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Sweet victory Carlo Raillo repeats as Chef of the Year

Volume 21 Issue 1 January/February 2015

12 SWEET SECOND VICTORY

COVER: Carlo Raillo decided to try a dessert pizza this time around at the Chef of the Year competition. Photo by Malcolm Brown

Carlo Raillo is once again Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year – this time with a dessert pizza representing Italy

16 MARKETING TO MILLENNIALS It all comes down to knowing your ideal customer

18 THE FUTURE OF PIZZA 12

Playful hybrid pizzas, international flavours and cool tech tools are on the horizon for pizza operators

DEPARTMENTS 6

editor’s desk

pizzabites

marketing insights

making dough

the pizza chef

pizza on fire

www.canadianpizzamag.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 pizza 3

“Packed from Fresh Tomatoes, Not from Concentrate”...

President Tom Cortopassi (kneeling) and “Coach” Dino Cortopassi (standing) in one of our

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from the editor’s desk January/February 2015, Vol. 21, No. 1

Know your millennials illennial customers matter, we are told by those who study consumer behaviour, and to serve them effectively, businesses need to understand what makes them tick. To do this, we need to stop thinking of them as a single group. Despite having their uses, labels like “millennials” or “generation Y” may be getting in the way of getting inside the heads of this increasingly influential bunch. It may surprise you to know that by 2020, there will be more millennials than baby boomers in Canada. Millennials will represent 28 per cent of the population as compared to boomers’ 26 per cent, according to a recent Nielsen study. Right now, only 14 per cent of millennials are the head of their household, but that number will soon grow. By 2020, millennials will have $12.6 billion more to spend than they did in 2010; baby boomers will have $4.3 billion less. Money talks and it’s in your best interests as a pizzeria operator to listen, build your menu, adjust your marketing approach and change the way you interact with this portion of your customer base. But don’t lump these folks together. As customer retention expert Noah Fleming says in “Marketing to millennials,” page 16, “Even though this group generally values community, convenience, technology and a higher-end product, there is no one catchall way to connect with them all.” Millennials are more diverse than baby boomers or gen X-ers (like me) may have thought. Abacus, a Canadian research firm run by 20- and 30-somethings, breaks this demographic down into six subgroups based on personality traits on its Canadian Millennials website. The descriptions are revealing and may even help millennial operators understand their peers. Achievers, who tend to be women, will update others on what is im-

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portant to them by posting about their activities and sharing information about topics of interest, say the researchers. If many of your customers fit this bill, it would be well worth your while to target them with samples, nudge them to connect with you on Facebook or ask if they’d like to receive special offers and information via their smartphones. A little effort could go a long way toward making them unofficial ambassadors of your business. Pacers are connected, independent and confident. Abacus researchers offer these revelations about the group, which consists mostly of men: “They could be in their parents’ basement or in a cave in the desert as long as they have access to connection. And if they are going to go out, they would like it to be somewhere that feels classy.” Maybe there is an untapped delivery angle here? “No need to go offline – we’ll bring the pizza to you.” To take the broader view, maybe it’s time to bring in free Wi-Fi and show these connected customers you’re a hot spot in every sense of the word. I can’t resist highlighting a third group, Simple Lifers, who sound surprisingly like baby boomers. “This group knows quality when they see it and they will consider any available information from their friends and the public when making decisions,” says Abacus. They make purchasing decisions based on price and functionality. Appealing to these folks may be a simple matter of continuing to offer good value at a fair price. So you see, it’s not about having to change for the sake of change. It’s about doing what makes sense for your business. If you get to know your customers and what motivates them, you’re bound to find your own unique way to keep them coming back for more. •

@CdnPizzaMag

Associate Editor Colleen Cross ccross@annexweb.com 519-428-3471 ext. 261 Publisher Christine Livingstone clivingstone@annexweb.com 519-429-5173 888-599-2228 ext. 239 Account Coordinator Shannon Drumm sdrumm@annexweb.com 888-599-2228, ext. 219 Media Designer Emily Sun Group Publisher Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexweb.com President Mike Fredericks mfredericks@annexweb.com Mailing Address P.O. Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT #40065710 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT, P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 email: subscribe@canadianpizzamag.com Published seven times per year (Jan/Feb, Apr/May, Jun, Jul/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov, Dec), by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. Printed in Canada ISSN 1203-6838 Circulation email: subscribe@canadianpizzamag.com Tel: 866-790-6070 ext. 207 Fax: 877-624-1940 Mail: P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 Subscription Rates Canada – 1 Year $ 19.00 (+ applicable tax) Best pricing (Can/USA/foreign) available online at www.canadianpizzamag.com Occasionally, Canadian Pizza Magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.. No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2015 Annex Publishing and Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. www.canadianpizzamag.com

Contact your local repesentative to arrange a demonstration British Columbia Castle Agencies North Vancouver, BC, Canada Tel/Cell: (604) 904-7681 Contact: David Terretta Email: king@castleagencies.ca

Alberta MAC Sales & Marketing Calgary, AB, Canada Phone: 403-281-8540 Contact: Steve MacKell Email: mackell@telusplanet.net

Manitoba/Saskatchewan Dennis Braun Agencies Winnipeg, MB Canada Tel: 204-663-8077 Cell: 204-229-4613 Email: denbraun@mts.net

Ontario Distex M.&M. Inc. Mississauga, Ont Tel: 905 565-5990 Toll Free: 1 888 645-7324 Email:info@distex.ca

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Quebec Distex M.&M. Inc. St-Laurent (Quebec) Tel.: (514) 382-3620 Toll free : 1-800-567-3620 Web: www.distex.ca

Atlantic Provinces/Maritimes Flanagan Agencies Inc Moncton, New Brunswick Tel: (506) 387-8757 Contact Mike Flanagan Email: mike@fai.ca

pizzabites Pizza Mill wins Pizza With Purpose award s the winners of the Saputo Foodservice Pizza With Purpose award, Kathryn and David Kitchen of The Pizza Mill Inc., in Salisbury, N.B., who have made giving back to their community an integral part of their business will now be on the receiving end of things. Both Kathryn and Dave were raised in Salisbury and are now raising their own family in the town they say is very supportive: “Our customers have been there to support us and help our business to become as successful as it is,” they say in their entry. Since opening the doors of their pizzeria in 1998, the couple and their young family have focused on giving locally. Here’s a taste of what the Kitchens have been up to: for the past four years, they have raised $2,000 per year by selling redeemable Charity Pizza Cards and donating a portion toward charity causes and emergencies that arise such as flooding and medical procedures not covered by insurance. The Kitchens, who among other efforts marked the opening of a new local food bank by launching birthday coupons for its clients and their family members, will receive a $2,500 cash prize from Saputo Foodservice. Over the years, the team’s support of various causes has taken several forms: mosquito nets and bed kits for children in Third World countries, Christmas boxes for The Samaritan’s Purse, and cat litter and supplies for the local SPCA. Watch for a profile of this caring couple who have faced crises and challenges within their own family and are putting that firsthand understanding into action.

8 pizza JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Restaurants Canada gains Prime Minister’s ear estaurateurs from Charlottetown and Calgary sat down with Prime Minister Stephen Harper last month to talk about important issues that affect the foodservice industry – a sector that contributes $68 billion to Canada’s economy. Restaurants Canada Chair Liam Dolan of Prince Edward Island, and Director Gerard Curran of Calgary, were part of a delegation from the association that talked with Harp-

er and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney about the restaurant industry’s employment and economic contributions to Canada. The meeting was part of a series of 23 meetings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in October. Restaurants Canada members, directors and other leaders in the industry talked with MPs about issues that affect them the most, such as labour shortages and credit card merchant fees.

Pizza Nova adds dairy-free vegan cheese to menu izza Nova has added dairy-free vegan cheese to its menu. The dairy-free, gluten-free and soyfree substitute is now available on all company products. “Over 20 per cent of Canadians are lac-

tose-intolerant,” said Pizza Nova president Domenic Primucci in a news release. “It is very important to us that we offer a product that everyone can enjoy.” Daiya Foods of Vancouver is supplying this specialty product.

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Canadians not buying mobile payments: GfK study anadian consumers lag far behind citizens of other countries on mobile payments, yet attitudes suggest mobile buying will increase, suggests new research from GfK Canada. Mobile payments account for just two per cent of purchases in Canada, said the research firm in a news release. Only 21 per cent of Canadian shoppers (consumers who have shopped in one of 15 categories in the last six months) reported making a mobile payment online and in-store in the past six months; online purchases made up 64 per cent of the mobile payment purchases, while 36 per cent were for in-store sales. Canada’s mobile payment activity pales in comparison to countries like China (where 83 per cent of shoppers report using mobile payments in the past six months), Korea (62 per cent), and even the United States (33 per cent). The new findings come from an in-depth look at mobile payments included in GfK’s latest FutureBuy study, which tracks the convergence of digital and bricks-and-mortar activities in shopping across 15 product categories. The research shows that, despite attitudinal differences, the generations are essentially the same in their use of mobile payments, which

Ontario’s calorie-posting legislation complex: Restaurants Canada he plan announced in November by the Ontario government to require calorie posting in restaurants will require complex regulations that will take time and industry collaboration to be successful, says Restaurants Canada. “As we have seen in the U.S. and U.K., the many variables when it comes to preparing and serving restaurant meals make calorie posting regulations very complex,” said James Rilett, vice-president, Ontario, for Restaurants Canada, in a news release. “The United States FDA has been working on regulations for five years. This calls for a collaborative effort between government and industry to get the complex regulations right.” Ontario’s restaurant industry has worked to provide calorie information to customers for many years, in various formats. In addition, many restaurants have changed recipes and introduced healthier options, and several chain restaurants voluntarily participated in a national program to provide nutritional information to all customers in a standard format. “There are some unique challenges in a restaurant environment,” said Rilett. “Calorie counts can only be provided when there is a high degree of standardization. While this is common in food manufacturing, it’s the exception in a restaurant setting.” The two parties said they plan to continue the discussion.

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account for just two per cent of all transactions in Canada for generation X, generation Y and boomers, and three per cent for generation Z.

cover story

Sweet second victory Carlo Raillo is once again Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year – this time with a dessert pizza representing Italy BY COLLEEN CROSS

arlo Raillo successfully defended his title of Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year title for the second time – and he didn’t pull it off by playing it safe. The head pizza chef at The Parlour Italian Kitchen & Bar in Edmonton wowed judges at the Toronto competition and show in October with his Cappuccino Pizza featuring a cocoa powder-infused classic Neapolitan dough and a dreamy combination of coffee pastry cream, caramel chocolate chips, salted almond streusel and rosettes of whipped cream. Canadian Pizza spoke with Carlo and his wife, Kayla, at their Edmonton home in November, the contagious giggles of young daughters Haley and Julia echoing in the background. They shared their impressions of the recent show, the pizza champ’s competitive experience and, of course, the finer points of what goes into a dessert pizza. Carlo competed last year at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in a guaranteed spot in the Non-Traditional finals of the International Pizza Challenge as part of his prize for Chef of the Year. There he presented his

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“Hangover” breakfast pie, which was added to The Parlour’s menu last May and is still very popular. This year he switched it up by creating a dessert pizza. Carlo’s entry description reveals the motivation behind his recipe choice: “This sweet pizza comes from the desire to combine two typical Italian products that are known throughout the world: Pizza Napoletana and Cappuccino.” “This pizza would be a good idea to put on a dessert menu for those who don’t drink coffee but enjoy the flavour of coffee,” it continues, adding that it is ideal for sharing with a group. “He says he wanted to cover all edges of the menu, so that, if you just wanted to be a pizzeria, you could be open from breakfast until late in the evening,” says Kayla, helping to translate some of Carlo’s more complex responses to English from his mother tongue Italian. The crowd-pleasing Cappuccino Pizza was slated to go onto The Parlour’s menu in November. In March the master pizzaiolo will compete for the fourth time at Expo, and

Carlo’s Cappuccino Pizza This sweet pizza comes from the desire to combine two typical Italian products that are known throughout the world: Pizza Napoletana and Cappuccino. This pizza is ideal for those who don’t drink coffee but enjoy the flavour of coffee and great to share with a large group of people. INGREDIENTS • chocolate pizza dough • coffee pastry cream • caramel chips • salted almond biscuits • whipped cream • 1 coffee bean • 1 mint sprig TECHNIQUE The dough consists of a classic Neapolitan dough with the addition of cocoa powder, rolled out and cooked to perfection in order to enhance the crispness and fragrance. The edge of pizza is thicker in order to contain the coffee pastry cream, caramel chips, salted almond streusel and rosettes of whipped cream.

Photo by Malcolm Brown

he says this experience gave him a bit of an advantage in Toronto. Carlo says he enjoyed competing at the Canadian Pizza Show because making pizza in front of a crowd of people feeds his energy and pushes him to perform to his potential. He also liked hearing the audience’s surprise when he put his crust in the oven with no ingredients on it, he says, and when he took it out, “everyone was wondering why it was brown.” He enjoyed sharing ideas with people from other pizzerias in Canada, and he especially loved seeing the judges’ faces when they bit into his pizza. One judge’s reaction: “Oh my God.” But to get back to the pie: Carlo had wanted to make a cocoa dough since seeing a Naples pizzaiolo use cocoa in his crust, and he had tried it a few times. Ever the perfectionist, he aimed to master the technique. His friend Keoma Franceschi, who attended cooking school in Italy, gave Carlo pointers on making the cream. The Cappuccino Pizza represents the Italian idea of perfection: marrying coffee and pizza, he says. He experimented, combining the cocoa dough with a few different elements – among them marma-

lade and caramel whipping cream with caramelized bananas – before settling on cappuccino as the favourite. Carlo says he likes to lower the salt and make the dough a little sweeter without straying too far from traditional pizza dough. He wants people to know it’s “a pizza they are eating and not a pastry,” says Kayla, translating. “Ninety-nine per cent of what goes into a dessert pizza is what goes into his regular dough – just switching salty and sweet.” Having learned some of the method for making cream from his father, who runs a pizzeria in Italy, Carlo says he enjoyed working with pastry. But he wanted to perfect the pastry; for example, he didn’t want the coffee flavour in the topping to be bitter. He enlisted Keoma’s help, regularly driving across Edmonton for an hour so the two could co-ordinate schedules. “Carlo won’t do anything 80 per cent of the way; he’ll do everything 100 per cent,” says Kayla in a tone that makes clear the amount of effort that goes into the chef’s work. Carlo never stops learning. His method is to watch a technique, then investigate until he perfects it. Going to Las Vegas every year keeps him in contact with pizzaiolos

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 pizza 13

cover story he knows and admires, he says. Currently he is trying to learn about sourdough. You have to flip it over all the time, she says: “Basically, it’s like having an extra child, from the sounds of it,” says Kayla, translating. “You have to take care of it and you use that as your yeast. You keep handing it down: it’s basically breeding your own yeast.” Carlo says he would like to come up

with a pizza anyone can eat. He is interested in entering the gluten-free category one day at Expo and to this end is constantly experimenting with a gluten-free crust. Though open to new ideas, challenges and styles of pizza, Carlo says he prefers to make his specialty, the Neapolitan to other styles like New York or Chicago. “I make Napoletana pizza,” he says. He was born in nearby Naples, which

SAVE THE DATE MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE • MISSISSAUGA, ON

is where years later he met the vacationing Kayla, who hails from Red Deer, Alta. Each summer he goes back to Italy to help out in his parents’ restaurant in Tortora, Italy, as a chef and as a mentor to young workers. “It was a good trip this year,” he says. The region had a lot of rain, so lots of people came into the restaurant. In the past, he says, Italians used to take a couple of months off each summer and vacation in the area. The restaurant is open only from late spring into the fall. In Italy, crusts are all different as are cooking methods, says Carlo. In the north, crusts are generally crisp, and gas, electric and wood ovens are used. In the south, crusts are generally soft and wood ovens are favoured. In Rome, which he says falls somewhere between the two, a deep, square pizza is popular. This year, Carlo’s parents, Salvatore and Francesca, are coming to Edmonton for a visit. Carlo and Kayla say they will take them around to The Parlour so they can see how a Canadian pizzeria operates. Never having been out of Italy, the snow should be a novelty for them, says Kayla, who adds they also will likely visit Banff. She says they love stories of cowboys and all that goes with that lifestyle. Carlo has trained several students in the ways of Neapolitan pizza, and four of his students are working in the industry in places as far flung as Switzerland, England and South America. He has also trained about 10 students in Edmonton at The Parlour and at Sorrentino’s, where he worked before that. The pizza chefs he’s trained in Canada are at a level of making a basic dough, but most haven’t perfected the crust and other aspects of pizza making. He would love to be a consultant to pizzeria operators one day. The idea would be to help people open their pizza business, determine what will work best in terms of equipment, design and layout of operations, and teach them pizzaiolo skills. If he could teach them the secret of his winning ways, that would be a master class in itself. •

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14 pizza JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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feature

Marketing to millennials It all comes down to knowing your ideal customer BY TONY PALERMO

ccording to 2011 Statistics Canada census data, 9.1 million people, or approximately 27 per cent of the total population, belong to the millennial generation. Also known as gen Y, StatsCan identifies this group as people who, in 2011, were aged between 19 and 39 (born between 1982 and 1992). The definitions vary, with other sources identifying millennials as those who were born between 1980 and 2000. Representing over a quarter of the population, gen Y is an important market pizzeria owners can’t ignore. So, how best to appeal to them? KNOW YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER Noah Fleming is a marketing and customer retention expert who has worked with companies of all sizes, including those in the food and beverage industry. He says that every company’s customers are different and his most successful clients clearly understand who makes up their current client base and who their ideal customer is. In his book Evergreen: Cultivate the enduring customer loyalty that keeps your business thriving, Fleming says great companies spend time continually cultivating and nurturing relationships with their customers, from even before they become customers. It’s an investment, he says, that creates strong customer relationships, with customer loyalty becoming a key factor of the relationship. Like the roots of an 800-yearold tree, this loyalty eventually becomes capable of supporting tremendous growth. This, explains Fleming, is the kind of company that becomes “evergreen” and lasting. Fleming says companies that are trying to do what he calls “Sriracha Marketing” to

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appeal to gen Y– basically trying to appeal to them with fads in the belief that “cool attracts cool” – are examples of the wrong approach. Sriracha hot sauce, ginger and craft beers are in vogue right now, but Fleming says when companies try to jump on the “cool attracts cool” bandwagon with no clear direction, it becomes more of a gimmick than an effective marketing strategy that connects, engages and attracts your ideal customer. Likewise, Fleming says grouping all gen Ys together is a mistake, and that even though this group generally values community, convenience, technology and a higher-end product, there is no one catchall way to connect with them all. “For example, I have friends that wouldn’t touch Domino’s Pizza, regardless of convenience, but these same friends would easily spend $30 for a high-end pie,” says Fleming. “But Domino’s Pizza is doing extremely well marketing to a certain segment of millennials, specifically by keeping in mind their budget and making it easy and convenient for millennials to order their pizza using a mobile app.” As he says, Domino’s provides an emotionally engaging experience by making it extremely easy to order their food. “Domino’s has taken the headache out of it,” says Fleming. “The convenience factor is about talking to the customer the way that they want to be talked to. And gen Ys are on sites like Facebook, Yelp, and Twitter, and the majority of them have mobile phones.” GEN Y AN IMPORTANT DEMOGRAPHIC “Millennials are an extremely important demographic for us,” says Jeff Kacmarek, vice-president, Marketing & New Prod-

uct Development, with Domino’s Pizza of Canada. “It’s our key demographic but our biggest challenge too.” A July 10, 2013, eMarketer article says males and females aged 18 to 34 were more likely than their 35- to 64-year-old counterparts to engage in nearly every online shopping activity, with 40 per cent of males and 33 per cent of females in the younger age group reporting that, if they could, they would buy everything online. Kacmarek says online ordering makes up about 35 per cent of Domino’s business, initiated from either a computer or mobile device. As he says, various studies show gen Y has the highest use of technology applications (apps), like those found on a mobile device, with women accounting for the majority of that use. It makes sense, says Kacmarek, because women are typically the food managers of the house. Still, Kacmarek views gen Y as a spectrum based on age. On the one end, the youngest gen Ys are busy with school, social life and work. At the other end, they are typically young parents who are busy with work, kids, their kids’ activities and trying to manage a household. Either way, both ends of the gen Y spectrum that Domino’s targets are busy and value convenience. When all of this is taken into account, it’s for this reason Domino’s Pizza is going to continue focusing on convenience and service, while pushing the envelope on the technology front. If fact, Domino’s expects to launch an iPad app in Q1 2015 and Domino’s U.S. is currently experimenting with a voice-activated app. Kacmarek notes that marketing has changed, especially when it comes to gen

Although gen Ys generally value community, convenience, technology and a higher-end product, grouping them together is a mistake.

Y, explaining it’s all about having a conversation now. “It’s not a push type of relationship like before where you throw information out at people,” says Kacmarek. “Now, it’s all about developing a dialogue with your consumer. It’s about having a conversation.” Fleming agrees, saying another key is letting the customer tell your story online, for example, on Facebook or restaurant review sites. It’s about engaging them in the conversation and creating a sense of community. The conversation is happening on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and, with over 10 million people who like the Domino’s Pizza Facebook page, that’s a lot of people to be engaging. COMES DOWN TO GOOD BUSINESS While Fleming says restaurants can generally get a decent mobile app for under $3,000, not everyone should be rushing out to implement one. “Again, it all comes down to knowing who your ideal customer is,” says Fleming. “For example, a small and unique pizza restaurant won’t have much use for an app that sends customers a $9 pizza delivered in 30 minutes.” Smaller restaurants will more likely want to target the millennials who are willing to spend more money and wait for a higher-quality product. “These millennials prefer the little ‘hole

in the wall’ where, as an example, they can get an authentic Neapolitan pizza, as opposed to getting it from a cheaper, perhaps faster, place that offers a knock-off version,” says Fleming. To appeal to this group, your product and atmosphere needs to be emotionally engaging. “Perhaps that’s highlighting the fact that you use a wood oven and fresh, quality ingredients,” explains Fleming. “As for atmosphere, it’s about building that sense of family and community.” 1000 Islands Restaurant and Pizzeria in Brockville, Ontario, is a family-owned business that has been operating for over 45 years. The main page of their website clearly states their view that quality, while always in demand, takes time. Making clear this is a family-run business, the website creates a sense of community by introducing the team and showing pictures of customers enjoying the atmosphere and product. The website also has a page of customer testimonials, and provides links to all of the major restaurant review websites, encouraging people to read the reviews and share their thoughts online. Looking at the restaurant’s website, Fleming agrees that 1000 Islands Restaurant and Pizzeria appear to be appealing to many, even if it is inadvertently. Co-owner George Sabaziotis says he’s

eliminated Yellow Pages advertising and considerably reduced his newspaper advertising, recognizing that word-of-mouth has been his best form of promotion. He says that while millennials make up a good part of his business, his largest demographic is between 40 and 60 years old. Still, he’s not intentionally targeting a specific demographic, one way or the other. “The Brockville market is too small to appeal to only one segment of the population,” explains Sabaziotis. “Really, my marketing is about maintaining the quality and atmosphere my parents, Kanella and Nikita, worked hard to create.” In addition to using fresh ingredients and making everything to order, the Sabaziotis family has created a familial, inviting atmosphere where pictures of their customers are displayed throughout the restaurant. “There are no random pictures of things that don’t mean anything,” says Sabaziotis. “We hang pictures of our customers as a thankyou and to show our appreciation to them. It’s nice. People are constantly scanning the pictures to see if they recognize anyone, and everyone always gets a kick out of it when they do.” He also does things like acknowledge his regulars with Christmas cards, giving out a few gift certificates along the way. Sabaziotis says his definition of a regular isn’t necessarily someone who eats at his restaurant every day or week. As he explains, it could be someone who is only there every six months when they’re in town or someone who drives a considerable distance every so often just to have their product. “It’s just a small gesture to recognize our customers and say thank you,” says Sabaziotis, who estimates he signs upwards of 600 cards. “They’re spending their hardearned money at my restaurant. I realize they could go elsewhere.” At the end of the day, Sabaziotis says, his philosophy on marketing is it just comes down to providing a great product and inviting atmosphere. “I’m providing the type of experience I would want myself.” • For more on what’s hot, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 pizza 17

feature

The future of pizza Playful hybrid pizzas, international flavours and cool tech tools are on the horizon for pizza operators BY COLLEEN CROSS

izza is so much more than an affordable meal option for hungry and tired Canadians. With the post-recession upswing in pizza purchases levelling off from a high in 2012, pizza operators are now focusing on quality and innovation, a trend encouraged by the steady rise of fast-casual restaurants, suggests The Canadian Pizza Consumer Trend Report from Technomic. Both quick-service and high-end pizzerias are being challenged to offer the quality, variety and convenience of this middle-ground dining option. CONVENIENCE, CRAVINGS RULE Mind you, many Canadians are still motivated by cravings, reasonable prices and lack of time or energy to cook – the top 3 reasons given by customers for their most recent pizza purchase, says the Technomic report, and a convenient location, best overall value, delivery and fast service are the top reasons for returning to their favourite pizza concept. These findings suggest it is wise to use a two-part strategy, it says: offer people something they can’t get at home and remind them pizza is an easy, convenient and affordable group meal.

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PLAYFUL HYBRID PRODUCTS However, sophisticated customers are also demanding fun from their food, and pizzerias are reshaping and revamping pizza in inventive ways. The Pizza Lollipop from Pizza Delight, the Pizza Cone, started by The Mad Italian but now carried by Pizza Delight, and the Pretzel Pizza from Little Caesars featuring nacho cheese sauce and pretzel crust all drew kudos from Jason Harris during his talk about the future of pizza at October’s Canadian Pizza Show. Replacing the mozzarella with nacho cheese to complement the pretzel crust is a great example of out-of-the-box thinking, Harris said. Harris also shone the trend spotlight on banh mi, a Vietnamese style of pizza. With elements like marinated grilled pork, pickled carrots, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil, brown sugar, soy sauce and peppers, it may appeal to adventurous palates. Many pizzerias are experimenting with innovative crusts, such as flatbreads, and using non-traditional ingredients like cauliflower, suggests the McCormick Flavor Forecast for 2015. Customers seem open to these innovations, some of which have

health benefits. All this suggests cassava flour may soon have its day. DESSERT PIZZA GETS ITS DUE Speaking of crusts, Chef of the Year Carlo Raillo recaptured his title at the Canadian Pizza Show in October with a delightful chocolate crust. Raillo’s winning Cappuccino Pizza is solid proof the dessert pizza trend is still on the upswing. Made with elements of a frothy cappuccino such as coffee pastry cream and caramel chips, the creation romanced judges over competing savoury pies. If you’re on the fence about trying dessert pizza, remember it could be a way to draw in customers at different times of the day and for different occasions. MILLENNIAL MOMENTUM These days it’s not just what you’re serving, or whom you’re serving, but also how you’re serving. Because millennials are expected to outnumber baby boomers and gen-Xers by 2020, there is no denying we need to pay close attention to their habits, needs, preferences and mindset, said Carman Allison, vice-president, Consumer Insights, North America, for Nielsen, at

Ordering pizza is becoming a hands-on, interactive affair as customers start to personalize orders through the use of cool tech tools.

Guelph Food Technology Centre’s Trends Forecast in November. It’s not so much about developing new products for them, said Allison, as it is changing the way we deliver and advertise the products to them: “It’s not about what you offer them but how you reach them.” Tony Palermo explores how to do just hat in “Marketing to millennials” on page 16. A WORLD OF FLAVOURS While customers of all ages, but especially millennials, love the familiarity of traditional pizza, they are always ready to try something new, says Technomic’s industry report. The McCormick forecast identifies a several trends pizzerias may want to experiment with: global spice blends, the slowfood movement and umami vegetables. The report highlights two international combinations: Japanese 7 Spice (Shichimi Togarashi), a pungent blending of chilies, sesame, orange zest and nori, and Shawarma Spice Blend, a Middle Eastern street food made with cumin, cinnamon

and black pepper. The Japanese mix works well to flavour soups, moodle dishes, grilled meats and seafood, it says, and recommends the Shawarma blend on chicken beef and lamb before grilling or roasting. Call it a reaction to our fast-paced, technologically driven lifestyle or a convenient comfort born of the slow cooker. Either way, food enthusiasts are appreciating a melding of rich, aromatic spices and comforting ingredients into mouthwatering slow-cooked meals. Osso Buco, a traditional Italian dish of braised veal shanks and chopped carrots, onion and celery that is enriched by the marrow in the bone, is a great example of this movement, which is continues to linger. While slow cooking may seem unsuited to the fast-paced environment of a pizzeria, Canadian chefs are experimenting with slow preparation methods such as brining and roasting. Customers with adventurous palates are interested in naturally umami-rich vegetables like mushrooms, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and nori. Umami, often called

the “fifth taste” after sweet, four, salty and bitter, is also found naturally in carrots, asparagus and celery. Maybe some of these items could liven up your vegetarian pizza or provide a fun alternative. Don’t forget to play up the nutritional angle: healthier eating may not trump taste but customers looking for added nutrition – especially millennials who eat out often – will appreciate the nod to healthier eating. As McCormick forecasters suggested at the GFTC Forecast, these exotic flavours appeal to all ages: they satisfy millennials’ love of travel and desire to bring home new foods to invoke memories of their trips, and stimulate baby boomers’ gradually diminishing sense of taste. In its latest report, U.S. food and restaurant consultant Baum+Whiteman calls the desire for unique flavours and combinations “restless palate syndrome” and says it’s what makes customers want to eat things like celery root, parsnips and kohlrabi in new ways: mashed, pureed or gratineed and seasoned with meat flavours. It’s also encouraging them to try seaweed as a packaged snack or added to broths and sauces for a dash of saltiness. Hummus may be the new salsa (which was previously the new ketchup), says the influential trend watcher. High in protein and fibre, and low in fat, it has a wide dietary appeal. With varieties ranging from beet to pumpkin to guacamole hummus widely available, it might pay off to experiment with this versatile food as a dip, spread or condiment. In fact, why not test out some of these up-and-coming flavours in your store’s pizza of the week? COOL TECH TOOLS LEAD THE WAY Just 63 per cent of Canadian customers typically order pizza by phone, down from 75 per cent in the peak year of 2012, reports Technomic. It is now the norm for young customers to spend only a few minutes, perhaps even seconds, making pizza dining choices through their smartphones. The big chains are responding with revamped online and mobile platforms aimed at engaging younger customers. The bottom line: if your customers are demanding different ways of communicating and ordering, it’s time to respond. If they are not, it may pay

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 pizza 19

feature

Trend tidbits Many trendwatchers are noticing a sense of adventure coming out among pizzeria and restaurant customers. Here we take a look at what three respected think-tanks are predicting will be in demand in the near – and not so near – future. Technomic (Canada) • balanced eating: while customers are still interested in healthier choices, there has been a shift of focus from eating healthy to eating high-quality ingredients • authentic Neapolitan pizza • customers are open to trying new ingredients alongside the familiar Baum+Whiteman (U.S.) • ‘ndjua, a red-hot spreadable sausage from Calabria that has shown up on pasta and mushrooms over focaccia bread • insects: with cricket farms popping up, and bugs showing up in flour and atop

•

pizza (think Vancouver Indian restaurant Vij and its pizza-like paratha featuring crickets) it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine insect protein fortifying crusts and gracing pizzas neurogastronomy – the science of enhancing dining by appealing to multiple senses – is a way to play with people’s perceptions: foods that are either hard or have a rough texture are seen to have fewer calories than softer, chewier foods (something to keep in mind when formulating and marketing your next pizza) and cheese tastes saltier when you add aromas of other salty foods (newsworthy for pizza operators looking to lower their salt content)

McCormick & Company (worldwide) • combining coarse salt with surprising sours like pickled ginger, sour cherry, dried mango and lemon zest • extending the juicing craze by blending fresh purees and juices with bold spices and herbs to intensify sauces, pasta and salad dressings •

Middle Eastern spices like tahini and cumin and dips like hummus and labneh, a thick Middle Eastern yogurt

off to ask the question. Look for Virool to be big, said Jason Harris. The social media advertising platform lets operators select an amount of advertising money and target a certain demographic and region using creative videos. People view your video and if they like it they have the capability to use numerous social media platforms to inform their friends about your restaurant. The catch is that it must offer them information or amusement value beyond simply selling their product. Apps like Zomato and Vicinity are helping pizzerias build on their most loyal customer base. And when Apple Pay catches on in the U.S., leading the way for

20 pizza JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

mobile wallets and spilling over into Canada – and we’ve no doubt it will, given our early-adopting ways – it will provide scads of data about customer patterns. MINDFULNESS However, it’s worth noting there is also a growing consumer desire for gathering spaces that counter-balance online engagement, a recent report from Nielsen suggests. Restaurants aren’t just places to eat, but also places to meet friends, celebrate occasions and often local landmarks. NEW WORLD ORDERING Baum+Whiteman makes bold predictions in its annual report, envisioning a near fu-

ture in which people reserve a table and “pre-order dinner from a mobile device that also tracks how long it’ll take to get to a restaurant.” Pizza Hut has pushed the envelope in this area and made the ordering process more hands-on by adjusting its touchscreen ordering to allow people to customize orders by dragging icons of various toppings onto virtual pizza. To get the lowdown on mobile technology trends and e-ordering, check out Michelle Brisebois’ on page 24 and Diane Chiasson’s column on page 26. Baum+Whiteman’s report hints strongly at the death of tipping, a solid trend in the U.S. that is in evidence here in Canada. At the Smoke and Water in Parksville, B.C., which opened last June, customers are not allowed to tip. To compensate it will increase the menu prices and the average wage servers and cooks make. Watch for this policy to trickle down from fine dining. This development fits in well with the emerging notion of selling tickets for dinner instead of taking conventional reservations, says the think-tank, as the addition of a necessary service charge will make tipping impractical. FAST-CASUAL UPS THE GAME But back to fast-casual. The growth of this concept is challenging both quick-service and high-end dining: QSRs are having to offer higher-quality ingredients while sit-down restaurants are having to offer faster service with more “build-your-own” opportunities. Well-known chefs in the U.S. are attaching their names to fast-casual concepts, which put customers in the driver’s seat by allowing them to choose their ingredients, suggests customers of all ages enjoy having options and having their say. Keep in mind these new directions in flavour, style, technology and behaviour when planning the next step in the future of your pizza business. They may help you draw those restless customers back to your store – and give them what they don’t even know they want. •

For more on what’s hot, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com

The World’s Largest Pizza Show Is Bigger and Better Than Ever!

March 23-26, 2015 (Exhibits March 24-26) Las Vegas Convention Center www.PizzaExpo.com 800-489-8324

Plan on bringing a good pair of walking shoes! For the last three decades, International Pizza Expo has strived to provide you with a pizza-specific, all-underone-roof marketplace. This year is no exception. If you’re a Pizza Expo Veteran, then you know what to expect — if you’re a first-time attendee — get ready to experience our 5 1/2 football field-size show floor — the largest, best-stocked show floor on the planet! Our exhibitors are there for one thing and one thing only — to provide you, the pizzeria owners and operators with the products, support and contacts you’ll need to grow your operations over the coming year. Here are just a few of the highlights of the upcoming International Pizza Expo® 2015:

ENJOY BOTH OF THESE SHOWS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!!! 1 - International Pizza Expo ® 2015 2 - 2014 Amusement Expo The 2014 Amusement Expo – Thursday, March 26, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

2 FOR 1

FOR INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER, CALL 800-489-8324 OR VISIT WWW.PIZZAEXPO.COM

• School of Pizzeria Management – advanced training in pre-show workshops • Special Monday Programming – a can’t-miss event for new operators • Keynote Addresses Free for All Attendees – by “Gen Y Guy” Jason Dorsey and Chicago pizza advocate Lou Malnati • Expanded International Pizza Challenge – Pizza Maker of the Year Competition • Pizza Expo Block Party – FREE for all attendees * $20,000 MEGA BUCKS Giveaway – One lucky attendee will WIN! • Craft Beer Pavilion and Related Education Sessions • 90-Plus Seminars, Workshops and Demonstrations • Over 800 Exhibitors

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 pizza 21

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‘Beam me up, Scotty’ Michelle Brisebois

aptain Kirk and Fred Flintstone spoke to their watches, and David Hasselhoff on the ’80s TV show Knight Rider spoke to his car – which then spoke back. While these plot devices may have seemed futuristic, many vehicles already have software allowing voice commands to control everything from the radio to the temperature. Apple is poised to launch its Apple Watch in 2015 and many trendwatchers feel that this product is truly a game-changer. Meanwhile, we all get a bit older and demographic shifts often impact demand for products and services. Welcome to 2015 and some the trends that will shape our lives.

SMART AND MOBILE TECHNOLOGY The much-anticipated Apple Watch will take calls, send texts, receive alerts and monitor your heart rate ... which you can then share with someone in real time. Trendwatchers feel this new “toy” is pivotal because the technology will be worn, not put away in a purse or pocket. The Apple Watch will become seamless with its owner and provide a very personalized connection to the world. Look for a new store of specialized apps for this device to help users find and sort information. What it means for businesses: Now more than ever before, having an online presence is imperative. With each new hardware innovation, your customers can access information about your business instantly. Focus on the most popular social sites for restaurants such as Trip Advisor, Yelp and Open Table. Facebook and Twitter are good too but you will reach a smaller audience with these sites. Michael Luca, of Harvard Business School, conducted research into the power of online reviews. He reports a one-star increase in

24 pizza JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Gadgets like the Apple Watch will become seamless with its owner and provide a very personalized connection to the world.

a Yelp rating “leads to a five to nine per cent jump in revenue.” If there’s one area of digital upgrade you should plan for, it would be to make your website “responsive.” This means your website should respond to varying screen sizes and orientations depending on what device is being used to view your site. FROM BRICKS AND MORTAR TO CLICKS AND MORTAR The previous trend speaks to how consumers gather information but this trend is about how they pay for goods and services. This is another trend with Apple’s fingerprints all over it. They’ve just created an app called Apple Pay, which, as Wired magazine puts it, provides “a new way to pay for stuff inside mobile applications like Uber, which lets you instantly order a car ride, and Instacart, which lets you instantly order groceries. In short, it equips your phone with a single way to pay for anything – online, offline, or in that new netherworld between the two

recently pioneered by the likes of Uber, an app that lets you pay for an immediate offline experience using an online tool.” And yes … that watch mentioned above will have this app. Will this form of payment reach huge numbers in 2015? Not until it’s available in Canada but its success in the U.S. will make Canadian options such as tap and pay more popular. The New York Times reports that the early success of Apple Pay has made all types of mobile payments more attractive, confirming “that similar services like Google Wallet have seen an uptick in usage since Apple Pay first launched. A rising tide lifts all boats.” What it means for businesses: Apply Pay is not available in Canada yet but it will be at some point. In the United States, McDonald’s has started accepting Apple Pay at its 14,000 restaurants. The chain reports that Apple Pay accounted for 50 per cent of its tap-and-pay transactions. And Walgreens, the nationwide chain of drugstores, said its mobile wallet payments had

doubled since Apple Pay came out. Tap and pay might be a good investment since it’s already available in Canada and is being used by many larger retailers. Take a look at handheld point-of-sale units to use tableside. Do you have some kind of online ordering system? Loblaw’s is getting serious about grocery delivery and supermarket poaching of foodservice pizza sales has been a challenge for foodservice for years. Our industry’s ability to deliver direct to consumer is our ace in the hole – that competitive advantage could go away if ordering groceries online gains momentum. CIDER HOUSE RULES The big beer breweries are struggling to hold onto their market share with their big brands. Cider is the hot news in beverage alcohol. Lighter than wine and less bloating than beer, cider sales represents one per cent of alcoholic-beverage volume nationally, but sales jumped 32 per cent in 2012 versus 2011, according to the Association of Canadian Distillers. “And volume this year is projected to grow by 18 per cent over 2012,” according to Molson Coors Canada as reported in the Globe and Mail. What it means for businesses: Include some small-lot ciders for an exotic offering and highlight it on your menu along with other gluten-free menu items. It’s thought that cider’s gluten-free status makes it an attractive alternative to beer. Cider appeals to younger consumers and women, so you can increase your average cheque with a tasty cider to offer.

INTEREST RATES CLIMB AS THE DOLLAR SOFTENS The National Association of Realtors is predicting mortgage interest rates will increase to slightly below five per cent next year and reach six per cent in 2016. Baby boomers with investments and fewer debts will welcome this change and may start dining out again in earnest as they feel more secure. On the other hand, younger consumers with bigger mortgages will find themselves a bit more strapped for cash and may eat out less often or, conversely, order in more often. What it means for businesses: If you’re taking on debt, assess your ability to continue to operate should interest rates rise even a percentage point. Stay close to your financial advisors and know your options for locking in to an acceptable rate should interest rates start to climb. Watch how this shift impacts your customer base and offer options that keep them dining with you. A new calendar year represents a fresh start and a time to pause and look to the future. Trends are good to be aware of, monitor for significant shifts and then embrace with gusto when we determine that our businesses will benefit from them. Let’s face it: sometimes you just have to boldly go where no man has gone before. • Michelle Brisebois is a marketing professional with experience in the food, pharmaceutical and financial services industries. She specializes in brand strategies.

For more on what’s hot, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com

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Diane Chiasson

n today’s fast-paced world, restaurant owners and operators, especially those in the pizza industry, need to get their customers in and out as quickly as possible. One of the biggest trends you will see in 2015 is the rollout of much more high-tech gadgetry at restaurant and foodservice operations, especially e-ordering programs. E-ordering allows customers to order their own food in one of two ways: by using a tablet provided at their table, or a kiosk at fast-casual operations, or by using an app on their smartphones or tablets. For owners and operators, this allows for more precise ordering, less pressure with customers not having to stand around waiting for their orders, and saving on labour costs. It also allows operators to build a customer database and gain a lot more information about their customers’ eating and dining habits. As for customers, they can order exactly what they want, when they want, without the hassle of having to repeat your order several times to ensure their server got it right! Here are six benefits of incorporating e-ordering into your operation:

1. CUSTOMIZATION One of the biggest food trends of 2015 is the need for consumers to be able to customize their own menus when they go out to eat. This can be quite complicated for many regular restaurants, but it is ideal for a pizza operation. E-ordering allows for customers to pick and choose exactly what they want on their pizzas and creates less chance of error because it ensures there is no human communication breakdown between the customer, the server and the kitchen.

26 pizza JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Six reasons e-ordering is the way to go 2. ABILITY TO ORDER AHEAD Since everyone is always in a rush, e-ordering allows your customers to place and pay for their orders ahead of time by using an app on their smartphones or tablets, or by going online. Your staff should be able to provide an exact time when their order will be ready. If possible, have a separate express line in your operation for pickup as well as separate parking spots to ensure speedy service. The ability to pre-order allows your kitchen to work under less stress as there will be fewer impatient customers standing around waiting for their orders. 3. EASIER TABLE SERVICE E-ordering is not just ideal for takeaway service. If your pizza operation has a dinein area, consider installing tableside tablets where your guests can place their own orders. Although you will still require staff to deliver the food and ensure guest satisfaction, e-ordering eliminates the need for your servers to constantly approach a table to see if they are ready to order or for guests to have to flag down their server when they are ready to order. Servers will be spending much less time asking customers about add-ons or which salad dressing they would like, and, hopefully, more time offering quality service. 4. INCREASE IN CUSTOMER LOYALTY E-ordering will allow your pizza operation to create a database of all your customers and remember what they ordered during their last visit. Returning customers can log in to your restaurant, see exactly what they ate last time and easily order the exact same thing – or change it up. As an operator, you would be able to keep track of your customers’ favourite and least fa-

vourite items, and change your menu according to their tastes. You would also know if your guests are new or returning customers. 5. EASIER PAYMENT Once customers are ready to pay, they can easily do so either using their smartphones or the tableside tablet. This method eliminates the need to flag down a server, or having servers stand around waiting for customers to plug in their PIN numbers and calculate gratuities using the portable credit card machines that restaurants use today. This will save an enormous amount of time and help operators turn their tables even faster. 6. ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE KIDS (AND ADULTS) As an alternative to colouring books and crayons that spill all over the floor, the tableside tablets can also be used as entertainment devices to keep the kids occupied. Use savvy marketing ideas to upsell more items or retail items in your pizza operation incorporated into videos and games. Or use the games to build customer loyalty rewards programs. The tableside tablet is an ideal tool to give more information about your operation to your customers. Because a good manager leads by example, your pizza operation should start looking into setting up an e-ordering program. • Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping restaurant, foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 30 years. Her company provides innovative and revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, and marketing and promotional campaigns. Contact her at 416-926-1338, toll-free at 1-888-926-6655 or via chiasson@chiassonconsultants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com.

pizzabites

Smoking to be prohibited on Ont. patios, sport fields and playgrounds ntario is taking action to protect children and youth from the harmful effects of smoking. Starting Jan. 1, 2015, it will be illegal to smoke on bar and restaurant patios; smoke on playgrounds and public sports fields and surfaces; and sell tobacco on university and college campuses. These changes to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act are part of the provincial government’s plan to limit smoking in public places, reduce exposure to smoking and make it more difficult for young people to buy tobacco, which is part of the government’s goal to have the lowest smoking rate in the country, said a news release from the province. Tobacco-related diseases cost Ontario’s health-care system an estimated $2.2 billion in direct health-care costs and $5.3 billion in indirect costs such as lost productivity, said a news release. “If we prevent youth from taking up smoking in the first place, that will mean fewer smokers and healthier Ontarians,” said Dipika Damerla, associate minister of health and long-term care.

PROFITS IN THE PIE Effective Marketing Tactics to Seize Your Slice of the $38.1 Billion Pizza Pie! • Learn marketing ideas that are tried and true – not wasting money, but making thousands of dollars • Learn to easily implemented marketing tactics – have an action plan you can act on, making you a local celebrity • Tweak ideas and make them your own – be the talk of your town with innovative ideas that generate free press Author Scott Anthony is recognized by the pizza industry as an Operator Expert and a marketing guru. Today he operates an award-winning pizzeria, Fox’s Pizza Den of Punxsutawney and he also does private consultation for operators around the country.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 pizza 27 Pizza Book Ad sept 13.indd 1

2013-08-07 11:27 AM

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How to reduce the gum line Diana Cline

or some operators, getting the gum line right is a big problem. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to improve the gum line on your pie. The term “gum line” refers to the section of pizza between the crust and other elements of your pizza – the section under the sauce, cheese and toppings. Basically, if you pull back your cheese and toppings, the white, doughy part is the gum line. Examine a slice of your pie from the side. Ideally there will be less than four millimetres of gum line. Any more than that and you have one doughy pie. If your customers have ever complained that the pizza was raw even though you’re positive it was baked to a golden brown before it went out, this is where you need to look. Watery sauce is often the culprit, with the extra moisture separating quickly and leaching into your dough. With the help of cheese on top, a little pocket is created where steam is trapped between those layers with no hope of escape. Vegetable toppings often exacerbate the problem, resulting in the need to drain pizzas before you box and slice them.

slapped-out pizza crust with olive oil before you sauce it. This creates a mini barrier between crust and sauce. The olive oil seasons the dough, and even adds just a little more flavour to the overall pie. Your sauce will sit on top of this layer and will not likely seep into the dough. This is a preferred method to use if you slap out crusts and sauce them in advance of a rush. You may want to try this with those extra-sauce pizzas. I recommend doing this for take ’n’ bake pizzas as well.

MAKE-AHEADS POSE A PROBLEM There is another factor to consider: if you slap and sauce pizzas out ahead of time in order to meet the demand of a hectic supper rush, you may end up with complaints of raw dough from customers. This can happen even if your sauce is nice and thick. The longer a raw sauced pizza crust sits, the more likely it is to develop a large gum line. And that will ruin any good pizza. There are a few ways to address this. The first is to thicken up your sauce and reduce the water content. For those of you who begin with canned tomatoes, simply

28 pizza JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Watery sauce is often the culprit of doughy gum lines, with the extra moisture separating quickly and leaching into your dough.

strain some of the water out of the can before you add your spices. I would advise you to find a better quality of canned tomatoes to use. With canned tomatoes, the higher the quality, the more tomatoes there are, and the less moisture there is to create a gum line. Alternatively, you can thicken your sauce by letting it marinate overnight. This is a good strategy as it allows your spices to develop amazing flavours. We start with the best quality canned tomatoes and marinate the sauce overnight with our special blend of herbs and spices. Our sauce is truly unique and it’s another point that distinguishes us from our competitors. A third option is to heat your sauce to a simmer then reduce the water content that way. In this case, you will have to adjust your recipe. A fourth method is to brush the

TAKE ’N’ BAKE AN OPPORTUNITY Perhaps you have been thinking of offering take ’n’ bake pizzas to your clientele. A take ’n’ bake customer has a different mentality than someone who orders a freshly baked pizza. This person is thinking ahead for a later meal and not necessarily thinking of the now. There’s also the win-win savings benefit of no tax: none to collect, and none to remit. If you’re not offering take ’n’ bake, why not? Hey, it’s winter: people are more likely to hibernate and you may find that you don’t see your regulars picking up as often as before. So make it easy for them. Get some parchment paper, cardboard rounds, shrink film and a pizza wrapper. Keep customers hooked on your pies and when spring arrives your place will still be top of mind. • Diana Cline is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine chef of the year, an internationally recognized gourmet pizzaiolo, owner of Diana’s Cucina & Lounge in Winnipeg, Man., and a director for the CRFA from 2009 to 2013. In addition to creating award-winning recipes, Diana is also a consultant to other pizzeria owner/operators in menu development, creating systems to run a pizzeria on autopilot, along with marketing and positioning to help operators grow their business effectively and strategically. She is available for consulting on a limited basis. For more information contact her at dianaslcline@gmail.com.

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Annex Bookstore ...................................................27 Burke.....................................................................11 Canadian Pizza Show ............................................14 CRFA Show .............................................................9 Heinz ............................................................... 22-23 Middleby Marshall...................................................7 Moretti Forni .........................................................15 Pizza Expo 2015....................................................21 Ricco Food Distributor ..........................................27 Salerno..................................................................25 Saputo ..................................................................32 Springer’s Meats ...................................................25 Stanislaus ........................................................4 & 5 Viau Food ................................................................2 XLT Ovens .............................................................31 Use these advertiser contact numbers to find out more about a product advertised in this issue or to place an order. This index is provided as a service. Canadian Pizza Magazine is not liable for errors or omissions.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 pizza 29

pizza on fire

Creating a simple business plan Tom Stankiewicz

othing lasts forever. Every now and then we hear about a business that has been around for many years and unexpectedly has closed its doors. The reality is the survival of our businesses is dependent on many outside factors. I often ask myself how we as business owners can prevent the unwanted closure of our businesses. Although many of those factors are out of our hands, we certainly have control over our business’s potential. The most common strategy for staying in business seems to be having a good longterm business plan in place. It is one thing to just talk about the future of your business but having a concrete business plan will allow you to measure your success along the way. Think of it as a roadmap that will lead you in the direction you want to take. A common misconception is that only start-up businesses need a business plan. I would argue that it is essential for all businesses to have it and review it on a regular basis. If you don’t have time to create a business plan on your own, many businesses out there can do it for you. Or you could search for ideas on the Internet. With many variations to choose from, at times you might find it overwhelming to locate the right information. These days the Internet is flooded with information and advice on business topics. That’s why, if you decide to do it on your own, it is important to invest some time and do in-depth research. So how do you know if you have a great business plan that will allow your business to grow successfully? First, it must be written in clear language so that it’s easy to follow and execute. A plan that is complex and difficult to understand will not be of any assistance to you. Rather, it will be a document that you will dread to review

30 pizza JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

It’s important to set clearly defined goals that can be measured and verified.

and over time you will simply put it away. I’m sure that some business owners have learned this the hard way and needed to rewrite their original plan. In this case, less is definitely more. The number one mistake pointed out by many owners is that they have included items in their plans they could not measure. If you do not have clearly defined goals that can be measured and verified, then your business plan is of no use to you. For example, simply writing that sales need to increase in the next quarter is not good enough. In order to measure this deliverable, a better goal would be that the new pizza special should increase sales by 10 per cent. A specific objective like this will allow you to compare your sales to the last quarter and show if your target was met. With a clear sales target of a 10 per cent increase, you could analyze it further. If your sales did not increase as expected, then you could review to determine if the new pizza special was the right product. Maybe it was introduced and offered at the wrong time. Maybe its price didn’t appeal to your customer base. Regardless of the outcome, this information could be used

to further understand what your customers are looking for. You could supplement this information by asking customers for feedback that you could then incorporate when creating your next pizza special. The second important point is that the business plan needs to be reviewed regularly. This is not to say you need to go over it every week, but it would make sense to review it at least on a quarterly basis. Reviewing the plan regularly will allow you to implement changes that you otherwise might not have considered. It’s important to remember that this document is not set in stone. Its purpose is to give you direction based on your future vision of the business. This means that it could and should be modified, if necessary. My advice to all is to think big and think forward. Envision your business five or 10 years from now, not just tomorrow. Thinking that far ahead requires a clear, flexible business plan that will keep you on the right path. • Tom Stankiewicz has been in the pizza business for more than 15 years. He has been the proprietor of Bondi’s Pizza in London, Ont., since 2000 and is president of the Canadian Pizza Team.

DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE

...when you use the best! Come & see us in the new Pizza Pavilion at the Restaurants Canada Show from March 1st – 3rd

Be at the pavilion on Monday, March 2nd at 2PM to be part of our Guinness World Record attempt!

Made in Canada, using authentic Italian tradition, Saputo crafts the finest pizza mozzarella for the most discerning customers. With its unparalleled level of performance, its richness and a stretch that lasts and lasts, your customers will agree that Saputo GOLD is undeniably...