolidates a network of 84 strategic partnerships with universities and research centers, from the University of Parma to the University of Wageningen, from the Federico II University of Naples to the University of Bolzano, from the Italian CNR to the Dutch TNO, up to the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo.

BITE was designed with sustainability, inclusion, and accessibility in mind: the facility integrates renewable energy sources to improve efficiency and reduce energy impact, while the exterior includes spaces dedicated to research in regenerative agriculture.

And thanks to the support of Dynamo Academy, tactile and visually impaired pathways, flexible furnishings, and elevators for every stairway foster a harmonious relationship between people and spaces. The center will host several works of art from the Barilla collection, which will be enriched with a new addition: the sculpture "The Condition of Time" by Paolo Borghi, confirming Barilla's tradition of uniting art and food innovation, in keeping with a corporate mission that combines creativity, vision, and know-how.