FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: William Byrne for Barilla
312-596-3555
will_byrne@chi.bm.com
BARILLA RESTAURANT CREATIONS REINVENTS SAUCE
New Premium Pasta Sauce Brings Regional Taste of Italy’s Finest Restaurants to American Homes
Chicago (October, 2004) – Barilla, the Italian food company, is revolutionizing the way Americans enjoy their pasta sauce with the launch of new Barilla Restaurant Creations , a restaurant-quality pasta sauce that allows home chefs to enjoy the taste and distinct regional ingredients found in Italy’s finest restaurants.
Traditionally, American palates are accustomed to traditional tomato-based jarred pasta sauces that have dominated the pasta sauce aisle. Barilla’s introduction broadens the definition of pasta sauces beyond red sauces to reflect authentic Italian sauce usage. New Restaurant Creations pasta sauce will pleasantly surprise those who experience its smooth blend of subtle flavors, which highlights individual ingredients and allows them to shine through. This unique flavor is achieved by keeping key components of the sauce separate until the “magic moment” when they are blended together.
The “chef’s recipe,” which gives each variety of Restaurant Creations its regional taste, is in the top jar. The bottom jar contains the base sauce, which is similar to an Italian pomodoro sauce and is made of delicious tomatoes and imported olive oil. The distinctive hourglass-shaped “dual jar” package design – the first-of-its-kind in the United States –allows each ingredient to maintain its flavor integrity and quality, staying as fresh as possible until the exact moment of preparation.
Regional Italian Cooking
Each Restaurant Creations “sugo,” or sauce, was inspired by a particular region in Italy and contains the distinctive, authentic Italian flavors indigenous to that particular region.
The three varieties of new Barilla Restaurant Creations include:
• Sugo alla Romana: Inspired by the cuisine of the Lazio region and its famous capital city, Rome, this variety is made with the finest Pecorino Romano and Ricotta cheeses, olive oil and herbs. The sharp flavor of Pecorino Romano cheese and smooth texture of Ricotta cheese are found in many Roman dishes.
• Sugo alla Genovese: Based on the cooking of the Northern coastal region of Liguria, famous for its small-leafed basil, this sauce incorporates pesto, the traditional dish of the seaside city of Genoa. In Ligurians create their own recipe for pesto using the basic ingredients of basil, olive oil, garlic, nuts and cheese and grinding them together with a mortar and pestle. This sauce pays homage to the Ligurian love affair with pesto.
• Sugo alla Napoletana: This variety is inspired by the Campania region’s gastronomy, which is well known for its tomatoes, vegetables and wine grapes that grow in the fertile volcanic soil of Mt. Vesuvius. In the city of Naples, dishes often include tomato, wine and Mediterranean herbs, just like Sugo alla Napoletana.
“Restaurant Creations is unlike any other pasta sauce on the market,” said James Beard Award-winning chef Roberto Donna. “Having been raised in Italy, I am quite familiar with the different regional tastes and can say without a doubt that these sauces convey the tastes and flavors of Liguria, Campania and Lazio.”
To create the pasta sauce, a home chef simply has to pour the two jars in a pan, heat, and mix with a pound of pasta to create a delicious pasta meal, just like those found in Italy’s finest restaurants.
“Our goal was to develop a pasta sauce that retains the integrity and fresh flavor of each of the ingredients, like a freshly created chef recipe,” said Judy Glass, manager of product development at Barilla America, Inc. “With the launch of new Barilla Restaurant Creations, Americans have a new way to experience a genuine Italian pasta sauce that brings them restaurant quality taste in their own kitchen.”
Additionally, as a testament to its significant product innovation, Barilla Restaurant Creations has been honored with the 2004 Spirit of Innovation Award in the retail category, presented by Prepared Foods magazine. The award recognizes Restaurant Creations as a revolutionary innovation to the pasta sauce category. Award criteria met include: innovation in product design, packing design, sensory characteristics and the product’s ability to meet a specific consumer need by bringing restaurant-quality pasta sauce to home chefs.
Barilla’s new Restaurant Creations has a suggested retail price of $3.79 per 17-ounce dual jar package which pairs perfectly with one-pound of cooked pasta and serves six to eight people. Barilla Restaurant Creations is available exclusively in the United States at select major and independent supermarkets in metro New York, Albany, Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford/New Haven, Chicago or by contacting My Brands, Inc. at 1.888.281.6400 to place an order.
About Barilla
Since 1877, the Barilla company has been producing pasta and other grain-based foods for consumers around the world. The company's basic animating principle has been to make these healthy products affordable to all, no matter where they might be. Barilla has remained true to its entrepreneurial roots throughout the past four generations, by combining ancient Italian traditions with cutting-edge technological advances. The result is a globally successful company, built on a foundation of principles that allow for continuous growth to reach ever-expanding goals.
The Barilla Group - whose brands include Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Pavesi, Voiello, Wasa, Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), Yemina and Vesta (Mexico) and Academia Barilla - is the first Italian food group, headed by the Barilla family for more than 125 years. The Group has 29 factories (17 in Italy and 12 abroad). It is a worldwide leader in pasta and currently realizes 30% of sales in volume in more than 120 countries.
