La Pizza Company has renamed itself Pan’Artisan in order to capitalise on the growing acceptance of speciality breads.

The firm has announced the change ahead of its appearance at the Food & Drink Expo at the end of March.

The producer of frozen, full and par-baked, dough-based products for foodservice industry has also launched a free prize draw, to celebrate its new name, with the prize of a trip to Italy.

Richard Jansen, managing director, said the firm wants to widen its scope and develop more bespoke products and new ranges in conjunction with its customers.

Said Jansen: “Pan’Artisan will allow us to maximise our creativity and become more wide-ranging in the frozen dough category, while building on La Pizza’s reputation for responsive and flexible levels of customer service.”

The firm said that, since its launch in 1991, it has mainly concentrated on hand-finished pizza bases, dough balls and speciality Italian breads.

“With the emergence of a wider acceptance by the consumer of more exciting and interesting bread-based formats, the re-launch of the company with a new name identifies more closely with its capabilities, and its expanding customer base,” it explained.