It’s a wrap! Looking back on our first National Pasta Month celebration!
We’re still tying up loose ends with our partners in Barilla National Pasta Month 749 operators participating in this our first year, across 49 states!
From what we’ve seen so far, it looks very much like each one was a success. Operators had a reason to connect with customers and garner sales, consumers loved engaging with the contests and prizes on social media, and at the end of the day there were plates and to-go boxes of delicious pasta meals on lots of family tables. We loved seeing independents and chains use the occasion and our help to tackle a pressing challenge or test a new area for growth, like boxed meals or growing a social media following.
Here are a few examples of what National Pasta Month looked like across the country:
Piada: this Ohio-based 38-unit regional Italian fast casual focused on giving a boost to their catering operations, which went gangbusters, breaking sales records for pasta “boxed lunches” and giving a lift to the boxed lunch category, too. Barilla kicked in an incentive for the catering managers to sell more pasta kits, which always helps!
Johnny’s New York Style Pizza/Johnny Brusco’s : This 50 unit+ regional chain in the Southeast launched two pasta LTOs, an Orecchiette Parma Rosa and an Ultimate Mac and Cheese. Both set records for the most successful LTO ever for Johnny’s, and many stores have decided to keep the new menu items on permanently!
Mary’s Pizza Shack: This central California favorite hosted a month-long contest with gift-cards and cookbooks for prizes. Fan engagement was impressive, garnering over 2,794 entries over the course of the month, bringing more fans into the Mary’s universe and building relationships with current ones.
And that’s just a small taste of all the great ideas and successful NPM promotions! We’d love to see what your promotion looked like, and hear your ideas for how we can make next year’s even better. Speaking of, mark your calendars now for NPM in October 2021!
Stay tuned also for more promotional opportunities to team up with Barilla in the coming months. With a long winter and COVID restrictions likely to be in place for a while, we know our restaurant, school and casino customers can benefit from a little extra marketing support to build their businesses back in the new year.
Ciao!