Barilla-Owned Pasta Company Tolerant Foods Closes Up Shop
Barilla-Owned Pasta Company Tolerant Foods Closes Up Shop
Tolerant Foods, the maker of organic legume-based pasta products, announced Thursday in an Instagram post that it has closed its doors and will begin winding down the brand. The Canadian startup was founded in 2013 by Tom Friedmann and acquired by the Barilla Group in 2018 for an undisclosed sum.
“This decision was not made lightly, and we want to extend our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you who has supported us throughout our journey,” the post reads. “Whether you’ve been with us from the beginning, or just discovered us recently, please know that your patronage has meant the world to us.”
According to the post, the company expects its products will still be available in retail through May and potentially beyond that time; it estimates that its ecommerce and retail stock will be depleted by early summer.
The products garnered widespread distribution in the U.S. at retailers including Whole Foods Market, Walmart, select Albertsons banners, Hy-Vee, King Soopers and Lassens, among many others.
Tolerant made a 8-SKU line of organic pastas with shapes including Elbows, Rotini, Penne and Spaghetti. The pastas were positioned around their single-ingredient bases which range from chickpeas to green lentils and red lentils and sold for an SRP of $4.49 per 8 oz. box.
The company also produced a Kids line with the same base ingredients and shapes like Alphaland (alphabet), Safari (zoo animals) and Galaxy (outer space).
When the brand first launched it also produced pastas made with black beans and over the years innovated with a range of different bases and formats including Rice Pilaf and Energy Blend line that utilized yellow pea fiber. All of Tolerant’s products were organic, non-GMO and naturally high in protein
The post did not specify the reason for the closure, and has not yet responded to Nosh’s request for comment.
the news comes at a time when high-protein products with simple ingredient labels continue to see rising consumer interest. However, there are a few hurdles that may have challenged Tolerant’s growth potential.
Compared to when Tolerant was launched, the protein pasta set has become fairly crowded and has crowned a few clear winners, like Banza, which introduced its chickpea-based pastas a year after Tolerant. Banza has positioned itself around its high protein content and dialed back its gluten-free messaging in an effort to capture a broader swath of consumers, in addition to extending into the frozen aisle with pizza and, most recently, waffles.
Additionally, the same year Tolerant was acquired, its new parent company also introduced lines of single-ingredient legume-based pastas with chickpea and red lentil bases. Barilla’s protein pasta portfolio includes similar shapes and SKUs and is distributed at grocery retailers nationwide. In recent years, other high-protein, regeneratively grown ingredients such as lupin beans and Kernza have also carved out space in the pasta category.
Tolerant Foods and Barilla have not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
