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30 January 2017

World's first pizza chain to switch to 100 percent sustainable seafood

  • Kotipizza becomes the world’s first pizza chain to achieve full MSC Chain of Custody certification making it also the first national restaurant chain in Finland to become MSC certified
  • 100% of seafood offered across all 260 Kotipizza outlets is now MSC certified sustainable and traceable
  • A national TV advertising campaign promotes the commitment to sustainable seafood

Finnish pizza chain, Kotipizza today announced it has switched all of its seafood to sustainable products, traceable to MSC certified fisheries. As the world’s only pizza chain to offer this assurance to its customers, Kotipizza is promoting its commitment to sustainable seafood with a marketing campaign fronted by national TV advertising.

The move puts MSC certified tuna and shrimp firmly on the menu and meets the growing demand from consumers for sustainable seafood. According to independent research into seafood shopping habits, released in October 2016, over three quarters (76%) of Finns believe that, in order to save the ocean, we must consume fish from sustainable sources.

Kotipizza sells over 8 million pizzas a year across 260 outlets. Around 1.5 million of these contain seafood, accounting for around 45 tonnes of shrimp and 150 tonnes of tuna. By ensuring that this seafood comes from certified sustainable fisheries, Kotipizza is rewarding responsible fishers which maintain healthy oceans for the future. 

Tommi Tervanen, CEO of Kotipizza Group, said: “Kotipizza is devoted to providing food prepared from responsibly sourced, fresh ingredients. Our customers increasingly want to know where their food comes from and how it is produced. The blue MSC label is a point of pride for us: it is an independent proof that we only serve our customers the seafood from certified sustainable sources. Our vision is to make the world a better place, one pizza at a time. We’re proud to be contributing to healthy oceans and actively supporting livelihoods.”

 

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From 1st of February Kotipizza will promote its commitment to MSC certified sustainable seafood through a two-week national multi-channel marketing campaign, including national TV advertising. The advertising will run across MTV3, Channel 4, LIV, JIM, Hero, TV5, Channel 6 and Fox. The campaign is expected to reach 73% of Finns aged 15-54. 

Nicolas Guichoux, Global Commercial Director of MSC, added: “The leadership shown by Kotipizza is a visible commitment to meeting the highest globally recognised standards of seafood sustainability and traceability. Such commitments help to drive improvements in the way our fish stocks are managed and directly support the livelihoods and communities which depend on this vital resource. The MSC label provides the best possible assurance that seafood is responsibly caught and can be traced back to a certified sustainable fishery.” 

“We’d like to congratulate Kotipizza on their massive effort and will support them in their continued efforts to engage consumers. I very much look forward to tasting their sustainable seafood pizzas next time I'm in Finland!” Guichoux concluded.

In order to use the MSC label, Kotipizza has been independently audited and staff trained to meet the MSC’s traceability standard. This ensures that MSC certified seafood is kept separate from non-certified products and can be traced back to a sustainable source.

Kotipizza will be sourcing its shrimp from MSC certified fisheries in the Norway North East Arctic and MSC certified skipjack tuna from the Maldives pole and line fishery.