Palacios has bought the Dealsa frozen pizza business

The group has created Pizzas Guadalajara to manage its new frozen food division

The Palacios food group, with headquarters in Albelda de Iregua (La Rioja), has signed the takeover of the frozen pizza business Desarrollos Alimentarios (Dealsa), based in Azuqueca de Henares (Guadalajara), in an operation that will allow it to broaden its activity towards frozen products for self-service and foodservice. What's more, this purchase comes just six months after diversifying its business into refrigerated omelettes, chistorra and migas by taking control of the new Tortillas Palacios, to which Floristán transferred this business.

Dealsa, on the other hand, will remain active with its breadcrumb production business. It declared revenue of €12M in 2010, with an average staff of 70 workers.

Pizzas Guadalajara, new subsidiary

The purchasing operation came about through the new Alimentario Palacios Business Group, Pizzas Guadalajara, set up last March, thereby taking over the Dealsa plant in the aforementioned La Alcarria town, focused on production of frozen pizzas, pizza bases and pizza balls. It was producing around 3000 T of frozen products a year.

Back in June, the Palacios group had already put forward its intention to move into the frozen pizza business, both with its own brand and a distributor brand, just after suffering a fire in the plant it built in its Rioja complex to work on this activity. At the time, the company announced its wish to maintain the investment planned for this new facility although this project has now been replaced by purchasing a pre-installed plant.

Own production of roasts

Its facilities in La Rioja, however, have actually begun to manufacture a new range of roast products that until recently were being produced by poultry leaders, the Sada Group. In this respect, the latter recently announced the start of direct sales of its range of roasts, thereby bringing its alliances with Eurofrits and Palacios to a close.

According to Palacios, the new line of roasts is made up of the same products as before, including refrigerated roast chickens and a range of stuffed chickens intended both for the traditional channel (cut) and self-service.

Palacios will thereby complete its product catalogue, already including a wide range of chorizo, chistorra, ready meals, refrigerated pizzas, roasts, omelettes and desserts. It declared revenue of €150M in 2010, with an average staff of 580 workers.