800PIZZA reaches deal with Kitopi

Fifteen years after launching the first 800PIZZA restaurant in Dubai, the business partners of the pizza brand announced that they have reached a deal with tech-powered, multi-brand restaurant Kitopi to continue 800Pizza phase of growth. Alessandro D’Ubaldo, CEO and founder, 800PIZZA, said: “It has been an incredible journey. We have managed the company through thick and thin, and grown extremely resilient over time. Our resilience was tested with the breakout of Covid-19. It was extremely challenging to adapt and operate during the global pandemic, however we have been blessed with an incredible performance throughout.”

The Italian entrepreneur expatriated to the UAE in 1999 as a member of the Emirates Airline’s cabin crew, at the age of 24. In 2003, he ventured into the booming real-estate market, launching Dubai Furnished Apartments, a short-term rental platform before the days of AirBnB. However, it was in 2007 that his entrepreneurial spirit led him to step into the hospitality business with the founding of 800PIZZA. D’Ubaldo's hands-on approach and obsession for hard work was instrumental in the rapid success of the business during its formative years; his experience in the real-estate industry was also pivotal in the growth of 800PIZZA for identifying the perfect catchment areas, strategic locations and efficient fit-out. In 2011, 800PIZZA partnered with the Dubai-based Belhasa Group, a major contributor to the growth of the UAE over the last fifty years.

With subsidiaries in 30 sectors including hospitality, Belhasa’s regional strength aided the expansion of the business, growing the 800PIZZA company to twelve stores across the UAE with local and international franchises. The rapid success of 800PIZZA inspired D’Ubaldo to bolster his business portfolio and create the PINSANITY and CLUKRS brands in 2020. It was the recent expansion of PINSANITY into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through a strategic partnership with Kitopi. With its recent series C funding led by Softbank and its track record of helping brands grow and expand beyond borders, Kitopi is perfectly placed to take 800PIZZA on to the next phase of growth.