Doughboys Pizza

What Doughboys Pizza does

Doughboys Pizza (legal entity: Doughboys Group Limited) is a UK-based, founder-led producer and distributor of handmade Italian frozen pizzas and pizza bases, founded in 2020 by twin brothers Luke and Owen Buckmaster at age 19. The core product is a range of sourdough pizza bases (plain and pre-sauced) and ready-made topped pizzas (Margherita, Pepperoni, Mediterranean Vegetable, Chicken with Peppers), produced by hand-stretching, hand-topping and stone/flame-baking in Italy using Italian-sourced ingredients (Emilia Romagna tomato pulp, cow's milk mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil), then frozen without preservatives for shelf stability and last-mile quality.

The business operates three revenue channels: B2B foodservice wholesale (direct website plus listings with all major UK foodservice distributors including Bidfood, Brakes, Pilgrims, KFF and Urban Foodservice), retail through Ocado for at-home consumers, and direct e-commerce for both trade and retail buyers with next-day UK mainland delivery. The primary customer segment is hospitality venues — pubs, restaurants, hotels, football stadiums, leisure venues and universities — where the value proposition centres on "de-skilling" pizza preparation and offering a 70% gross margin menu item that requires no specialist pizza chef, cooks in 2-4 minutes, and minimises wastage.

Customer logos include NHS, Greene King Pubs, Holiday Inn, Best Western Hotels, CitizenM Hotels, Chelsea FC (Stamford Bridge stadium kiosks) and New World Trading Company. The company has secured six-plus industry awards, retail distribution in Ocado (2023), and a 2024 investment deal from Peter Jones on BBC Dragons' Den. Infrastructure has scaled rapidly from the founders' mother's garage (2021) to a 4,000 sqft warehouse (2022) to two additional shipping container freezers hired in 2024, while the named team remains compact.

Name

Doughboys Pizza

Legal name

Doughboys Group Limited

Website

https://doughboys-pizza.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Doughboys Pizza is a UK-founded, founder-led producer of handmade Italian frozen sourdough pizza bases and ready-made pizzas, sold primarily B2B to hospitality venues (pubs, hotels, stadiums, restaurants) through foodservice wholesalers, with retail distribution via Ocado.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Frozen Premium Italian Pizza

NAICS

Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing (311813), Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen Pizza & Flatbreads (CRADADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Refrigerated & Frozen Doughs and Batters Manufacturing (AFAKACAM)

Keywords

• Frozen pizza products
• Wholesale foodservice supply
• Handmade Italian pizza
• Sourdough pizza bases
• Hospitality pizza supplier

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Foodservice: B2B sales of pizza bases and readymade pizzas to hospitality venues including pubs, restaurants, hotels, and stadiums. Products sold in bulk cases (16-30 units per case) at wholesale pricing. Generates revenue through direct website orders and foodservice distributor relationships.
2. Retail (Ocado): Consumer retail sales of frozen pizzas through Ocado supermarket partnership, targeting at-home consumers.
3. Direct E-commerce: Direct-to-consumer sales through company website for both wholesale and retail customers, with next-day delivery across UK mainland.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Doughboys Pizza produces and sells handmade Italian frozen pizzas and pizza bases, made in Italy using traditional methods (hand-stretched, hand-topped, stone-baked sourdough). The portfolio includes wholesale pizza bases (plain and sauced) and ready-made pizzas (Margherita, Pepperoni, Mediterranean Vegetable, Chicken) sold in case-pack quantities to hospitality venues (pubs, restaurants, hotels, stadiums), alongside Italian ingredients (sauces, mozzarella, salame). The company also distributes retail frozen pizzas through the Ocado supermarket and its own direct-to-consumer e-commerce site.

Product overview

Doughboys Pizza is a multi-award-winning UK pizza company offering handmade Italian pizzas and pizza bases to the foodservice/hospitality industry. The product portfolio consists of three core product lines: (1) Wholesale Pizza Bases including Signature 12" and 9" sourdough bases, a pre-sauced Signature 12" base, and Rustica 11" focaccia-style base; (2) Ready-Made Pizzas including Classic Margherita, Italian Pepperoni, Mediterranean Vegetable, and Chicken with Mixed Peppers varieties in 11" size; and (3) Ingredients/supplies including Italian tomato sauces (Pomi, Greci, Mutti), BBQ sauce, diced mozzarella, and salame Milano. Sample kits are available for trade customers to trial products before placing wholesale orders. Products are handmade in Italy, hand-stretched, stone-baked, and delivered frozen to hospitality venues nationwide. The company also supplies retail frozen pizzas through Ocado. The foodservice offering is designed to de-skill pizza preparation for venues without specialist pizza chefs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Signature 12" Italian Pizza Base Multi award-winning 12-inch sourdough pizza base, handmade in Italy, hand-stretched and stone-baked, sold frozen in cases of 25 (packaged in 5 pouches of 5 bases) for hospitality foodservice operators.
• Signature 9" Pizza Base 9-inch signature recipe sourdough pizza base, made in Italy, hand-stretched and stone-baked, sold in cases of 28 for hospitality foodservice operators.
• Signature 12" Sauced Pizza Base 12-inch award-winning sourdough pizza base pre-topped with fresh Italian tomato pulp and oregano, hand-stretched and stone-baked, sold in cases of 25 for hospitality foodservice operators.
• Rustica 11" Italian Pizza Base Focaccia-style 11-inch sourdough pizza base made with ancient grains, hand-stretched and stone-baked for a slightly thicker yet light, crispy texture, sold in cases of 24 for hospitality foodservice operators.
• 11" Classic Margherita Pizza Handmade 11-inch Italian Margherita pizza topped with fresh Emilia Romagna tomato pulp and pure cow's milk mozzarella on a slow-proved sourdough base, stone-baked, sold frozen in cases of 18 for hospitality foodservice operators.
• 11" Italian Pepperoni Pizza

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% GP margin for hospitality operators
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BidfoodcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational foodservice distributor stocking Doughboys pizza bases and readymade pizzas for hospitality venues across the UK.
• BrakescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor foodservice wholesaler distributing Doughboys products to restaurants, pubs, and hotels.
• Pilgrims FoodservicecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFoodservice distributor partner for Doughboys wholesale products.
• KFF (Kent Frozen Foods)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional frozen foods distributor serving Kent area.
• Urban FoodserviceminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional foodservice distributor.
• OcadocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail grocery partnership for at-home consumer frozen pizza sales through Ocado supermarket.
• Hackney GelatominorStrategic or Co-development Partner2024 collaboration with Hackney Gelato featuring pizza with gelato.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bella Italia: UK casual-dining Italian restaurant chain (Big Table Group). A relevant incumbent reference for Doughboys because it sits on the operator side of the same UK hospitality customers Doughboys supplies, and represents the in-house pizza competition Doughboys displaces.
• Pizza Express: Iconic UK pizza restaurant chain that also sells a retail frozen pizza range through supermarkets. Comparable as a brand-led pizza operator-retailer hybrid and a credible premium-Italian pizza reference point for Doughboys' positioning.
• Gino D'Acampo (My Kitchen / Iceland range): Celebrity-chef-branded Italian-inspired frozen range sold through UK supermarkets including Iceland. Competes with Doughboys on 'authentic Italian at home' positioning and uses celebrity/chef brand-equity in a similar way to Doughboys' founders-led brand.

Direct peers

• Chicago Town: One of the UK's leading frozen pizza brands, owned by Müller-owned Pizza Express Pizza Ltd. Competes directly with Doughboys in UK supermarket frozen pizza aisles and offers a broad range of mass-market pizzas with similar operator-friendly frozen formats.
• New York Bakery Co. UK-based frozen bakery brand (bagels, flatbreads) sold through major supermarkets and foodservice. Compares on frozen-bakery-to-retail/foodservice model, supermarket distribution scale, and operator-friendly ambient/frozen formats.
• Goodfella's Pizza: Frozen pizza brand owned by Greenyard, a major European frozen-food group. Competes head-on with Doughboys in UK retail frozen pizza and foodservice channels, with broader distribution scale and bigger marketing budgets.
• Dr. Oetker (Ristorante): UK arm of the German multinational Dr. August Oetker KG. Its Ristorante range is the premium-positioned frozen pizza benchmark Doughboys is competing against in Ocado and broader UK grocery, with similar thin-and-crisp Italian-style positioning.
• Crosta & Mollica: UK-based premium Italian food brand specialising in artisanal breads, pizza bases, and Italian ingredients sold through Ocado and Waitrose. Directly comparable on handmade-in-Italy positioning, premium ingredients, and Ocado retail-channel presence.

Emerging players

• Pizza Pilgrims: UK-founded Neapolitan pizza restaurant group with strong brand and DTC retail offerings including frozen pizzas. Comparable as a young, founder-led UK artisanal-pizza brand transitioning from restaurants into retail frozen, mirroring Doughboys' trajectory.
• Franco Manca: UK sourdough-pizza restaurant chain (Today Torte Group). Relevant as a comparable artisanal sourdough-pizza UK brand that has scaled from a single site into a national chain, illustrating both the opportunity and the competitive premium-pizza positioning Doughboys targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/doughboyspizzauk
• Instagraminstagram.com/doughboys_pizza
• TikToktiktok.com/@doughboyspizza
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/doughboys-pizza-uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Doughboys Pizza