Brand Experience: Barilla’s Academia

Barilla is an Italian food manufacturer that has launched Academia Barilla: an institution dedicated to the preservation and education of real Italian cuisine. The company has taken on a cause and committed a considerable investment to it, Influx reports.

The Academia is a complete brand experience. Located in Parma, the birthplace of Italian food, the center features a huge kitchen, a 90-seat demonstration theater and a 6,500 volume gastronomic library. It runs courses and has its own special line of foods.

Influx suggests that Barilla has made a serious commitment with the Academia, one that works on so many different levels:

1. It gives the brand a cause to get behind- Barilla clearly states it doesn’t regard spaghetti and meatballs as Italian food and they want to protect the integrity of real Italian cuisine

2. It provides a cultural hub- a physical location for the cause

3. It allows the brand to introduce premium line extensions

4. It presents the brand as a thought leader

5. Barilla’s important customers can be entertained and educated at the Academia- and return home as brand evangelists

Academia Barilla
Influx