Barilla® Protein+® Pasta Teams Up with Shawn Johnson East to Celebrate Everyday Athletes

Barilla and Shawn are inspiring fans this summer with a seventeen-minute workout perfect for busy lives. Fans should also be on the lookout for Protein+® Gold Box Medals delivered to their favorite influencers, athletes, and celebrities

NORTHBROOK, Ill., June 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Barilla®, the world's leading pasta maker, announces its partnership with former gymnast and 4x champion Shawn Johnson East to celebrate everyday athletes with Barilla Protein+® pasta. While the world has its eyes on the athletes who are at the top of their game this summer, Barilla Protein+® recognizes that there are "everyday athletes" among us – active people like parents, caregivers, student-athletes, entrepreneurs and more – who need that same energy to fuel their lives and pursue their passions.

A Routine Fit for Any Athlete
To kick off the partnership, Shawn Johnson East and Barilla hosted an exclusive pasta party in Nashville, TN, where attendees participated in a seventeen-minute workout curated and led by Shawn, in a nod to Protein+® pasta's 17 grams of protein per 3.5-ounce serving, followed by a brunch featuring Barilla. Inspired by her time as a champion gymnast and informed by her personal training certification, Shawn designed the workout to show that no matter how busy life can get, there's still time to show love for yourself through an active lifestyle and good nutrition.

"As an athlete, entrepreneur, and mom with a hectic schedule, I resonated with the idea that we all deserve recognition for balancing our daily lives and our personal passions," said Shawn Johnson East. "Barilla Protein+® pasta is a staple my whole family enjoys. It gives me the energy I want, and the kids love how it tastes when we add butter and parmesan to the Rotini! It's a simple but delicious win in my home."

Sometimes seventeen minutes is all we get to ourselves, but fans of Barilla Protein+® pasta and Shawn Johnson East who are looking for workout inspiration can now maximize their time with the following routine. After stretching, complete each of these steps for one minute each:    

1. Bodyweight good mornings
2. Air squats
3. Alternate front lunges
4. Right leg lunge pulse (45 seconds)
5. Left leg lunge pulse (45 seconds)
6. Glute bridge and pulse out with a resistance band
7. Right side fire hydrant with a resistance band (45 seconds)
8. Left side fire hydrant with a resistance band (45 seconds)
9. Forward bear crawl with a resistance band
10. Reverse bear crawl with a resistance band
11. Alternate triceps pushbacks with a resistance band (30 seconds/arm)
12. Left row with a resistance band
13. Right row with a resistance band
14. Overhead straight arm pulses with a resistance band
15. Lying leg ups
16. Lying alternate toe taps 
17. Plank hold

Johnson East says that if there's one move everyone should incorporate into their workouts, it's a plank hold to finish any circuit.

Show Your Body a Sign of Love and Fuel Up with Barilla Protein+®
The taste of an everyday win is within arm's reach at grocers nationwide when you pick up a box of Barilla Protein+® pasta. In fact, Shawn Johnson East's family loves Protein+® Rotini's versatility in cooking, especially in pasta salads and mac & cheese. Learn more about how Shawn Johnson East fuels her family with Barilla Protein+® by heading to her Instagram and TikTok.

"We want consumers to feel great about the food they eat, which is why it's so important for us to continue expanding and promoting our Protein+® offerings," said Angie Cotter, U.S. Pasta Brand Marketing Director, Barilla Americas. "Pasta can be enjoyed in many ways, making it the perfect meal for anyone on the go, and Barilla Protein+® pasta offers the energy consumers crave to fuel their days at the gym, home, or anywhere in between."

Barilla Protein+® is classic pasta that is a good source of protein with 17 grams of protein made from chickpeas, lentils, and peas, and 10 grams of fiber per 3.5 ounce serving. With the addition of new Cellentani, Barilla Protein+® is now available in eight different pasta shapes: Angel Hair, Cellentani, Elbows, Farfalle, Penne, Rotini, Spaghetti, and Thin Spaghetti. Barilla Protein+® recently revealed new branding and packaging to reflect the line's dynamic energy and desire to fuel active lifestyles. 

Protein+® Medals Go Social
Barilla is celebrating further by decorating inspirational figures who compete in the game of life with personalized Gold Box Medals that spotlight their achievements. Barilla Protein+® Gold Box Medals are wearable sample-size circular boxes in the signature Protein+® color, filled with real Protein+® pasta and designed to honor the activities that drive each recipient. These medals don't just recognize everyday athletes; they fuel them with every forkful. Throughout the month of June, keep an eye out on social to see if any of your favorite athletes, celebrities, or influencers are on Team Pasta.

For more information on Barilla Protein+® pasta, visit https://www.barilla.com/en-us/product-results/pasta/range/proteinplus.

About Shawn Johnson East
At 30 years old, American gymnast Shawn Johnson East has accomplished a lifetime of achievements that include gymnastics, a New York Times best-selling book, several businesses, a career in broadcast, and a Mirrorball Trophy after winning Dancing With The Stars. Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Shawn's girl-next-door charm led her to be named "America's Sweetheart." After retiring from gymnastics in 2012, Shawn made appearances on several TV shows including The Apprentice and Adventure Capitalists. Shawn married Andrew East, with whom she has documented her life with on their shared YouTube channel which has over 405 million views and a podcast which has climbed to #2 on the overall charts.  

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, Pasta Evangelists and Back to Nature – it advocates tasty, hearty and wholesome nutrition, inspired by the Mediterranean Diet and the Italian lifestyle.

When Pietro opened his shop more than 145 years ago, the main aim was to make good food. That principle has now become the Barilla way of doing business, with over 8,700 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 info, visit: www.barillagroup.com; Twitter: @barillagroup; LinkedIn: Barilla Group; Instagram: @barillapeople

Media Contacts: 
Brooke Kovanda
[email protected] 

Kyle Sharick
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SOURCE Barilla America, Inc.