What are the main areas of product focus for Qualitops going into the new year?

It’s about ensuring we meet the demands of customers via our wholesale distributors. We see rising inflation and costs for independent hospitality businesses such as pizza shops, restaurants and takeaways. Our goal is to serve these customers with the same great quality products that we have built our business on over the past 20 years, while also being highly competitive on price and delivery.

What key trends are you seeing, in terms of consumers and production?

Cost-of-living issues are affecting buyer choices – people are more likely to stay at home and order online rather than go out to a restaurant. At the same time, our customers are asking for more innovative products to keep their customers coming back time and time again. 

A great example was our original halal pepperoni, which helped shake up the industry and provided our customers with a unique product. In terms of production, we shield from ever-changing supply chains – like the foot and mouth crisis last year in continental Europe. We work hard behind the scenes to ensure products are delivered on time, at the right price, despite ever-changing tariffs, legal red tape and international politics.

Partnerships are everything – how do you grow yours? 

We like to keep a very close relationship with distributors and wholesalers. They effectively are the ones responsible for making sure our product lands in the hands of the end customer. We love exploring quirky opportunities, including a recent Qualitops branded lorry with one of our foodservice distributors!

What are your plans for 2026?

This year is really exciting. For the first time at IFE 2026 (see preview on p24), we will launch a brand-new range of pepperoni. It’s designed to meet economic challenges that our customers face, while retaining the quality that’s expected from Qualitops. 

There are huge challenges in foodservice and there’s still a cost-of-living crisis. How are you navigating these waters?

The new range mentioned above is designed to help. We're excited to show the world in March what we’ve been cooking up, and plan to very quickly expand this range to ensure our customers are well equipped for whatever challenges they may face in 2026 and beyond.