Dr. Oetker Stories

Well-rounded: This is how the Dr. Oetker pizza is made

1.5 million frozen pizzas come off the production line at the Dr. Oetker plant in Wittlich every day. But what exactly goes on behind the scenes? We provide insights and show which steps a Dr. Oetker pizza goes through before a consumer holds it in their hands at the supermarket.

Well-rounded: This is how the Dr. Oetker pizza is made

27.4.2022 Behind the scenes

Welcome to Dr. Oetker in Wittlich, Germany!

Dr. Oetker Wittlich Gebäude

One of our modern pizza production plants is located here in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany), where around 1.5 million frozen pizzas are produced for the German and international market daily.


Dr. Oetker Wittlich Produktionsmitarbeiterinnen

A pizza is only as good as its ingredients. All delivered raw materials are therefore thoroughly checked in the quality assurance department before they access production. The firmness of cheese is tested and, of course, tasted.


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Tomatenhalbkonzentrat

The tomato semi-concentrate for the sauce is checked on its flow rate. This ensures that it is not too thick or thin and that it can be processed ideally.


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Teigzubereitung

The production process begins with preparing the dough. The ingredients are mixed, knead into a dough in large containers,...


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Teigballen

... and then portioned into more manageable balls of dough. 


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Pizzaböden

After the dough balls are shaped into pizza bases and have been pre-baked, they cool down in the rotating cooling tower so that the topping can be added.


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Mitarbeiterin

But before that, the pizza bases must first pass a visual inspection. Bases that are not perfectly shaped go back into a new pre-dough as a high-quality ingredient. Thus, nothing is wasted.


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Ristorante Pizza Mozzarella

Topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, tomato slices and pesto, a simple pizza base becomes a Ristorante Pizza Mozzarella. 


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Froster

In the freezer, the pizza turns into a frozen pizza: At a frosty - 32 °C, the pizzas are frozen...


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Produktionsmitarbeiterin

... Before being wrapped in foil and visually inspected again. 


Dr. Oetker Pizza Mozzarella Faltschachteln

Packaging follows. The pizzas are put into their folding boxes and are then packed in sales units.


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Verkostung

Meanwhile, a team meets for the daily tasting. Do the pizzas look, smell and taste as good as they should? Our pizza experts use all their senses for testing. 


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Proben Pizza

Samples are taken from all batches produced. The pizzas are only released for sale after microbiological tests. 


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Hochregallager

The frozen pizzas wait in the over 30 meter tall high-bay warehouse...


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Gabelstapler

... for their onward transport, which will take them to the stores and then perhaps to your home. 


Dr. Oetker Werk Wittlich Pizza Mozzarella gebacken

Buon appetito!


In four films, we follow the path of a frozen pizza from product development through production in Wittlich and sensory analysis at Dr. Oetker to the in-house test kitchen and consumer service in Bielefeld. Our employees provide a glimpse behind the scenes of their daily work.

Watch our pizza films.