Barilla® Launches Protein+® Stars Pasta and Derek Hough-Led Training Timers to Encourage Movement in the Time It Takes to Cook

Teaming up with professional dancer Derek Hough, Barilla pairs craveable, great-tasting Protein+ Stars with feel-good, micro workouts you can finish in the time it takes to cook your pasta.

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Jan. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Barilla®, the world's leading pasta maker, is partnering with Emmy® Award–winning choreographer and six–time Dancing with the Stars champion Derek Hough to help everyday athletes stay energized in the New Year with Barilla Protein+®—the great-tasting pasta people love with the protein they want, for the people who do it all.

Building on the success of Barilla's viral cooking playlists, Barilla Protein+ Training Timers are micro workouts that you can complete in the time it takes to cook Protein+ pasta. Just as Protein+ delivers great taste and protein in one, Training Timers turn everyday cooking time into a simple moment of movement. Created and led by Derek Hough, each routine is inspired by one of four Protein+ pasta shapes, with exercises like Star Jacks, Penne Plié Squats, Rotini Spiral Planks, and Spaghetti Arm Waves.

Alongside the Training Timers, Barilla is unveiling Protein+ Stars, a new pasta shape joining Barilla's lineup of great-tasting Protein+ pasta. Protein+ Stars is a fun, star-shaped cut with 17g of protein and 10g of fiber per 3.5 ounce serving, crafted for the delicious taste consumers expect from Barilla. It's a fun shape that delivers all-star energy and great taste, for the everyday athlete in all of us. Now with Stars added to the lineup, Barilla Protein+ is available in ten varieties, including Angel Hair, Cellentani, Elbows, Farfalle, Penne, Rigatoni, Rotini, Spaghetti, and Thin Spaghetti.

"Life is busy balancing work, family, friends, and everything else going on," said Hough. "That's why I wanted to help create Training Timers—they turn the time you're already waiting for pasta to cook into an energizing, feel-good moment, whether it's just for you or shared with your family. Protein+ helps fuel what I love to do, and these workouts are designed to give people the same lift through simple movement, great taste, and a little joy."

Available on Barilla's YouTube, Barilla Protein+ Training Timers make it simple to move like a pro and fuel like one.

"Barilla Protein+ pasta is often a go-to solution for the busiest people craving energy and amazing taste from their meals," said Angie Cotter, U.S. Pasta Category Marketing Director at Barilla. "It's an easy, real–life win that fits right into your routine, and we wanted to help make it even easier to enjoy both delicious pasta and a few minutes of movement with Protein+ Stars and Training Timers."

Together, Protein+ Stars and Training Timers show how everyday athletes can fuel their New Year's goals with the pasta taste they love and the energy they want. Protein+ Stars is now available on Amazon. To find Protein+ Stars near you, visit Barilla.com.

About Barilla Group:    
Barilla is a family business, not listed on the Stock Exchange, chaired by the brothers Guido, Luca and Paolo Barilla. It was founded by their great-grandfather Pietro Barilla, who opened a bakery in Parma in 1877. Today, Barilla is renowned in Italy and around the world for the quality of its food products. With its brands – Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Pan di Stelle, Gran Cereale, Harrys, Pavesi, Wasa, Filiz, Yemina, Misko, Voiello, Academia Barilla, First, Catelli, Lancia, Splendor, Back To Nature and Pasta Evangelists – it advocates tasty, hearty and wholesome nutrition, inspired by the Mediterranean Diet and the Italian lifestyle.   

When Pietro opened his shop over 145 years ago, the main aim was to make good food. That principle has now become the Barilla way of doing business, with almost 9,000 people working for the company and a supply chain that shares its values and passion for quality.   

The Group's commitment is to offer people the joy that good, well-made food can bring them, produced with selected ingredients from, as far as possible, responsible supply chains, to contribute to a better present and future.  

Since 1987, a historical archive has been collecting and preserving the company's over 145-year history, now a resource open to all via the portal-museum www.archiviostoricobarilla.com. For further information, visit: www.barillagroup.com; Twitter: @barillagroup; LinkedIn: Barilla Group; Instagram: @barillapeople.   

For further information contact:     
Media Contacts:   
Amanda Morales
[email protected] 

Kyle Sharick   
[email protected] 

SOURCE Barilla America, Inc.