Barilla Pastas & Sauces

B2B l Positioning Premium Products to Budget Conscious Customers, Sales Increase ⇧ +15% YOY

Christopher Vickers Brand, Content & MarCom Team Player, Strategist, Writer, Mentor, Leader

Background 

Among U.S. consumers, Barilla enjoyed strong brand awareness, a reputation for quality and strong market share. But within foodservice - and the verticals which represent real volume - Barilla was having trouble gaining traction. Foodservice executives, chefs and buyers were well aware of Barilla, but given its higher cost, were challenged to see its value vs. competitive offerings.

My Role: Coach Player I was strategic lead responsible for supervising and coaching direct reports and colleagues, supporting and leading a cross-functional team, guiding and developing research, analysis, insight and campaign strategy, and supervising campaign development, production, implementation, measurement, reporting and optimization across multiple channels.

Research, Analysis & Insight

To better understand Barillas’ challenges we analyzed the category, competitors, customers and the Company, including its products, services, performance, key personnel and brands. 

Then we dug further, taking a classic Segmentation / Targeting / Positioning (STP) approach: Segmentation to divide the market into distinct customer groups based on demographics, psychographics and behaviors, allowing for a more accurate and thorough understanding of customer needs, perceptions and motivations; Targeting to select the most attractive segment(s) on which to focus; and Positioning to confirm the ideal product classification and craft a value proposition to maximize relevance, distinction and attraction.

Segmentation - Key segments included large regional and national restaurant chains, education (K–12 school districts; independent colleges and universities and university systems), large hospitals and state-wide and multi-state hospital systems. 

Barilla Specialità Italian Pasta

Each differed a bit based on category, buyer type, operational complexity, price sensitivity, menu control and their customer (end user) needs, preferences and motivations. 

Targeting - We targeted decision-makers and influencers across key sectors, each with slightly different needs, including: 

• K-12 school districts, including nutrition directors and purchasing agents who need to balance nutrition compliance and affordability with broad appeal

• College and university chefs, foodservice directors and procurement managers who need to balance variety, premium appeal, flexible formats and affordability

• Hospitals and healthcare system nutrition directors and procurement who need to balance nutrition and special needs of patients with broad appeal for hospital visitors and affordability

• Restaurant chain executive chefs and procurement managers needing to balance appearance, taste, plated texture and consistent “performance” with affordability

Positioning  Research showed that, among consumers (end users) Barilla had a reputation for quality and customer satisfaction. 

And among B2B buyers Barilla consumer brand awareness and attributes had helped build positive perceptions.

In competitive foodservice markets, end-user perceptions and satisfaction are a top priority. 

Our insight was simple: Barilla’s high quality means customer satisfaction. This lead us to the following internal positioning: 

Barilla Italian authenticity means premium taste, texture and quality, customer satisfaction, repeat purchase and strong ROI.

Development, Production & Implementation

Based on our research findings, strategy and insight, I supervised the development, production and implementation of a new campaign to elevate brand perceptions and grow sales. 

I briefed the creative team, who developed a variety of concepts. Given limited budget and timing we were unable to copy-test the concepts, so we assessed competitive communications and gathered feedback from an extended team — using a structured process with clear guidelines to ensure useful, insightful feedback — to determine differentiation within the category and the strongest campaign.

Barilla Chickpea & Red Lentil Pastas

The concept which emerged featured a variety of cooked plated pasta dishes made with different proteins, vegetables and sauces. The background (behind the pasta plate) and headline for each dish were tailored to the category audience and buyer. For example, the campaign targeting restaurant chains showed pasta dishes in a restaurant setting, on a white table cloth, including silverware and a glass of white wine. The headlines targeting chefs lead with texture and taste. The headlines targeting purchasing execs lead with customer satisfaction, repeat purchase and ROI. The body copy in both included the other benefits. 

By combining a variety of photos with different backgrounds and headlines, we were able to create campaigns for each vertical which were competitively distinct, yet relevant to each buyer, and save time and money on creation and production. 

Our tactics included:

• Elegant, ingredient-forward visual branding to elevate Barilla above low quality distributor brands like Sysco, and other lower quality competitors

• Customized display campaigns for each vertical, tailoring Barilla’s key benefits to each buyer and their unique needs

• Lead generation, CRM, and a mobile app, nurturing prospects with targeted messaging and content over time

• Sales enablement tools — including spec sheets, menu ideas, and product training — designed for both internal sales teams and third-party distributors, to help each be more effective at the local level

• Presence at 20+ industry events annually, with sophisticated elegant booth design, chef demos and sampling to increase awareness and reinforce the delicious premium authentic Italian Barilla taste, texture and experience 

In tone our communications were elegant, professional, and culinary-minded — supporting Barilla’s premium positioning while being practical and persuasive.

Measurement, Reporting & Optimization 

Our campaign results exceeded management expectations, delivering measurable results and sustained growth, including: 

Barilla Pasta Variety

• New major client wins including California Pizza Kitchen, Compass Group, Papa Murphy’s, and Michigan State University

• New distribution in: 

• 39 of the top 100 U.S. colleges 

• 7 of the top 15 national Italian restaurant chains

• 50 of the largest K–12 school districts in the U.S.

• Total Barilla foodservice sales growth of 15% YOY

By leading with authentic Italian quality and customer satisfaction, and tailoring messaging to buyers, our work helped Barilla achieve their U.S. foodservice growth goals.

Agency Summit