Kotipizza to introduce foreign meat in new Diavola pizza launching in November

Kotipizza will introduce a new pizza, the Diavola, in November, featuring foreign meat for the first time in five years. In response to an inquiry from Yle, Kotipizza Group’s CEO, Heidi Stirkkinen, addressed the implications of this decision for local meat producers.

“We have a financial responsibility towards our entrepreneurs. Thus, a part of our value base is ensuring the profitability of our entrepreneurs, which includes providing delicious Finnish products at competitive prices,” Stirkkinen stated via email.

The Diavola pizza will include nduja sausage produced by Danish Crown, sourced from Denmark, Germany, and Poland. Currently, only the nduja has been procured from abroad, but this may signal the beginning of an increase in foreign meat use in Kotipizza’s offerings.

Stirkkinen justified the decision to utilize foreign meat by citing inflationary pressures. “Through our partnership with the European Pizza Company, we have better opportunities to mitigate price increases,” she explained. The European Pizza Company is the parent company of Kotipizza Group.

The parent company is also conducting procurements for other meat products, including chicken, salami, pepperoni, ham, and bacon. “It is possible and even likely that we will opt for foreign-produced alternatives for some of these ingredients. However, we cannot predict the final outcomes of the procurements in advance,” Stirkkinen noted.

She added that Finnish meat producers have opportunities to participate in international competitions and have their products distributed across over 800 pizza restaurants outside Finland. “Only those suppliers whose proposed ingredients meet our quality, taste, and responsibility criteria may participate in the procurements.”