Barilla is a pasta brand not to be overlooked

Sir, I was rather surprised to see that in your Focus on Pasta & Pasta Sauces (4 November) that within the winners and losers list  Barilla was not included. It is in fact the fifth largest brand of dried pasta in the UK but it is only stocked by two multiples. Our current sterling weighted distribution is 39%.

The article states only one of the top five brands has achieved growth, whereas if you took the top five brands of dried pasta, Barilla grew more than all of the other brands put together.

Barilla is the largest pasta brand in the world. It is privately owned and employs 8,000 people.

We believe we are one of the few brands within this market that has the backing and support to build the category once again. We have invested heavily in consumer advertising in the UK as we believe the dried pasta market will only grow through education, by explaining to the consumer that the quality of pasta does vary.

Stephen Barlow, CEO, Euro Food Brands