Anyone who has ever taken a trip to Italy, or has ever been fond of Italian cuisine will have asked themselves this question: Which pasta brand is the most popular, sold, and eaten in Italy by Italians?
You too will surely be curious to know what pasta brands we Italians buy the most in supermarkets and grocery stores, I am here to give you the answer.
Being an Italian myself and living in Italy I thought I knew the answer, but is not so obvious, as there are hundreds of brands of dried pasta in Italy, in certain regions you can find in stores some brands that you cannot find in other regions.
Despite the huge regional differences and the many pasta factories in Italy, the best-selling pasta brand in Italy is still Barilla.
Barilla is heading the ranking, with 98 percent of presence in Italian supermarkets, then private label (supermarket own brand) are present in 90 percent of supermarkets, while De Cecco pasta is available in 87 percent of Italian supermarkets. They are followed in the ranking by Voiello (77%), Garofalo (70%), La Molisana (61%), Rummo (52%), Divella (28%), Agnesi (25%), and Granoro (22%).
Most widespread pasta brands available in supermarkets in Italy
The boxed pasta market is therefore quite fragmented, with one brand – Barilla – being the absolute leader in the large-scale retail channel, followed with much smaller shares by some national competitors (De Cecco, Voiello, Garofalo) and by about 600 small and very small pasta factories spread only in some territories.
| Pasta Brands | Presence in Italian supermarkets (%) |
| Barilla | 98% |
| Supermarket Own Brand | 90% |
| De Cecco | 87% |
| Voiello | 77% |
| Garofalo | 70% |
| La Molisana | 61% |
| Rummo | 52% |
| Divella | 28% |
| Agnesi | 25% |
| Granoro | 22% |
This is a market with great territorial inhomogeneity and, in even large local areas, national shares are totally transformed in favor of industries strongly rooted in those regions.
Note also the significant market share achieved by private label pasta, i.e., pasta sold under the supermarket’s brand name, which further complicates and fragments the national pasta landscape.
Italian supermarket chains such as Coop, Esselunga, and others have pasta on their shelves under their own brand name. All these brands achieve significant national sales shares, even if it is not the same pasta, but pasta from different pasta factories, that package the product under the supermarket’s brand name.
For your convenience, I leave here a list of the most popular dry pasta brands among Italians, in order of preference.
List of the best-selling dried pasta brands in Italy
- Barilla
- Supermarket Own Brand
- De Cecco
- Voiello
- Garofalo
- La Molisana
- Rummo
- Divella
- Agnesi
- Granoro
Yes, Italians often choose to buy and eat Barilla pasta, currently the leading dried pasta brand in Italy with a 98% presence in supermarkets. However, as Barilla is the most widely distributed commercial pasta brand in Italy and around the world, it is often considered by many Italians to be an average-quality pasta, some hate it. Therefore, many people do not choose Barilla if they have to buy quality pasta.
Absolutely, De Cecco pasta boxes are among the most chosen and appreciated in Italy. De Cecco ranks second after Barilla in terms of distribution in the Italian territory. Despite being a world-renowned industrial brand, Italians often choose spaghetti, rigatoni, and other forms of De Cecco-branded pasta from grocery store shelves because they judge it to be quality pasta.
Voiello dried pasta is widely distributed in Italy and is often chosen by Italians, especially in southern Italy, the company’s homeland. After Barilla and De Cecco, Voiello is the best-selling pasta brand in Italy.
Yes, for many Italians the Garofalo pasta brand is synonymous with quality, it was established in 1789 in Gragnano, a town near Naples. Along with Barilla, De Cecco, and Voiello, Garofalo is among the most widely distributed and sold dry pasta brands in Italy.
Yes, Italians buy and consume a lot of dried pasta, especially for quick pasta dishes to eat every day. In Italy, annual per capita consumption is around 28 kilograms, which is three times higher than in the United States, Greece, and France, five times higher than German and Spanish consumption, and sixteen times higher than in Japan.
![Best Sauce to pair with [all Pasta Shapes]](https://whyitalians.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/dry-pasta-shapes-768x402.jpg)
Hi Alan, I will soon be writing an article about Barilla new bronze die cut pasta, in this pasta the dough is extruded through bronze dies with inserts enriched with threads that increase the resistance to the passage of the dough, thus drawing a “network of micro-incisions” on its surface. In short words this kind of pasta perfectly retains any seasoning, I suggest you try it with a tomato sauce or ragu.
What is your evaluation of Barilla Al Bronzo