Barilla Launches 7th Edition of Good Food Makers to Shape the Future of Food

PARMA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barilla officially opens applications for Good Food Makers 2025, its open innovation program dedicated to startups and innovative companies focused on creating a more sustainable and connected food system.

Now in its seventh edition, the program welcomes a new format — Good Food Makers – ECOSYSTEM — developed in collaboration with Almacube, the innovation hub of the University of Bologna and Confindustria Emilia. This year’s goal is to build a true innovation ecosystem by involving Barilla’s value chain partners and accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies.

Three selected startups will join a four-week co-development journey with Barilla professionals and partner companies, working side-by-side to create impactful solutions across the entire food chain — from field to fork. Applications are open until the end of July, with the program running from September to January 2026, concluding with the Innovation Day.

“Good Food Makers reflects our commitment to open innovation that generates real value,” says Claudia Berti, Head of Open Innovation at Barilla. “This special Ecosystem edition allows us to co-create impactful solutions with strategic partners, addressing key challenges like sustainability and digital transformation.”

The 2025 challenges are:

• AgTech for Climate Resilience (with Open Fields): technologies to improve basil cultivation and manage wild herbs in a sustainable way.
• New Frontiers in Detection (with Bizerba): advanced solutions for quality and precision in production-line detection systems.
• Best on Shelf (with Conad Nord Ovest): tools to enhance product visibility, shelf presence, and in-store shopping experience.

Since 2019, over 900 startups from 25 countries have applied, with 26 already selected for collaboration. Notable collaborations include:

• Connecting Food, which enabled blockchain-based traceability for Barilla’s fresh basil supply chain;
• Nosh Biofoods, creating sustainable, nutrient-rich ingredients via fermentation;
• Manual.to, simplifying factory training processes with a digital platform now in use in Barilla’s Cremona plant;
• Voxpopme, providing AI-powered consumer insights used in Barilla’s research.

In 2024, Barilla invested €50 million in R&D and is expanding its Parma headquarters to become a 12,000 sqm hub for innovation and technical expertise.

For more information and to apply: www.goodfoodmakers.it