Northern Irish Pizzado in Grocery Accelerator final
Northern Ireland's Pizzado, a small business specialising in pizza
kits, has been shortlisted for the final stage of this year's
Grocery Accelerator competition.
The company, formed by Karen Boyd and based at Portaferry in county Down, is the only business from Northern Ireland to reach the final of the competition for mentoring and investment support. Pizzado is among six from across the UK to be shortlisted.
Grocery Accelerator is an annual competition run by a group of
experienced business people for early stage, ambitious food and
drink firms that are seeking help in raising investment funding in
the next 3 to 6 months. It provides a tailor-made programme that
helps an early stage business navigate through this challenging and exciting opportunity for growth.
The programme also offers a fast network of trade buyers; service
suppliers and investors looking to work with exciting new food and
drink brands. It provides critical mass and credibility - making
sure a winning company always get the best deal, be that from a
supplier, customer or investor.
Karen Boyd formed Pizzado in 2013 on the back of her experience in
selling pizzas from fast food shops. She created an innovative
frozen kit that made it easier than ever for consumers to create a
pizza and enjoy the whole process of doing so.
"I reckoned the frozen kit would appeal in particular to children
and teenagers interested in cooking and keen to create their own
convenient meals. I believe that people want to cook again and are
keen to know more about what they are eating, especially what their children are consuming, and those producing the food," she says.
She developed an initial kit comprising two dough balls with sachetsof mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce and tested the concept on
family and friends.
The dough balls are easily kneaded to make two 12 inch pizza bases, if required. Cheese, the sauce and other ingredients are added and
the pizza popped into an oven for around 15 minutes. It's then readyto eat. The re-sealable pack means one set of pizza ingredients
can be kept in the fridge for use later.
Virtually all the Pizzado ingredients - flour and medium fat
mozzarella cheese - are from Northern Ireland suppliers The frozen
pizzas are gluten-free and available in cheese and tomato,
pepperoni and garlic bread flavours. They are also low in sugar and have half the salt of other pizzas currently on the market.
She subsequently gained recognition in the pizza category in the
Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards and this led to a contract from Tesco Northern Ireland
"Recognition in the quality awards was a fantastic endorsement of
Pizzado's quality and innovation and it caught the attention of a
number of key buyers." Tesco NI followed up quickly and the
subsequent discussions led to the contract to supply Northern
Ireland's biggest supermarket chain. That was in 2015.
kits, has been shortlisted for the final stage of this year's
Grocery Accelerator competition.
The company, formed by Karen Boyd and based at Portaferry in county Down, is the only business from Northern Ireland to reach the final of the competition for mentoring and investment support. Pizzado is among six from across the UK to be shortlisted.
Grocery Accelerator is an annual competition run by a group of
experienced business people for early stage, ambitious food and
drink firms that are seeking help in raising investment funding in
the next 3 to 6 months. It provides a tailor-made programme that
helps an early stage business navigate through this challenging and exciting opportunity for growth.
The programme also offers a fast network of trade buyers; service
suppliers and investors looking to work with exciting new food and
drink brands. It provides critical mass and credibility - making
sure a winning company always get the best deal, be that from a
supplier, customer or investor.
Karen Boyd formed Pizzado in 2013 on the back of her experience in
selling pizzas from fast food shops. She created an innovative
frozen kit that made it easier than ever for consumers to create a
pizza and enjoy the whole process of doing so.
"I reckoned the frozen kit would appeal in particular to children
and teenagers interested in cooking and keen to create their own
convenient meals. I believe that people want to cook again and are
keen to know more about what they are eating, especially what their children are consuming, and those producing the food," she says.
She developed an initial kit comprising two dough balls with sachetsof mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce and tested the concept on
family and friends.
The dough balls are easily kneaded to make two 12 inch pizza bases, if required. Cheese, the sauce and other ingredients are added and
the pizza popped into an oven for around 15 minutes. It's then readyto eat. The re-sealable pack means one set of pizza ingredients
can be kept in the fridge for use later.
Virtually all the Pizzado ingredients - flour and medium fat
mozzarella cheese - are from Northern Ireland suppliers The frozen
pizzas are gluten-free and available in cheese and tomato,
pepperoni and garlic bread flavours. They are also low in sugar and have half the salt of other pizzas currently on the market.
She subsequently gained recognition in the pizza category in the
Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards and this led to a contract from Tesco Northern Ireland
"Recognition in the quality awards was a fantastic endorsement of
Pizzado's quality and innovation and it caught the attention of a
number of key buyers." Tesco NI followed up quickly and the
subsequent discussions led to the contract to supply Northern
Ireland's biggest supermarket chain. That was in 2015.