News
Tesco expands Crosta & Mollica listing, brings functional mushrooms into 'mainstream'
Expanded pizza offering
Crosta & Mollica has announced the expansion of its chilled pizza range in up to 650 Tesco stores nationwide.
After the rollout of three pizza varieties and a ready-to-top pizza base in May 2024, four additional sourdough pizzas SKUs hit the shelves on 16 September. These include the Stromboli, Fiorentina, Regina and Margherita.
Weighing between 403g and 453g depending on toppings, each pizza is retailing at £5.75.
All Crosta & Mollica pizzas are made in Italy with a sourdough base that is proved for 24 hours, before being fired in a wood oven and then hand-topped.
The existing range includes a sourdough Formaggi pizza, also at £5.75, two smaller Roman-style pizzas at £3.50 and the pizza base at £2.45.
Commenting on the new listing, Elena Connell, UK sales director at Crosta & Mollica, that the brand was thrilled to deepen its relationship with Tesco after seeing robust sales since the initial rollout in May. “The extension of our pizza portfolio and increased distribution is a testament to the high demand we have witnessed across our range, with both value and volume sales up over 50% year on year, and is a significant step in increasing trial and building a loyal customer base who value quality and authenticity.
“As consumers increasingly seek products with cleaner labels and fewer ingredients, Crosta & Mollica stands out by delivering high-quality pizzas that stay true to their Italian roots. We’re excited to work with Tesco to continue bringing authentic, restaurant-quality Italian food experiences to more discerning shoppers across the nation, and this is just one of many exciting developments that we have in store for our pizza range.”
Functional mushrooms go ‘mainstream’
Scottish firm Love Mushrooms has launched its range of fungi-based tinctures and capsules in more than 250 Tesco stores.
The listing, which the firm said brings functional mushrooms into the “mainstream”, includes multiple SKUs each priced at £9.90.
They products also available on a permanent three for two promotion on Tesco Clubcard.
The Love Mushrooms range of capsules includes Reishi, Cordyceps and Lion’s Mane, which each bottle containing 30 15000mg capsules. There is also a Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps tincture sold in 30ml bottles.
All are certified organic, alcohol-free and suitable for vegans, and depending on the supplement, may enhance memory, sleep or performance.
Love Mushrooms was founded by long-term friends Erik Lang and Smith Feeney, who have their own organic mushroom farm and laboratory in the north of Scotland.
The pair uses an ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE) technique, which preserves the natural compounds to ensure high purity and stronger extracts.
“Our dream is to make the highest quality functional mushroom tinctures and capsules available to people at a price that isn’t a barrier, instead of them being seen as a luxury product,” said Lang.
“We’re excited to have our first national listing in Tesco and to be on a permanent Clubcard deal.”
Feeney added: “We’re both fascinated by the benefits of mushrooms and how closely they’re connected to our wellbeing. Research has shown that humans share 50% of our DNA with mushrooms.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Tesco commented: “We’re delighted to be stocking Love Mushrooms capsules and tinctures in our stores across the UK. They are on offer to our Clubcard customers on a permanent three for two deal, giving people a high quality and affordable everyday British product.”
In other news, Deliciously Ella has been acquired by Swiss firm the Hero Group for an undisclosed fee.
