“Dreams are wishes for happiness” is the incipit of a famous song included in the animated film Cinderella produced by Walt Disney. But is it really true that dreams are just wishes? Maybe not, or at least not for Margherita, a nine-year-old girl from Genoa, already a loyal Barilla consumer and so sure of her own ideas that she imagines herself already in the research and development of the multinational from Parma. Between one task and another, looking at the caps of her markers, the witty creature thought that a pasta shape with a closed side could easily trap the sauce inside. A simple and effective name, “i tappi”, the result of that candid naivety that only the mind of a child can have and that food technologists and focus groups can dream of (always to stay on topic).
Margherita, who is definitely not lacking in initiative, wrote directly to the CEO proposing her idea. After about two months, a response arrived from the CEO himself, who said he had forwarded the idea to the department that deals with the development of new pasta shapes, but the story didn't end there. A few more weeks later, the little girl received a special box from Barilla containing "her" bottle cap-shaped pasta and a message from the CEO telling her of his intention to try to produce it on a large scale in the future. The usual gossips doubt the authenticity of the matter, claiming that this and more should be expected from a manager so expert in marketing: in short, the usual do-gooder communication from Barilla. In reality, this is certainly not the first episode in which the company has shown that it is concretely attentive to its consumers.
In 2023, Angela, an elderly woman, publicly expressed her difficulty opening the lids of sauce jars, highlighting how excessively tight and complicated they were to unscrew for someone her age. Her complaint, expressed with politeness and irony, attracted attention on social media, quickly going viral. In that case too, Barilla responded promptly, sending a letter and products with easier-to-open lids to the woman's home. Moral of the story: the company's response to these reports, often with personalized gestures and direct communication, highlights its commitment to listening to consumers of all ages and creating a more accessible and inclusive experience. This kind of attention reinforces the company's image as a reliable brand, which not only offers quality products, but also cares about usability, experience and sometimes even the desires of its customers. Chapeau.
