Barilla Tackles Wasted Pasta for World Pasta Day 2022 with Publicis Italy/Le Pub and TikTok

On the occasion of World Pasta Day 2022, Barilla partners with TikTok to launch #SecondLifePasta, the new digital campaign signed by Publicis Italy/LePub that celebrates Italian inventiveness through discovering how to turn leftovers into tasty new recipes. In fact, by using TikTok's renowned stitch feature users can connect an existing viral recipe with their new one, creating original content.

It is estimated that households produced 570 million metric tons of food each year, accounting for 61 percent of the total. And besides that, between eight and ten percent of greenhouse gas emissions, mostly in the form of methane, come from food waste worldwide. This is the strategic insight that informed the manifesto of the latest campaign that shows Barilla’s commitment to sustainable cooking.

Starting from this premises, the world leading pasta manufacturer rides this wave and hacks TikTok viral recipes to inspire food lovers with a real “Sign of love” to the planet giving pasta a second life while reducing waste. As engagement around food content has tripled in the last year and continues to grow, Barilla strengthens its presence on TikTok with the aim to address its wide community with a strategic entertainment first & purpose driven approach, through a narrative that leverages new cultures and trends emerging on the platform.

Bruno Bertelli, global CEO of Le Pub, global CCO of Publicis Worldwide and CCO of Publicis Groupe Italy, said: “World Pasta Day was the perfect occasion for Barilla and Publicis Italy/LePub to enhance not only the brand narrative but its consistent commitment to fight food waste. By partnering with TikTok as main digital media driver of the campaign, we wanted to bond with the so-called GenT, their trends and inventiveness. They are a creative community, ready to turn leftovers into something new, and re-interpret a traditional behaviour with a brand-new spin. The campaign is a thoughtful and playful project where tradition and innovation are bridged. With this daily contribution and sign of love, the brand is once again demonstrating the commitment to generate awareness and make a powerful contribution to our planet."

Every day, TikTok boosts people to discover diverse communities and new ideas, products, and places by connecting with diverse creators: a new generation of storytellers who have their finger on the pulse of the latest trends. The phenomenon of hashtag activations spreading across the globe inspires millions of users to pick up enthusiastically new hobbies, ingredients, and cuisines every day and to participate organically in powerful call-to-actions whether for a cause or for fun.

"TikTok is a platform where more than 1 billion people around the world share their passions, discover new things and dialogue with brands and creators in an authentic way," says Adriano Accardo, managing director, global business solutions Southern Europe at TikTok. “Communicating brands’ green commitment UN Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index in an authentic way and with a simple language is the challenge to reach a wider audience, and TikTok is the right place to do it, since 1 out of 2 users, feels part of an eco-conscious community. A challenge, which Barilla and Publicis wanted to turn into an opportunity through a campaign that not only engages but at the same time inspires the community."