Spotlight: B2C

Based in Palma, Italy, Barilla is an Italian family-owned food company and the 

world’s largest pasta producer. Established in 1877, it’s now an international 

Group present in more than 100 countries. Barilla believes that good food can

bring people together while creating a positive change in the world. 

28 placements over 3 years

Barilla first approached EMR back in 2020 when they were looking to diversify their

talent pool and build out their brand-new Business Acceleration Team (BAT) in London.

At the time, they had no UK presence, with everything based out of their headquarters

in Palma. EMR tendered for the work and were appointed on a retained and exclusive

basis. This was a very exciting and challenging project from the start; the BAT was an

innovative initiative and the brief from Barilla required EMR to approach this project from

a very different perspective. Before we even began the hiring process, we spent

considerable time with Barilla planning the recruitment project. Once we understood

their needs, we structured the whole team for them. We then used our niche market

knowledge and sector expertise to conduct an extensive headhunting exercise to find

and identify the best talent within FMCG and external industries. The roles on offer and

type of people sought were not your typical ‘cookie cutter’ profiles – we had to source

people who could effectively do jobs they had never done before, which meant

assessing candidates on their future potential and capabilities.

Culturally, Barilla have high-performing, ambitious, driven and very inquisitive staff, so

any shortlisted candidates also had to be the right fit for this innovative environment. It

was a complex brief, but EMR rose to the challenge and successfully hired the entire

team in the required timeframes before the BAT officially launched. The team has

already achieved some great things globally, such as Barilla’s Open Carbonara

inclusivity event, and a number of the candidates hired have since gone on to be

promoted.

The Business Acceleration Team covers a range of roles across digital transformation,

ecommerce, data science, content, social media, and advanced analytics and insight,

from director level down to associate/junior.

Roles we’ve recruited for include:

• Project Managers
• Mar-tech Managers
• Content Managers
• Data Scientists
• Community Managers
• Purchasing & Procurement Managers
• Global Newsroom, Content & Social Director
• Digital Shelf & e-Commerce
• Global e-Commerce Content Manager
  

More Than Recruitment: Going Above and Beyond

Such was the extent of this hiring exercise, EMR became an extension of the 

Barilla team and more than just a recruitment company. As a trusted adviser, 

we facilitated interviews and help set tasks, supported with benchmarking 

advice and conducted regular market mapping exercises. We also coached a 

number of Barilla leaders with their own interviewing skills, as well as 

supporting with onboarding processes for the first three months. 

EMR even went above and beyond the traditional requirements of the project 

to help Barilla with sourcing their office in London. They didn’t have much 

knowledge of the city, so we helped advise on the best location to set up their 

London HQ. 

Due to the size and complexity of the project, EMR held regular update 

meetings with HR and senior leaders at Barilla to make sure timelines were 

being met. EMR was so successful with the recruitment project, that the entire

team was in place before the London HQ was ready. And so, in a very unique 

situation, the whole Business Acceleration Team started working remotely, 

before all going into the new office at the same time. 

EMR continues to work with Barilla on an exclusive basis, and we are proud to 

watch the BAT team and our relationship go from strength to strength.