The fresh pizza market is a mature market somewhat in decline for the last few years. The fresh pizza segment in small and medium supermarkets is now faced with the development of new alternative offerings, which share the same values of convenience, practicality and pleasure. It also has to compete with the home-made pizza, fresh pre-wrapped pizza in the refrigerated section, and the catering industry.

Today, 52% of French households buy fresh pizza. The purchasing frequency of 5 purchases/year/household is already down, with the loss of one purchasing act/ year/household in the last 10 years. Mainly to blame is the current revamping of the market with the introduction of the increasingly popular cardboard box format. This development currently accounts for more than half the market share in terms of value. Consumers are therefore buying «less but better», hence the drop in purchasing frequency

The market may well be on the downturn, but there is no sign of disenchantment! Pizzas are consumed by almost everybody, and the category is firmly rooted in pleasure, indulgence and convenience. Fresh pizza is a marker of quality and freshness in the small or medium supermarket segment. Consumers expect more transparency surrounding the sourcing of ingredients, and especially variety and originality in the recipes. SODEBO caters to this need by providing a constant stream of new varieties, including the upcoming Pizza Crust Indiana (sweet curried chicken) and even the Dolce Pizza Bolognese.

At Sodebo, we make 4 pizza ranges, including 2 upgraded ranges: The Dolce Pizza range represents all the finesse and flavour of an Italian style pizza. The pizzas are top-quality, refined and reminiscent of what one might expect of a genuine Italian restaurant: thin stone-baked dough, authentic ingredients selected for their taste and luxury presentation (generous shreds, shavings, slices). The Crust range conjures up the indulgence associated with a generous, rich pizza and topping.

The premium family pizza is highly appetising thanks to its stone-baked soft dough with a crispy cheese crust, copious, flavoursome toppings and generous 600g format.

For all of our pizzas, 100% of our doughs and sauces are made on our site at Saint-Georges-de-Montaigu, as are most of the cold pork meats used for our toppings. Our pizza dough specialists are busy every day making dough, which is used on the same day for the manufacture of our pizzas.

Sensory analysis is a key factor in the development of our pizzas and the quality control of our products.
It is therefore the QSE (Quality, Safety, Environment) department’s task to ensure that our pizzas remain compliant throughout their life span:

• appearance : degree of baking, distribution of topping.
• to the touch : texture and stability of dough.
• mouth-feel: dough texture, taste of our ingredients, no extraneous flavours.

For pizza development purposes, a hedonic consumer panel tests our products on the basis of their preferences. Some of the characteristics tested are more specific to this type of product: dough texture (ideally soft and/or crispy), assessment of thickness of the dough and especially the surrounding rim, the dough/topping ratio, or taste of topping (seasoning, salty taste). The results of these panel tests are key decision-making”factors when validating our innovation projects.

Sodebo, France