Barilla® and Peapod Introduce Exclusive Pasta Meal Kits as Easy Mealtime Solutions to Chicagoland Families

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the holiday season, Chicago-based companies Barilla and Peapod are teaming up to help make mealtime easier for busy families with new Peapod Meal Kits featuring Barilla Recipes. Exclusive for the Chicagoland area, the Peapod Meal Kit is delivered to your front door with all ingredients pre-measured and pre-packaged to create a pasta meal, for a family of four or more.

"Our Chicagoland customers are incredibly busy – and during the holiday season, even more so," says Tony Stallone, Peapod's VP of Fresh Markets. "We strive to bring great, fresh food and convenience into our customers' lives, and easy meal solutions are a huge part of that. That's why we partnered with Barilla to introduce our dinner-kits. Not only are they a simple way to provide a fresh, great-tasting meal that appeals to the entire family, they are a terrific value. We're proud to partner with Barilla because pasta is one of American families' favorite foods."

In the Chicagoland area, four in ten residents are going to Peapod in search of exclusive items not available on grocery store shelves. ⁱBarilla and Peapod developed Peapod Meal Kits featuring Barilla Recipes to meet this demand, specifically for families looking for convenient meals, ready in 30 minutes or less, that taste great but don't come with the high cost and exotic ingredients associated with other dinner-kit delivery companies. There is no question families love pasta as a dinnertime staple – in fact, a 2013 survey by Barilla found 73 percent eat pasta at least once per week and 87 percent eat pasta because it tastes delicious,ⁱⁱso pasta was a natural fit for the Meal Kits.

"Barilla is a family company at its core, and we believe in the importance of meaningful family meals. We know that pasta is a healthy carb for a balanced diet and lifestyle that provides the whole family with mind and body energy," says Tim Knuettel VP of Sales at Barilla. "We're thrilled to partner with Peapod to offer Chicago area families a unique and convenient mealtime solution that also delivers on quality and taste, so parents can be proud to serve it to their family."

Ingredients for Success

Peapod Meal Kits featuring Barilla Recipes can be ordered with any other Peapod grocery order via desktop, smartphone or tablet. Perfect for cozy family dinners during the holiday season, families can choose from two delicious, kid- and adult-friendly recipes developed by Barilla chefs. Each recipe is designed to be prepared in under 30 minutes, for less than $5.00 per serving.

• Recipe One: Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Spaghetti by Barilla®
• Recipe Two: Baked Rotini by Barilla®

For more information about Peapod Meal Kits featuring Barilla Recipes, recipes, ordering and more, visit www.Peapod.com.

About the Barilla Group
Created in Parma in 1877 out of a shop that made bread and pasta, Barilla is today among the top Italian food groups, a world leader in the pasta and pasta sauce businesses in continental Europe, bakery products in Italy, and the crispbread business in Scandinavia. Currently, the Barilla Group owns 30 production sites (14 in Italy and 16 abroad) and exports to more than 100 countries. Every year, its plants turn out around 1,700,000 tons of food products that are consumed on tables all over the world, under the following brand names: Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Voiello, Pavesi, Academia Barilla, Wasa, Harrys (Francia and Russia), Misko (Grecia), Filiz (Turchia), Yemina and Vesta (Messico). For more information, please visit: www.barillagroup.com or www.barilla.com.

About Peapod
Peapod – an Ahold USA company – is the country's leading Internet grocer, serving
24 U.S. markets throughout Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.  Founded in 1989 as a smart shopping option for busy households, today Peapod has delivered more than 29 million grocery orders.  With over 15,000 products on its shelves for customers to choose from, Peapod strives to deliver convenience and value.  Customers can order online or on Peapod's free mobile app for grocery home delivery or car-side service at one of many Pick-up locations.  For more information on Peapod, call 1.800.5.PEAPOD (1.800.573.2763), e-mail or visit www.peapod.com.

ⁱBarilla Peapod Customer Survey. Survey conducted online with random sample of 798 men and women, aged 18+, who Peapod customers and have used pasta/sauce in the past 3 months, placed at least 3 Peapod orders and are Chicago, Stop & Shop or Giant-Landover customers. Research was conducted in May 2014. Overall sampling error for survey is +/- 3% at the 95% level of confidence.
ⁱⁱImpulse Research for Barilla. Survey conducted online with random sample of 1032 men and women, aged 18+, who are pasta eaters. Research was conducted in October 2013. Overall
sampling error for survey is +/- 3% at the 95% level of confidence.

Contact:
Rachel Drakulich
[email protected]
312-233-1337

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141104/156640

SOURCE Barilla Group

Related Links

http://www.barillagroup.com