‘This is #RonzoniGate.’
Ronzoni is under fire for discontinuing one of its most popular pasta shapes: Pastina.
The small star-shaped pasta, known to many as the star of the soup dish regularly referred to as “Italian penicillin,” will no longer be manufactured by the household pasta producer.
“We hear you and greatly appreciate your love for Ronzoni Pastina. After extensive efforts, we regretfully announce that Ronzoni Pastina is being discontinued,” the official statement shared on both Instagram and Twitter read, with the company noting, “This wasn’t an easy decision to make.”
The brand explained that its “long-term supplier” informed Ronzoni representatives that it would no longer be producing the tiny star-shaped macaroni as of January 2023.
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“We searched extensively for an alternative solution but were unable to identify a viable option to make Pastina in the same beloved small shape, size, and standards you have come to expect from Ronzoni,” per the statement. “As a result, we had to make this difficult decision to discontinue this product.”
The statement concluded with a few words of hope, “Your passion for Ronzoni fuels our passion to deliver for you. We haven’t given up, but as of today, we can no longer offer Ronzoni Pastina to our customers. Thank you for your understanding and trust in Ronzoni pasta.”
Despite Ronzoni’s allusion to the idea that the discontinued product could eventually return to store shelves, fans are pretty upset over their current loss.
One Instagram user is too heartbroken to eat their lost box, joking, “I’m putting my last box in a glass case and framing it in my living room.”
“Boycotting all Ronzoni products until they bring back pastina,” tweeted a very disgruntled customer, adding, “You are killing our childhoods and memories of our Italian grandmothers by discontinuing this product.”
“Big mistake, HUGE,” declared another.
“Every #ItalianAmerican needs to boycott @ronzonipasta for their traitorous discontinuing of #pastina – the Italian penicillin,” one more tweeted.
A few even took the opportunity to let their rage at Ronzoni boil over, spewing all of their frustration over recent changes with the company’s pasta in the comments.
“Listen, @ronzonipasta. You don’t tweet for 3 years then you drop this on everyone? What’s up with the smaller Rigatoni No. 27? Discontinued Fusilli? Where’s all the Tubettini and Alphabets? Are you even aware of the #PastaWars? Take your excuses elsewhere. This is #RonzoniGate,” someone else shared alongside some reference photos of the pasta in question.
“First they cancel Tubettini…….now they cancel Pastina……” someone else sneered.
Others, however, flexed their loyalty to other brands of pasta that are still supplying the famed mini macaroni.
“Glad my mom always bought Barilla, a pasta company Italian American moms can rely on when their kids are home sick from school,” one Twitter user quipped.
The passive-aggressiveness continued, with someone else tweeting, “Headed to Barilla if y’all can’t deliver pastina when we want it, Ronzoni. Discontinuing?! Really disappointing…..@BarillaUS @barillagroup thank you, Barilla!!!! I’ll find it and order it because I’m in the deep South and it’s not common here,” to which Barilla replied, “We appreciate your loyalty to us!!”
And then there were the memes–which included the likes of The Sopranos, Ronzoni’s competition, The Golden Girls and more–which you can check out below!