A true restaurant and cocktail bar fully dedicated to basil, right in the heart of Brera: Basil Bar combined taste, art, and creativity into a 360° brand experience that engaged over 2,000 guests.
The main objective was to deliver a 360° brand experience, strengthening brand equity and supporting the launch of the new Pesto with Basil and Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO, positioned as a unique product for creaminess and “indulgence.”
The activation plunged guests in a multisensory journey across food, mixology, art, and culture, generating a positive and memorable association with the brand. From a commercial standpoint, the project aimed to drive consideration and product trial, turning 2,000 clients into spontaneous brand ambassadors through tastings, masterclasses and workshops. At the same time, the format highlighted the versatility of pesto, interpreted in unprecedented and creative ways – from appetizers to cocktails – underlining its potential as an ingredient able to surprise and reinvent itself beyond traditional expectations.
Pesto Barilla becomes an integral part of the city by transforming Casa degli Artisti in Milan into a garden where basil is in the air, on the table, in the dishes, on the walls. A real restaurant activity, with an à la carte menu and different formulas, from lunch to dinner up to aperitifs and social dinners. A complete offering, enriched by the dishes of chef Lorenzo Cogo and a selection of cocktails in collaboration with MAG, accompanied by a full program of activities: themed masterclasses with the presence of food creators, a dedicated merchandise line, and an artistic contest involving some of the most relevant street artists of the current scene, culminating in a 13-meter mural celebrating the irresistible creaminess of Pesto Barilla. In front of the mural, a customized newsstand distributes the Basil Bar Gazette, the only newspaper in the world entirely dedicated to basil.
