Mulino Bianco By Barilla Launches In The United States, Bringing Italian Specialty Cookies To American Consumers

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Oct 19, 2012, 08:00 ET

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., Oct. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Barilla, the number one brand of pasta worldwide, announced the nationwide availability of its specialty Italian cookie line, Mulino Bianco by Barilla.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121019/CG95412)

Mulino Bianco by Barilla is available in five varieties including:

Baiocchi, a hazelnut and chocolate cream enclosed in a double cookie
Cuoricini, a small heart shape cookie with chocolate drops
Galletti, a cookie topped with sugar crystals
Girotondi, a short bread and cane sugar cookie
Pan di Stelle, a cocoa cookie displaying 11 magical stars

In a recent Nielsen study(1), the cookie category reaches almost $4 billion in the U.S., with the specialty segment making up 15 percent of the category. Despite the economic downturn, the category has grown 3.5 percent with the specialty segment growing 4 percent over the past year.

"The expertise of Barilla reaches far beyond the pasta meal. In Italy, Barilla is the number one brand of pasta. Mulino Bianco by Barilla is the number one brand of specialty cookies and biscuits," says Giannella Alvarez, Americas Group President. "We are very excited to share our specialty cookies with our consumers in the U.S."

Mulino Bianco by Barilla cookies suggested retail price is $2.99 per 5.29 oz. package and available in the specialty cookie aisle in supermarkets throughout the United States. For additional information visit mulinobianco.com, and use the Product Locator to find the closest supermarket where Mulino Bianco by Barilla cookies are sold.

Consumers can share their thoughts and use the hashtag #MulinoBiancoUS on Twitter.com/BarillaUS and Facebook.com/BarillaUS.

About the Barilla Group

Barilla, originally established in 1877 as a bread and pasta shop in Parma, Italy, ranks as one of today's top Italian food groups. Barilla leads in the global pasta business, the pasta sauces business in continental Europe, the bakery products business in Italy and the crispbread business in Scandinavia.

Barilla owns 41 production sites (13 in Italy and 28 outside Italy) and exports to more than 100 countries. Every year, about 2,500,000 tons of food products under the brands of Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Voiello, Pavesi, Academia Barilla, Wasa, Harrys (France and Russia), Golden Toast (Germany), Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), Yemina and Vesta (Mexico), are featured on dining tables all over the world.

Barilla has become one of the world's most esteemed food companies and is recognized worldwide as a symbol of Italian know-how by respecting its longstanding traditional principles and values, considering employees a fundamental asset and developing leading-edge production systems.

For more information, please visit: www.barillagroup.com

Media Contact | Stephanie Sette | 847.405.7564 | [email protected]

(1) Source: Nielsen. Total Cookies Share $ Sales by Segment, Total US Grocery $2MM+, 52 weeks ending 6/9/12.

SOURCE Barilla