According to The Dough LAB Zrt., the 2,000-square-metre facility has been designed as Europe’s highest-capacity artisanal Neapolitan pizza production site.

The plant is currently able to produce 27,000 pre-baked, frozen Neapolitan pizzas per day, with plans to increase this figure to 74,000 by the end of the year.

The company employs 18 people at present and intends to move to a three-shift operation, expanding its workforce to around 60 employees. It is also targeting annual revenues of roughly 30 billion forints (83 million euros) by 2027.

Co-founder and CEO Josep Zara explained that the company’s approach is to simplify restaurant operations by relocating the most complex stages of dough preparation into a controlled industrial environment.

Each pizza dough undergoes a 48-hour fermentation process, is shaped by hand, then partially baked on volcanic stone at 450°C before being rapidly frozen using liquid nitrogen.

This production model shifts much of the technical workload away from restaurant kitchens. After a short thawing period, the pizzas can be finished in approximately two to two and a half minutes in an oven preheated to between 250°C and 350°C, making them suitable for both professional kitchens and home use.

The facility has been developed in line with IFS Food and HACCP food safety standards. Looking ahead, the company plans to meet the site’s full energy requirements using renewable sources.

The Dough LAB has a total of 38 shareholders, with 37 of them being Hungarian individuals or Hungarian-owned companies. In Hungary, retail sales are set to launch initially through Wolt Market as well as SPAR and INTERSPAR stores, while discussions are ongoing with additional retail chains and wholesale partners.

The company’s primary export markets will include Austria, Switzerland and Germany, with further expansion planned for the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Poland.

Future developments also include plans to establish a dedicated gluten-free pizza production facility, alongside the introduction of new product lines such as steamed dumplings and Indian naan bread.

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