Crosta Mollica is merging with European Pizza Group in a combination that will create a European pizza business representing approximately €1bn in annual retail sales.
The transaction brings the UK premium food brand together with European Pizza Group, the producer of Wagner and Buitoni pizzas, creating a wider portfolio spanning several established grocery brands and European markets.
Crosta Mollica chairman David Milner will become group chief executive of the combined organisation. Tom Sirett will remain chief executive of Crosta Mollica, while Matthias Casanova will continue to lead European Pizza Group.
The businesses said there were no short-term plans to change their operating structures and that they would continue to trade as standalone companies. The approach allows the group to pursue purchasing, distribution, commercial, and investment benefits without immediately integrating every element of the two operations.
Milner said: “Bringing them together with Crosta Mollica creates a highly complementary portfolio.”
The combination brings together different ownership interests. Crosta Mollica has been backed by private-equity investor Perwyn since 2024, while European Pizza Group emerged from Nestlé’s European frozen-pizza operations and is backed by Nestlé and PAI Partners. The existing owners and management will remain involved in the combined business.
Crosta Mollica has expanded rapidly in UK grocery. Recent industry data showed strong retail-sales and volume growth, pushing the brand into a larger position within the premium supermarket pizza category.
European Pizza Group brings a different scale and footprint. Its Wagner and Buitoni operations serve multiple European markets and include manufacturing capacity in Germany and Italy. Combining that industrial base with Crosta Mollica’s brand growth creates a business with a broader geographic and production platform than either company had independently.
The merger comes as food manufacturers and branded suppliers contend with ingredient prices, energy costs, retailer negotiations, logistics, and uneven consumer spending. Larger scale can improve purchasing power and make investment in manufacturing, product development, marketing, and distribution easier to spread across a wider revenue base.
Premium food brands still face a separate commercial test. Consumers remain sensitive to grocery inflation while continuing to spend selectively on products that offer restaurant-style quality or a differentiated at-home proposition. Growth therefore depends on maintaining enough distinction to justify a higher price while protecting availability and margins.
For European Pizza Group, Crosta Mollica provides exposure to a faster-growing UK challenger brand. Crosta Mollica gains access to a substantially larger European platform and additional manufacturing and distribution experience.
Keeping the businesses operationally separate in the short term may limit integration disruption while management identifies where common capabilities can be used. Longer-term decisions could involve sourcing, logistics, international distribution, manufacturing investment, and the allocation of brand spending, although no detailed integration plan has been announced.
The transaction also adds to consolidation around branded consumer businesses, where private capital and strategic owners are seeking combinations capable of providing scale while retaining brands with distinct customer positions.
With approximately €1bn of retail sales represented across the enlarged portfolio, management will now have to demonstrate that greater scale can support international expansion without weakening the individual positioning that has supported each brand.
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