From the Netherlands to the World: Frozen Mozzarella
Interview with Dennis van Huet, Managing Director of ZZA B.V.
Italian cuisine is as popular as ever. Pizza, pasta, and the like are now also the most common dishes in restaurants and on private menus. Of course, good pizza requires mozzarella – and this is where ZZA B.V. from Nederweert in the Netherlands comes into play, which focuses entirely on mozzarella. Thanks to a special freezing technique, it can always be sprinkled in top quality directly onto pizza or pasta anywhere and anytime. The young company has now conquered the Asian market, but demand for the frozen soft cheese is also rising in Europe.
ZZA B.V. has been on the market for just three years, but as a part of the Geris Group, a specialist in the buying, selling, and enhancement of butter and cheese, ZZA already has a longer history to look back on. Today, the company's portfolio, which employs ten people, includes various types of mozzarella. "The mozzarella is cut into small cubes or julienned and frozen using the innovative freezing technology IQF – Individually Quick Frozen. The pizza maker can then take exactly the desired amount of mozzarella from the bag and sprinkle it on the pizza. This also applies to automated pizza production," explains Managing Director Dennis van Huet, who has been with the company since 2023.
A European Product
The Mozzarella processed by ZZA is made from 100% cow's milk, mostly supplied by farmers from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, without any additives. At the end of processing, the chopped Mozzarella passes through a freezing tunnel, which ensures that each small piece is individually frozen as cubes or julienne. "This is essentially the same technique that we know from berries or vegetables, and which we are now applying to cheese," says Dennis van Huet. "The Mozzarella has a shelf life of two years due to this process."
Rapidly Growing Markets
Dairy products from the Netherlands and Germany are highly regarded internationally. It is therefore not surprising that over 80% of ZZA's production now goes to non-European countries, with Asia and the Middle East as important markets. "China is growing strongly as the consumption of Western foods is greatly increasing, and pizza is also an important growth market there. The same applies to Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, and Malaysia, but also to Dubai or Lebanon. Particularly in countries with no significant dairy industry and a warm climate, where fresh Mozzarella does not last long, there is a rising demand for frozen, natural cheese," explains Dennis van Huet. Currently, ZZA serves only B2B clients, but since end consumers are increasingly turning to frozen and convenience products, it is quite possible that ZZA will also offer products to consumers in the future. In addition, growth in the Asian market and the development of new products are very high on the corporate agenda.