Good Food Makers: the seventh edition of the Barilla program dedicated to innovative realities is underway

From innovation in the field to the digitalization of production processes and the purchasing experience. With the aim of creating an innovation ecosystem open to stakeholders and partners in the Barilla value chain, facilitating the development and implementation of emerging technologies for concrete solutions, the new edition of Good Food Makers 2025 is starting. The open innovation program dedicated to startups , spin-offs and innovative companies that want to contribute to the transformation of the agri-food sector, which has reached its seventh edition. This year it takes the special form of Good Food Makers – Ecosystem , in collaboration with Almacube , the innovation hub of the University of Bologna and Confindustria Emilia Area Centro .

Launched in 2019, Good Food Makers has so far collected over 900 applications from 25 countries and has already collaborated with 26 startups that have been accompanied on a path of growth and field experimentation. This year's themes are three: "AgTech for climate resilience" in collaboration with Open Fields, which aims to identify innovative technologies to improve basil cultivation and the management of wild herbs with attention to climate and the sustainability of good agricultural practices; "New frontiers in detection" , developed together with Bizerba to find solutions to improve detection systems in production plants; "Best on shelf" in collaboration with Conad Nord Ovest , to identify innovative tools to monitor the presence and visibility of products on the shelves, improving the management of the point of sale and the consumer purchasing experience.

The three winners will have a 4-week collaborative journey with professionals from Barilla and partner companies to access a value network and jointly design solutions capable of generating real impact along the entire supply chain from field to table, alongside Barilla managers. Applications can be submitted until the end of July; the program will get into full swing from September and will conclude during the Innovation Day in January 2026. Good Food Makers represents Barilla's commitment to open innovation, capable of generating concrete value along the entire supply chain. "In a rapidly evolving context," explains Claudia Berti, Barilla head of open innovation , "we believe that collaboration with innovative companies is essential to address complex challenges such as sustainability and the digitalization of agri-food systems, to further improve the way we operate. This year's special Ecosystem edition allows us to work side by side with strategic partners, in a structured journey that aims to transform ideas into solutions ready to be implemented."

This is a real opportunity to innovate together and have a real impact. Just think of some of the valuable collaborations born from the past editions of Good Food Makers . Among these , Connecting Food, Nosh Biofoods, Manual.to and Voxpopme stand out. Connecting Food , which has seen the commitment of over 50 operating units including farms, suppliers and the Rubbiano plant, has digitalized the entire supply chain of fresh basil destined for Barilla pesto, making it completely traceable thanks to blockchain technology and accessible to consumers via QR Code. Nosh Biofoods continues to collaborate on innovations based on fermentation, which allow the creation of sustainable ingredients, with high nutritional value and low environmental impact. From the latest edition, Manual.to arrives, which has created a platform that simplifies training and company procedures, now being implemented at the Cremona plant. “With Barilla - comments Jorim Rademaker, CEO and founder of Manual.to - we have found a partner that truly values ​​the people behind the processes”.

The advanced artificial intelligence system developed by Voxpopme has become part of the tools used by Barilla for consumer research. For Andy Barraclough, CEO and founder of Voxpopme , the Good Food Makers program "has been fundamental, increasing our visibility and offering us a unique opportunity to apply our technology alongside a global leader in the food sector".