Barilla, a leading global pasta brand, has announced regional expansion to the African continent following the opening of its Middle East and Africa (MEA) headquarters in Dubai, UAE.

The Italian family founded company caters to the region’s hospitality industry through its diverse range of traditional pasta products and continues to promote the health benefits of adopting a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle that is also good for the planet.

Italy’s leading pasta brand is already working with more than 2,000 retail stores, 5,000 restaurants and 5 airlines, across the GCC (excluding Saudi Arabia) with majority of distribution in UAE, Qatar and Oman served by the Dubai headquarters via regional partners. In 2014, the company opened its (MEA) headquarters in Dubai to cater for increased demand.

Loay Elkhouly, managing director, Barilla – MEA said, “Since opening our Dubai MEA head office we have continued to experience increased demand from the region’s hospitality industry for Barilla’s Italian pasta products. We continue to focus on the company’s Italian rooted culture of providing delicious nutritious and convenient food that is healthy, convenient and good for the planet.”

“Our challenge and opportunity for further growth is twofold – educating consumers on the health benefits of pasta while encouraging consumers to experiment with new ingredients and cooking techniques, particularly in a market where rice and noodles are the traditional choice. Barilla offers more than just ingredients but inspires foodies through our Barilla chefs, nutritionists, a recipe app and numerous other platforms,” Elkhouly added.

The ‘Good for you, Good for the planet’ sustainability report launched this year from The Barilla Group highlights the main results achieved by the company on the theme of wellbeing of people and the planet. In the last five years, the Italian Group has reformulated as many as 219 products with less fat, salt and sugar, more fibres and a continuous growth in the whole grain offers.

Sustainable farming projects are also under the spotlight; Barilla purchased from 1,300 virtuous farms 140,000 tons of sustainable durum wheat, a 50 per cent increase compared to 2014.  In general, the portion of strategic raw materials purchased from responsible supply chains has tripled, from 6 per cent to 18 per cent, with the goal is to reach 100 per cent by 2020.

In addition, Barilla has reduced water consumption by 19 per cent and decreased its greenhouse gas emissions by 23 per cent per ton of product due to the ‘Wheat Train’ project. – TradeArabia News Service