The Italian company Pizza Sprint is being taken over by the Irish firm Crust & Crumb
The Castiglione d’Adda-based company used to produce more than four million pizzas a year but had been in crisis since 2025. The Irish group now produces five million pizzas a week.
Pizza Sprint has been taken over by the Irish firm Crust & Crumb. The group led by Mark McCaffrey has acquired the manufacturer based in Castiglione d’Adda, in the Lodi area, which specialises in pizza bases, stuffed pizzas, focaccia and pinse.
For Pizza Sprint, the takeover comes after months of crisis and uncertainty regarding the future of the factory and its approximately 70 workers. For Crust & Crumb, on the other hand, it means securing that production base in continental Europe which the group had identified as one of its growth objectives.
The Pizza Sprint crisis following the slump in French orders
Pizza Sprint’s problems had begun with a sharp fall in orders from its main French customer. By March, production at the Castiglione d’Adda plant had fallen to an all-time low.
According to Flai Cgil, that customer accounted for around 95 per cent of production. In April, the ministry had announced the authorisation of twelve months’ extraordinary redundancy pay. During the same period, talks had begun regarding a possible sale: by the middle of the month, seven entrepreneurs had expressed an interest.
It all began with a village takeaway pizzeria
Pizza Sprint was founded in 1992 in Casalpusterlengo, when the Spizzi family opened a takeaway pizzeria. Eight years later, the business expanded with the opening of its production facility in Castiglione d’Adda.
