Panzani

Panzani
IndustryFood
Founded1950
HeadquartersLyon, France
Revenue€578 million (2019)
€48 million (2019)
Number of employees
745
Websitewww.panzani.com

Panzani is a French brand of pasta. Since 2021, it has been owned by CVC Capital Partners.[1][2]

Overview

The brand was started by Jean Panzani in Parthenay in 1950.[2] In the 1950s, he sold pasta in cellophane whereas other companies used cardboard.[2] From 1960 to 1964, it merged with La Lune and Régia Scaramelli.[2] It was in the 1960s that it became the market leader in pasta wholesalers in France. In 1964, Roland Barthes analysed a commercial by Panzani in his essay entitled 'The Rhetoric of the Image', suggesting Panzani was trying to come across as Italian.[3][4][5][6]

In 1973, it was bought by Groupe Danone.[2] Its TV commercials featured André Aubert as Don Patillo, a namesake for Don Camillo, made famous by Fernandel.[2]

In 1997, it was bought by Paribas Affaires Industrielles.[2] In 2002, it bought Lustucru, another French brand of pasta.[2]

In April 2005, it was bought by Ebro Foods.[2]

In 2013, a horse meat fraud was discovered in Panzani ravioli produced by William Saurin.[7]

At the end of 2021, it was acquired by CVC Capital Partners.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ebro Foods sells Panzani businesses to CVC". 26 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Official website, History". Archived from the original on 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2012-11-14.
  3. ^ James Gordon Bennett, Design Fundamentals for New Media, Cengage Learning, 16 Feb 2012, p. 261 [1]
  4. ^ Rena Sanderson, Hemingway's Italy: New Perspectives, Louisiana State University Press, 2006, p. 42 [2]
  5. ^ Stephen Bull, Photography, Taylor & Francis, 3 Feb 2010, p. 40
  6. ^ Terry Harpold, Ex-Foliations: Reading Machines and the Upgrade Path, University of Minnesota Press, 2009, p. 144 [3]
  7. ^ "De la viande de cheval dans les raviolis Panzani fabriqués par William Saurin". LSA (in French). February 26, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2025.