Skip to site menu Skip to page content

Barilla to shake-up domestic pasta production

The Italy-based group said the moves would help the company “stay competitive in a challenging market”.

Dean Best September 21 2026

Barilla is in talks to sell three production sites in Italy as part of plans to revamp its manufacturing in the south of the country.

The Italy-based group said the moves would help the company “stay competitive in a challenging market”.

Family-owned Barilla, one of the world’s largest pasta manufacturers, is in talks to sell a factory in Marcianise to local rival Pastificio Liguori.

The business is also in negotiations to sell mills in Ancona and Bari to Italian miller Molino Casillo.

Barilla described the discussions as “advanced”.

The company is planning to create a “new pasta production hub” in the city of Foggia. Barilla plans to invest €100m ($114.8m) to build a mill to support the existing pasta plant.

In a statement, the group said the move, scheduled to be completed in 2030, would “deliver significant improvements in sustainability, logistics and production efficiency to serve both domestic and international markets”.

Barilla said the project would create jobs but did not disclose details. Just Food has approached the company for more information on the investment.

“This move addresses the need to improve our logistics and production efficiency – an essential factor for remaining competitive in the challenging pasta market,” Giovanni Palopoli, head of operations for pasta solutions at Barilla, said in the statement.

The company’s revenues fell slightly in 2025, landing at €4.83bn, compared to €4.88bn a year earlier. Pasta accounted for more than 46% of sales.

In Barilla’s annual report for 2025, the company said pressure on household income had led to “aggressive price competition”, which had “led to the need for rapid adjustments aimed at streamlining operations”.

Nevertheless, Barilla’s pre-tax profits increased 25% to €342m. The group’s consolidated profit for the year was €233m, an increase of more than 64% on 12 months earlier.

The annual report showed Barilla had a combined 15 plants and mills in Italy last year. It also has 15 production sites overseas, including in North America, Europe and Russia.

In May, Barilla set out plans to expand a factory in New York state to “meet growing demand” in the US.

---

On Just Food, alongside the daily diet of news, analysis and interviews on the website, we have a quarterly digital magazine in which we dig into some of the hot topics facing the sector.

The latest edition, out now, has as its cover story a look at how snack makers are adjusting to the rise of GLP-1 drugs.

“In no way do we see GLP-1 as the end of snacking,” Bosco Fonts, the CEO of Cerealto, told Just Food. “On the contrary, snacking is the unlikely winner of GLP-1.” Is he right?

The issue also explores the questions facing Big Food as some of the major names in the industry talk up their efforts on regenerative agriculture, while we also weigh up the development of the alt-milk market in Japan.

The magazine includes an interview with French dairy giant Bel about its plans to grow in the US, the Laughing Cow maker’s largest market.

And we speak to the founders of Biomel Gut Health about why they believe the UK plant-based business can successfully ride the interest in gut-health seen in the country.

Uncover your next opportunity with expert reports

Steer your business strategy with key data and insights from our latest market research reports and company profiles. Not ready to buy? Start small by downloading a sample report first.

Newsletters by sectors

close

Sign up to the newsletter: In Brief

Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Thank you for subscribing

View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network.

close