Barilla® Adds QR Codes on Packaging to Assist Visually Impaired Customers in Expanded Partnership with Be My Eyes

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Oct 18, 2022, 09:00 ET

The Italian family-owned food company continues first-of-its-kind collaboration with the innovative app to bring increased accessibility to consumers

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Barilla, a world leader in the markets of pasta, is expanding its partnership with Be My Eyes, a platform that provides live audio and visual support for blind and visually impaired consumers, by incorporating QR codes on the packaging of ten of Barilla's most popular classic pasta offerings.

Barilla is passionate about creating diverse and accessible products for consumers. In 2021, Barilla became the first food company to partner with Be My Eyes, enabling shoppers to connect with Barilla experts directly through smartphone cameras.

Now, Barilla and Be My Eyes are thrilled to expand accessibility to pasta products for those in need of visual assistance. The new QR codes will rollout starting this month on boxes of Barilla Classic Penne, Spaghetti, Farfalle, Rotini, Rigatoni, Tri-Color Rotini, Thin Spaghetti, Fettuccini, Angel Hair and Linguine.

"Ensuring our consumers have access to quality resources that allow them to better understand our products is incredibly important," says Laura Birk, Vice President of Human Resources, Barilla Americas. "Be My Eyes has proven to be a helpful and important resource for pasta shoppers, supporting Barilla's mission to make our products widely accessible to all. We are excited to be on the cutting edge of developments in our industry to increase accessibility for individuals with visual assistance needs."

In one easy step, consumers can use their smartphone camera to scan the QR code on top of the Barilla pasta box and will be instantly connected to Barilla experts through the Be My Eyes app. Once there, they can request any visual information they wish, such as information on pasta cuts, recipes, cooking instructions, expiration dates, or other visual product questions.

"Every day, thousands of people with visual challenges rely on Be My Eyes to live their lives independently," said Be My Eyes Founder, Hans Jørgen Wiberg. "Barilla is taking an unprecedented step to support their blind/low-vision customers by adding QR codes to their packaging. No matter the question, Barilla is one scan and click away from providing visual assistance to consumers."

For more information about the partnership, visit www.bemyeyes.com/blog/barilla or follow @BarillaUS on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The Be My Eyes app can be downloaded via the App Store on iOS or Android.

About the 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, 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 selected ingredients from responsible supply chains, 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, a testament to the journey of an icon and the changes in Italian society. For further information, visit: www.barillagroup.com; Twitter: @barillagroup; LinkedIn: Barilla Group; Instagram: @barillapeople

To learn more: www.barillagroup.com; Twitter: @barillagroup 

About Be My Eyes
Be My Eyes is a global community that connects people who are blind or have low vision with sighted volunteers or company representatives. On the app, volunteers assist blind and low-vision users through a live video connection and work together to tackle challenges and handle a wide range of tasks. With the Specialized Help feature, blind and low-vision users can connect with company representatives for accessible customer support. The app harnesses the power of generosity, technology, and human connection to help blind and low-vision people lead more independent lives. Be My Eyes is accessible in more than 150 countries worldwide and in over 180 languages. The app is free and available for both iOS and Android. To inquire about Be My Eyes, contact [email protected].

SOURCE Barilla America Inc.