Four Star Pizza has partnered with BWG Foodservice, one of Ireland’s leading suppliers to the foodservice sector, in a multimillion euro deal over the next five years for the exclusive supply of all food ingredients to the expansive Irish-owned pizza group.
The new contract, will see BWG Foodservice, which is part of leading Irish wholesale and retail group BWG Foods, deliver an end-to-end supply solution across all categories spanning fresh food, ambient grocery, chilled and frozen products, packaging and other catering supplies.
Four Star Pizza currently operates 56 stores on the island of Ireland but only recently announced plans to increase that number to more than 100 over the next three years.
A key criterion of the contract award was BWG’s ability to supply premium, island of Ireland sourced produce across Four Star Pizza’s nationwide network and be a single-source solution for their needs. As part of the partnership, BWG Foodservice will provide enhanced, value-added services to Four Star Pizza through the provision of category management resources, operations support and fresh-food advisory services.
Commenting on the contract win, Ricky O’Brien, BWG Foodservice Director said, “This contract with Four Star Pizza represents a very significant and unique addition to our business and we are delighted to have been selected as the company’s exclusive supplier. Our ability to deliver cost competitiveness through our consolidated supply network, our proven partnership model, our commitment to understanding our customer’s needs and our ability to deliver workable solutions were all key factors in securing this deal. Being at the forefront of foodservice distribution in Ireland, we believe we are the perfect partner to support Four Star Pizza’s future growth ambitions.”
Colin Hughes, CEO, Four Star Pizza added, “We have big ambitions and a strategy in place to continue growing our successful network of outlets across the island of Ireland, with a target of 45 new stores by 2025. We needed a partner that could match our ambitions and support us on every step of our journey. Securing local supply chain continuity amid the current challenges faced by the sector was a key aspect of the contract award and we are confident BWG Foodservice will help us deliver this.
“We have worked hard over many years to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace by creating a truly authentic pizza experience underpinned by fresh, high-quality ingredients, from local producers where possible, and through this partnership with BWG, we now have a strong platform to build on our success to date.”
Four Star Pizza benefitted from an increase in takeaway activity amongst consumers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and has managed to successfully retain this expanded market. 2021 was a record year for the pizza chain with a year-on-year sales increase of 21.5%, driven largely by online orders via the company’s own channels and its ‘Rewards’ loyalty programme which now boasts more than 300,000 members.
Four Star Pizza is Ireland’s biggest indigenous pizza company. It opened its first store in Crumlin, Dublin, in 1986, and its first Northern Ireland store on Belfast’s Beersbridge Road in 1999. Now the company employs more than 1,000 people across its 56 stores on the island of Ireland, including 14 in Northern Ireland.
Established in 2001, BWG Foodservice supplies provides a full suite of products and services necessary to run a foodservice business and is powered by a multi-award-winning e-commerce platform and a state-of-the-art supply chain, which includes seven strategically located multi-temperature depots across the country.
