CANADA – Dr. Oetker, a subsidiary of Oetker Group has announced that it will be closing its pizza manufacturing site in Great Falls as the Canadian market has become unfavourable to them.

The closure which is expected to take effect in May will lead to a 70% transition of its manufacturing to its facility in London while 30% of its operation will proceed to its Lodi, New Jersey plant.

The company highlighted that it was facing pressure when it comes to its manufacturing environment as a result of a complex retail food climate.

“This very difficult announcement does not reflect on the quality of work and dedication of our Grand Falls employees.

There is nothing our Grand Falls employees could have done differently,” said Dr. Oetker, Canada executive vice president Cécile Van Zandijcke.

“Food manufacturers have been facing severe economic pressures over the last few years and today’s market has become ultra-competitive.

In order for Dr. Oetker to continue operating efficiently within this challenging environment, we needed to restructure our Canadian manufacturing operation.”

The pizza market in Canada has proved as major industry players such as US chain Papa John’s International Inc., Pizza Pizza Ltd look for a larger portion of the Canadian pizza market.

Papa John’s International Inc. was planning on expansion plans by opening more restaurants in Canada.

According to a report by Globe and Mail, the Canadian pizza business was experiencing challenges ranging from higher ingredient prices and a looming increase in flour and cheese prices.

This led to the company’s major setback in terms of price and cost making the business struggle in the wake of manufacturing and market complications.

“We care deeply about the people on our Grand Falls team and we will sit down individually with them to discuss their own specific path forward. That will be our immediate focus now,” added Dr. Oetker.