“our Objective Is To Be Europe’s Most Exciting Pizza Company” – Crosta Mollica Chairman David Milner

Crosta Mollica has taken its premium pizza proposition into nan number 2 marketplace slot successful nan UK complete nan past 18 months, mostly based connected its Made successful Italy, authentic ingredients credentials.

In an question and reply pinch Just Food’s Simon Harvey, executive president David Milner says Crosta Mollica has moved up from being classed 5th a year-and-a-half agone (based connected marketplace data), helped by a caller packaging rebrand and trading campaigns.

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Crosta Mollica president David Milner. Credit: Crosta Mollica

Pizza is nan largest revenue-generating contingent (about 80%) among nan London-based company’s range, which besides features pasta, Italian flatbreads, amaretti biscuits and Italian desserts.

The erstwhile CEO of St Pierre bakery group, Lily’s Kitchen pet nutrient and Tyrrells crisps suggests nan premium pizza class is now “growing significantly” arsenic Crosta Mollica pursues nan “objective to beryllium Europe’s astir breathtaking pizza company”.

Simon Harvey (SH): How does Crosta Molicca pizza guidelines retired from nan crowd successful a crowded aisle?

David Milner (DM): Most pizzas are each astir really overmuch you tin waste connected deal, truthful they’ll beryllium priced astatine 4 pounds but sold astatine 2 pounds and that’s not a crippled we play.

Our pizzas are made successful Italy by Italians, truthful they’re authentically Italian, they’re made of Italian ingredients. We’re not willing successful playing successful nan promotional value crippled aliases nan worth game. We conscionable want to make nan champion pizzas we can.

They are much costly but I’ve ever believed that group are prepared to salary a small spot much for thing that’s better. One of our pizzas is shared betwixt 2 group and they’re six pounds, truthful it whitethorn beryllium a premium pizza but it’s not an costly meal.

SH: There’s still talk that group aren’t eating retired arsenic overmuch arsenic they did but are consenting to walk a spot much to replicate nan out-of-home eating acquisition successful nan home.

DM: Maybe successful nan past a batch of group mightiness person gone retired aliases possibly had a pizza delivered but delivered pizzas tin beryllium £14-15 ($18.90-20.25). People don’t needfully spell retired arsenic much, aliases don’t person a takeaway arsenic overmuch but they walk a spot much connected a supermarket pizza. It mightiness beryllium £6 but it’s still overmuch cheaper than going out.

SH: I conjecture if nan pizzas are made successful Italy, Crosta Mollica uses a co-manufacturer?

DM: Everything that Crosta Mollica makes is made successful Italy. It’s nan full constituent of nan brand. We’ve gone to Italy to find nan very champion that they person to connection and bring it backmost to nan UK.

I’ve been successful nan nutrient manufacture for much than 40 years and location are immoderate advantages to having your ain factory. A batch of factories person been built immoderate clip agone and they’re very bully astatine making thing that was very posh, very fashionable successful nan 90s but it’s not anymore.

In galore ways, it intends you tin accommodate much quickly because you don’t person to build a factory. Since Covid, building factories is simply a nightmare, it takes astir 2 years from commencement to finish, and we’re each connected specified short clip scales these days.

I don’t want to beryllium successful that crippled wherever you person an idea, travel up pinch nan money, past walk 2 years building nan factory, and past you dream it works. You tin get it really wrong. Who would want to beryllium successful nan mediate of a mill build and past nan marketplace turns?

We walk our clip trying to find retired what group are looking for and surely successful food, group don’t want ultra-processed. They want cleanable label, provenance, authenticity and they want thing breathtaking and new.

Credit: Crosta Mollica

SH: Do you deliberation moving distant from ultra-processed foods is simply a semipermanent inclination pinch legs successful nan discourse of nan diminution successful nan meat-free category, for instance?

DM: I deliberation it has already had an effect but not pinch everybody. I deliberation if you’re connected a tight budget, you’ve sewage different concerns, to beryllium honest. But I deliberation group who are discerning and person nan money to spend, they decidedly are looking astatine nan ingredients.

One of nan issues pinch it is, there’s not a very bully meaning of ultra-processed but group mostly cognize if location aren’t galore ingredients, and you recognise them, past you’re astir apt okay.

We make immoderate breads which person 4 ingredients, and I don’t advertise them astatine all, I don’t push them astatine all, and they’re astir 50% up twelvemonth connected year. That’s because group person spotted them, and past they do TikTok videos saying you should bargain this because it only has 4 ingredients. I deliberation it perfectly is present to stay.

SH: Is nan UK your largest market?

DM: Yes, 80% of each our income are into nan UK, 20% into Europe. For nan clip being, we’re focused connected Europe, we’re not looking immoderate further afield than that.

SH: What are nan awesome challenges Crosta Mollica is facing astatine nan moment?

DM: Food ostentation is still a situation because whilst we’ve had tons of it astatine an unprecedented level, ingredients costs are still going up. It’s not 1 aliases 2 things. Olive lipid has, to beryllium fair, started to spell backmost down, but astir things are not looking good.

The issues pinch nan Ukraine warfare are still applicable – a batch of sunflower lipid is produced there, a batch of wheat is produced there.

People costs person gone up successful nan past UK fund – nan minimum costs and nationalist insurance. Ultimately, nan higher costs person to beryllium passed connected to consumers.

SH: Do you spot opportunities for consolidation successful wide and M&A from Crosta Mollica’s perspective?

DM: That’s not nan scheme here. Sometimes, erstwhile you make an acquisition it’s to bargain nan manufacturing capacity and capacity. We don’t person that issue. I’m a awesome believer that if you’re building a valuable business, it’s astir 1 brand. I don’t subscribe to nan ‘let’s person a portfolio of brands aliases a unchangeable of brands’.

So, no, M&A is perfectly not connected my horizon. Our business grew astir 40% past twelvemonth truthful I don’t request to get for growth.

SH: When you talk astir growth, is it each astir invention aliases is it expanding into caller categories for Crosta Mollica?

DM: It’s decidedly a operation of growth, of distribution. At first, we didn’t person immoderate chilled pizza successful Tesco. If you’re successful a marketplace for illustration nan UK and you haven’t sewage thing successful Tesco past get thing successful Tesco, they’re nan biggest retailer.

Then we look to innovate – we inquire ourselves: ‘what is it that we could adhd to our portfolio which would incrementally turn our business’? Garlic breadstuff is sold successful nan supermarket correct adjacent to pizza, truthful we’ve launched our marque into ail bread. The bully news astir that is, it isn’t stealing from my ain pizzas, it’s stealing from our competitor’s ail bread.

There’s each sorts of pizzeria ideas from Italy that don’t make their measurement complete here, truthful we’re launching those arsenic well.

Then each of that is underpinned by nan improvement of nan brand. I would stake that 3 years ago, astir group wouldn’t person heard of nan Crosta Mollica brand, and now it’s rather different. Our search of marque awareness, trial, mean walk are each very overmuch successful a affirmative trend.

SH: Is Crosta Mollica putting a batch down trading fixed nan TV adverts retired there?

DM: We relaunched nan look of nan brand, which we did successful February this year, we redesigned nan look completely. It’s made successful Italy truthful we wanted it to look arsenic Italian arsenic we could. We asked ourselves: ‘what would an Italian nutrient marque do’? They’d sponsor nan section shot team.

So successful Venice, not acold from our factory, there’s a ladies squad called Valencia and we are their garment sponsors. We induce our supermarket buyers retired to Venice to watch nan matches, and we usage it successful each our societal media.

SH: How is nan gluten-free conception increasing successful your range? And your sourdough-based pizzas sound an absorbing proposition, too.

DM: Gluten-free is not growing, it’s not very large and we do 1 pizza which is gluten free and it does okay.

You can’t really person a premium pizza unless it’s sourdough. It’s a summons to play successful nan game. You person to beryllium sourdough, different you’re not premium.