Ditsch is a German chain of

pretzel A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baking, baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twi ...

bars also selling croissants and pizza snacks. It operates approximately 200 outlets in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, but over the 2010s, it also traded in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with up to 13 outlets there at its height. Since 2012, Ditsch has been part of the Valora group.

History

In 1919, master baker Wilhelm Ditsch founded a bakery shop in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. The founder’s son, Heinz Ditsch, also a master baker, took the bakery into its second generation. He perfected his father’s recipe, and soon Ditsch pretzels were famous well beyond the borders of Mainz. In order to meet the growing demand, “Pretzelmen” in white clothing were walking around Mainz and offering fresh pretzels in baskets in the streets and restaurants. In the mid-1970s, Heinz Ditsch specialised in the manufacture of his very successful pretzel pastries. His son, Peter Ditsch, grew up knowing about his father’s business activities. The qualified businessman took over his parents’ company in the third generation. He realised the trend towards outdoor consumption and fast food. The administration of this family business, which today has more than 400 employees, is based in

, next to their first production facility. A further production site in Oranienbaum (Saxony-Anhalt) was built in 1999. Ditsch now has around 200 outlets in

, mainly in railway stations, shopping centers and

pedestrian zones Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

External links

Official website

References

{{UK Food Fast-food chains of Germany Pretzels