ITALY – Barilla Group has unveiled its Barilla Innovation & Technology Experience (BITE), a cutting-edge global food innovation center in Parma, Italy, representing the company’s most significant such investment in recent years at over €20 million (US$25M), with nearly €2 million (US$2.3M) annually for upgrades.
Spanning 14,000 square meters (about 150,000 square feet) adjacent to its historic mill, pasta factory, and offices, BITE serves as a hub for developing pasta, sauces, and bakery products, integrating AI-driven sensors, 3D printing, sensory labs, and pilot plants for rapid prototyping and testing.
Employing 200 specialists, including food technologists, engineers, chefs, and designers, plus 30 annual interns from countries like Turkey and Spain, the facility streamlines the two-to-ten-year product development cycle from crop selection to consumer trials.
Chairman Guido Barilla described BITE as an “entrepreneurial choice to drive and anticipate trends in an increasingly open and international market,” emphasizing its role in transforming Italian culinary traditions into future-ready experiences.
Head of RDQ Michele Amigoni added that it places “people’s desires at the center,” enabling visitors to “see, touch, and understand how Barilla envisions the future of food” through design-thinking areas, experimental kitchens, and over 1,000 annual sensory evaluations conducted by certified experts.
“The 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,” added Michele Amigoni.
The center fosters open innovation via 84 university partnerships and 28 startup collaborations focused on sustainable agriculture and food tech, serving Barilla’s brands in over 100 countries.
Sustainability defines BITE’s operations, powered by renewable energy and surrounded by regenerative agriculture research plots, while inclusive design from partner Dynamo Academy ensures accessibility with tactile maps and flexible spaces.
Opened amid a TEDx event attended by stakeholders, academics, and media, it positions Parma, Italy’s food valley, as a global agrifood leader, blending tradition with technology to deliver high-quality, emotion-evoking products.
As consumer demand evolves toward healthier, sustainable options, BITE equips Barilla to innovate faster, potentially reshaping the pasta and bakery categories worldwide.
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Dining and Cooking