Garofalo invests 79 million in new plant. Strapasta launch approved

Not even the discovery of a Roman necropolis dating from the sixth century BC stopped the construction of part of the new Garofalo Pasta Factory.

By the end of the year, the company will press the button on two new production lines for long and short pasta at the Gragnano site and should bring the new Sap Hana management system fully into operation. By 2027, the new large automated warehouse will instead be fully operational.
“For us, this means turning the page,” comments sales director Emidio Mansi, “putting ourselves in the best position to face a rapidly changing future. And this, among other things, continued even during the weeks when the hauliers’ strike paralysed Campania.”
The total investment will amount to 79 million euros and forms part of the Development Contract agreed with Invitalia: it provides for incentives of 33,8 million, of which 21,8 million is non-repayable funding and 12 million is a subsidised loan. The company’s objective is to increase production by 20% once fully operational, particularly production destined for foreign markets.

Premium segment

“We continue to work on launching new products, entering new markets and acquiring new customers,” reports the first 9 months’ report of Ebro Foods, the Spanish multinational that controls Garofalo with 52% (the 48% is in the portfolio of CEO Massimo Menna). “At the same time, we are investing in production capacity to drive growth, improve efficiency and expand the portfolio.”
In 2025, Garofalo generated production worth 232,2 million and a profit of 17,5 million. The amount of pasta sold was 163 thousand tonnes. 64% of volumes were destined for export, particularly to France, Great Britain and the United States.
In Italy, the Garofalo brand operates in the premium segment. Gdo accounts for 93% of volumes, and the market share of the Gragnano pasta maker is 6,7%. What are the current trends? “The market’s shift towards the premium segment is undergoing further consolidation at the expense of the mid-market segment,” Mansi points out. “The hi-low pricing strategy (alternating high prices with low promotional prices, ndr) is encouraging consumers to choose a quality product.”

Communicating Strapasta

The Gragnano-based company has launched Strapasta, a pasta product with a high fibre and protein content. What has been the consumers’ response? “The performance, based on the data, has been very positive,” the manager replies. “But our objective is much more ambitious than gaining leadership in a market niche. Instead, we would like to change the market structure of wholemeal products. This has not happened so far, but we are working on a project.”
Mansi then adds: “Strapasta is an extremely complicated product to communicate. We would have to use technical terms (such as extrafibroso, ndr) that current legislation does not allow, and therefore we cannot clearly highlight what the advantages of Strapasta are. However, we are working on it, including on how to improve the product from a quality perspective.”

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.