Indeed, Americans' fascination with Italian culture, cooking and lifestyle has been the driving force behind Barilla America Inc.'s (Bannockburn, Ill.) marketing efforts. These include television ads touting its products as “the choice of Italy” and interweaving Italian imagery, often boiling down to 30-second romances set to vocals by tenor Andrea Bocelli.
With Restaurant Creations, Barilla's new line of authentic Italian sauces, the company ventures into premium sauce territory. The products boast such quality ingredients as olive oil, herbs, basil and nuts, yet they maintain a price point at roughly the same as competitors. In fact, Greg Wozniak, senior brand manager with Barilla America, opines the chefs and developers at Barilla have delivered an authentic product “superior to super-premium sauces marketed by restaurants and retailing for more than twice the price.”