LONDON — Pasta Evangelists, a subsidiary of Barilla, is launching its first factory in the United Kingdom, making it the largest pasta factory in the nation’s history. The company received an investment of more than $15 million to build an exclusively fresh pasta and sauce facility as part of its rapid expansion in the United Kingdom.

The 47,000-square-foot factory will open this month in the North Acton town of London. The facility will produce a wide assortment of pasta shapes, many of which have never been previously made in the United Kingdom, Pasta Evangelists noted. The factory will also make unique pasta varieties alongside the traditional varieties. These unique varieties include “porcupine ravioli” (crestoni), corzetti, anolini, saccottini, busiate, lingotti and pasta dragons. The last of these varieties went viral on the Pasta Evangelists TikTok earlier this year and will soon be available to order.

Pasta Evangelists said this new factory will house pasta-making machinery from Italian manufacturer Italgi, which ensures the company can improve the quality of its recipes and advance its mission to redefine and elevate pasta in the United Kingdom. The facility also will be able to produce more than 50 tonnes of fresh pasta every week, which is equal to the weight of an adult blue whale, as well as more than 90 tonnes of sauces and 15 tonnes of oven pasta every week. Moreover, the new facility will employ between 60-70 people and provide them with many amenities, including high-quality canteens, a quiet room to facilitate religious observation and on-site prayer, and a dedicated facility for drivers.

“The demand for freshly made, premium pasta has dramatically grown over the last decade, and we want to take consumers on a journey of taste exploration and discovery,” said Gianluca di Tondo, chief executive officer of Barilla. “We believe the new Pasta Evangelists factory will fulfill the growing demand for restaurant-quality, fresh pasta dishes, bringing the best of Italian food to the UK.”

Pasta Evangelists was founded in 2017 by Alessandro Savelli with a focus on providing fresh pasta directly to homes in the United Kingdom. The company specializes in fresh, artisan pasta and sauces and uses seasonally and sustainably sourced ingredients from a network of small farmers and growers across Italy. Barilla acquired Pasta Evangelists in 2021 for approximately more than $48 million.