The Freiberger company was founded in 1976 by a Bavarian in Berlin. Ernst Freiberger expanded a small pizza delivery bakery into Europe's largest manufacturer of frozen pizzas, snacks and pasta products for retailer own-brands.
Since 1998, the Freiberger Group has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Südzucker AG and has achieved worldwide success. Today, the group includes companies at 13 locations throughout Europe and the USA. 3,800 employees belong to the Freiberger team.
Specialities from Freiberger bring pleasure to customers in 30 European countries as well as in the USA, Canada and South Africa. In frozen and chilled own-brand pizza we are global market leader.
More concretely this means that we produce more than 3.5 million pizzas a day. If they were lined up, this would correspond to the beeline distance between Milan and Sicily.
Around the world, you’ll find many different ways to make a pizza base. Freiberger excels at all of them - from traditional dough balling and roll-out methods, to sheet & cut and pan, all the way to our own patented processes.
Our highly innovative production technologies have set standards. Within a short time, we can develop and produce any pizza, pasta and baked good at competitive prices; for the success of our customers.
We have been working together with our trading partners since our founding. This allows Freiberger to continue its pioneering work, not only technologically, but also in terms of own-brand category management. Today we understand consumer wishes and eating trends from America to Cyprus. Our full service that we offer retailers is appropriately targeted. Proceeding from market analysis and product development to market launches and success control takes little more than 180 days.
Freiberger Group products are among the winners worldwide. Our British company alone received twelve awards in just one year, including the Q Awards, PAPA (Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Association), Pizza Chef of the Year, and the Grocer Awards. In Canada, a retailer recently voted us "Supplier of the Year".
We have consistently pursued a clean-label philosophy. This means that we avoid artificial additives and use only the best ingredients.
Worldwide, we rely solely on growers who are certified according to the rigorous guidelines of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). We form strategic partnerships with many suppliers to ensure the quality of our food remains high and healthy at all times.
Every day, the Freiberger Group produces up to 4.5 million products according to IFS standards (including pasta, baguettes and hot dogs).
In addition, all production processes follow a comprehensive monitoring plan that is second to none in the industry, with more than 60,000 internal testing procedures and almost 300,000 individual tests per year, in excess of 4,000 external controls and audits (including 10 customer audits), and over 30 supplier audits.
Product range
Our mission is to create a unique taste experience for our products. This requires creativity and skill, but also complete dedication, motivation and flexibility. Our aim is to guarantee a healthy and motivating work environment for our employees.
It is equally important to us to handle each of our ingredients with care. This includes actively protecting nature’s valuable resources. One of the ways to ensure a more sustainable environment, is by reducing plastic packaging as much as possible.
As the world's largest manufacturer of own-brand pizzas, we recognise that we carry a high burden of responsibility for the environment. That's why we have introduced environmental and energy-related management systems at an early stage (according to DIN EN ISO 14001 and 50001). We are equally motivated to reduce the amount of outer packaging. In recent years, we have already succeeded in using 25 percent less plastic.
Although this material is still indispensable to ensure the quality of our products, technology is advancing in this area. We consider it a great challenge to take on a pioneering role on this issue. For example, Freiberger commissioned three different project groups to sustainably reduce our environmental impact through the following steps:
As the world’s largest manufacturer of private-label pizzas, it is our responsibility to use our planet´s resources in a way that guarantees their availability for future generations. Because of this, we have been working on the area of plastics for a long time. Consumers, retailers and our employees rightly demand packaging that can be produced and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.
The challenge to find a suitable solution is great: not every alternative plastic can also ensure that we meet the quality and hygiene standards of our products.
THIS IS WHY WE ARE RETHINKING PLASTIC.
In our initiative, we have defined three fields of action in order to come closer to our vision: a world without plastic.
WE REDUCE.
We are working on reducing the amount of synthetic materials used in our packaging without compromising on the quality of our products. Our principle is: as little as possible, as much as necessary.
WE INVEST.
Which technology can process thinner or even eco-friendly plastic films? Each acquisition of machines and equipment in our packaging sector centres around this question.
WE RESEARCH.
In cooperation with universities, research institutes and innovative start-ups, we are currently searching for new packaging ideas. Areas include recycling, bioplastics and plastic-free packaging.
For an environment that is worth living in. For the future of our world. For our families and children.
FOR ALL OF US.
Our success is based on market-driven creativity, innovative and efficient technology and absolute process reliability. Here are some of our internationally recognised certifications:
Certificates to view and download
We want to be successful in competition through innovation, quality, reliability and fairness. In doing so, it is important to us to act in a legally compliant, ethical, environmentally conscious and honest manner within our own business area as well as in transactions with our business partners along our supply chains in Germany and abroad. Adherence to our Code of Conduct , wich is also binding for the Freiberger Group, as well as to legal requirements and internal company guidelines, is an essential part of our company's appearance as a credible and reliable partner. Only by following the rules the company, its employees and business partners can be protected against violations and inappropriate behaviour.
Whistleblowing System of the Südzucker Group and its significance for the Freiberger Group
Employees, business partners (customers, suppliers, service providers) or other third parties may become aware of processes or transactions that do not comply with these rules. By providing a whistleblowing system, we offer the opportunity to report (potential) violations of, e.g. our Code of Conduct, legal requirements or violations of internal company guidelines. This enables us to identify risks at an early stage and to react to them in an appropriate and targeted manner.
Information about (potential) violations can be provided directly to the relevant contact person within the company, i.e. to a supervisor, to the works council, to the Compliance Officer of Freiberger Lebensmittel GmbH or to the Chief Compliance Officer of Südzucker AG.
However, if there are concerns or if raising concerns in person should not be possible, serious incidents can be reported – optionally also anonymously – via our confidential Compliance Line.
The Whistleblowing System of Südzucker Group includes the Freiberger Compliance Line as a group solution for the following companies within the Freiberger Group:
Complaints concerning all subsidiaries of the Freiberger Group can be reported to the Freiberger Compliance Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer of Südzucker AG via the Freiberger Compliance Line.
Alternatively, reports can be sent directly to the Chief Compliance Officer of Südzucker AG via the Südzucker Group Compliance Line .
Please use our whistleblowing system responsibly. It should not be misused to defame others or make false claims! In the event that a whistleblower willfully or negligently makes untruthful or inaccurate statements, Südzucker will not provide protection against reprisals and reserves the right to initiate disciplinary and/or criminal/civil proceedings.
Further information about the Whistleblowing System of the Südzucker Group can be found in our FAQs and directly in the Freiberger Compliance Line.
Internal reporting is often the best way to get information to the people who can investigate and stop the violation as quickly as possible.
If the violation has not been effectively addressed internally, if there is a risk of reprisals, or if an internally reported violation could not be remedied, the whistleblower has the option of reporting it through an external reporting channel. The whistleblower can find out more about the external reporting offices in individual countries (Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, Spain, Sweden, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ireland, Latvia and Portugal) and the European Union at https://www.eqs.com/external-reporting-channels/. Information on the external reporting offices in Belgium can be found at External reporting channels: An overview.
