Greatness Starts with a Great Recipe: Barilla Surprises Mikaela Shiffrin and Her Fans with the Launch of a Limited-Edition Pasta Pack

The "87"-shaped pasta will be auctioned and sold for charity to celebrate Shiffrin's historic 87^th World Cup skiing victory

NORTHBROOK, Ill., March 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Skier and global Barilla partner Mikaela Shiffrin is officially the "greatest skier of all time" after winning her 87^th World Cup Victory. A record held for 34 years previously, the passing on of the accolade is a historic moment.

This victory marks the end of a chase that has been ongoing for the better part of a decade since Shiffrin broke onto the skiing scene in 2011. Barilla has been with Shiffrin since the beginning of her career 12 years ago, her longest partnership to date, and shared in each one of her victories. The athlete-brand duo shares strong values, namely, nutrition, quality, family, and a passion for excellence. 

"We've had the privilege of supporting Mikaela over the past 12 years, ever since she was a talented 15-year-old, determined, kind, and passionate about her sport," said Ilaria Lodigiani, VP Global Marketing, Barilla. "Besides being a champion, Mikaela represents the values that have always been at the heart of Barilla: care for others and for the planet. We could not be happier for her success. Mikaela has always been the best for us, and now she is the best in the world."  

As greatness starts with a great recipe, BluRhapsody by Barilla is unveiling a new special edition pack designed uniquely for Mikaela, featuring the iconic Blue Box pasta recipe made into shapes of an "8" and a "7" to celebrate her enormous achievement, and pay homage to the longstanding relationship and emotional bond that the brand has had throughout the years with Mikaela. To honor her exceptional achievement, Barilla is also launching an 87 second film and revealing the specially designed pack of BluRhapsody by Barilla for Mikaela, here: https://youtu.be/9-Gn9HZaRW8.

"My partnership with Barilla means the world to me. Barilla was with me since the beginning and has shared every single one of my victories," said Shiffrin. Words can't express just how proud I am to have been, and continue to be, part of the Barilla family for the last 12 years—my longest partnership to date!"

Barilla has produced 87 limited-edition packs, one of which will be gifted to Mikaela, with the remaining 86 autographed, and auctioned or sold via the CharityStars platform. Proceeds from the sales and auction will be going towards the support of Food for Soul, a non-profit organization founded by chef Massimo Bottura to promote social awareness on the topics of food wastage and hunger. 

"It is a surreal achievement, and one that I have worked incredibly hard to achieve," said Shiffrin. "I am extremely grateful for everyone who has supported me in this journey. I have to give a big show of appreciation to my loved ones and also my Barilla family, who have been with me for such a large portion of my career. Without your support and backing, I wouldn't be in the position I am in today." 

As well-known household names, Barilla and Mikaela Shiffrin have formed a unique connection which has seen the icons develop a world-leading partnership. With a plate of pasta, Barilla shares a Sign of Love to celebrate the joyful relationship between Shiffrin and Barilla.  The exclusive packs will be available on the Charity Stars website.

BluRhapsody by Barilla has produced a total of 87 pasta packs. The first pack, numbered #1, will be gifted to Mikaela Shiffrin. Nine packs (numbered from #2 - #10 will be auctioned for five days from the release day. The remaining 77 boxes (#11 - #87) will be sold as 'buy now' for a fixed price. Ranges of prices will be shown on the website. Stay tuned for a link to the limited edition pasta on Charity Stars and follow for more updates here: https://www.barilla.com/en-us/mikaela-shiffrin-s-87th-win.

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 excellence of its food products. With its brands – Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Pan di Stelle, Gran Cereale, Harrys, Pavesi, Wasa, Filiz, Yemina and Vesta, Misko, Voiello, Academia Barilla, First, Catelli, Lancia, Splendor, Tolerant and Pasta Evangelists – it advocates tasty, hearty and wholesome nutrition, inspired by the Mediterranean Diet and the Italian lifestyle.

When Pietro opened his shop 145 years ago, the main aim was to make good food. That principle has now become the Barilla way of doing business, with 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 select ingredients, to contribute to a better present and future.

Since 1987, a historical archive has been collecting and preserving the company's 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.

About Blu Rhapsody:

BLURHAPSODY: REINVENTING THE ART OF MAKING PASTA. 

One of the highest expressions of originality: customizable shapes, colors and flavours. BluRhapsody is a 3D Food srl brand, a start-up of the Barilla Group. Thanks to 3D printing technology, it creates pasta shapes with a unique design. A new form of digital craftsmanship. The pasta is first kneaded by hand with the high quality raw materials. Once ready, it undergoes transformation using cutting edge technology. This is how pieces with surprising architectures are born, created to give life to unusual and multisensory experiences. Each process, whose design was developed in collaboration with international designers, represents a limited series, a small production of high quality. A revolution that takes the concept of pasta into the future.

www.blurhapsody.com

About FOOD FOR SOUL:

Food for Soul is a non-profit organization founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore empowering local communities to cultivate a more just sustainable food system by saving food from waste and reducing barriers to food security and livelihood. Through advocacy and educational initiatives, they are giving consumers the tools to shift habits toward socially and environmentally responsible behaviors; while collaborating with local nonprofits to create Refettorio projects, community spaces with social kitchens, that recover and transform surplus and imperfect foods into nourishing meals for those most vulnerable alongside education and training programs.  To date the organization has opened 13 projects, 12 Refettorios across 9 countries, Italy, UK, France, Brazil, Mexico, Switzerland, Peru, Australia and the USA; with 6 more in development.  Since 2015, Food for Soul's mission has inspired worldwide outcomes directly impacting UN Sustainable Development Goals 2, 12, 13; as the global Refettorio Network of Partners have collectively saved more than 1069 tons of food from waste, served 2.39 mil meals with hospitality and provided 1.2 mil fresh food packages with the helping hands of over 155K volunteers and guest chefs. 

More information: www.foodforsoul.it
www.cookingisanactoflove.org
Press enquiries: [email protected]

For further information contact:
Barilla US
Katie McNicholas – [email protected]

Edelman
Will Bartholomew – [email protected]

SOURCE Barilla America Inc.