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PREPARED FOODS<br />
recipes and pizza topping ideas,” says Cara<br />
Caulkins, spokeswoman for Stonefire Authentic<br />
Flatbreads in Toronto, Canada.<br />
“We see those trends in at-home cooking<br />
and entertaining, and pizza continues to<br />
be a staple in homes across the country.<br />
People still stick with their favorite basic<br />
cheese, veggie and meat options, but they<br />
are getting more adventurous as well when<br />
it comes to recipes and pizza toppings.”<br />
The possibilities for exceptional culinary<br />
adventure in the toppings are almost endless,<br />
say the experts.<br />
“You will see a combination of artisan<br />
pizzas for Millennials topped with buffalo<br />
chicken, wild mushrooms and ricotta drizzled<br />
with white truffle oil, and healthful<br />
options like whole-wheat and gluten-free<br />
crusts and vegetarian ingredients such as<br />
grilled or roasted vegetables, arugula, radicchio<br />
and chopped salad,” says Crissan.<br />
The deli can distinguish itself in the<br />
crowded field by putting together a display<br />
announcing its pizza is delicious and authentic.<br />
“Create an Italian look and feel by having<br />
a wood-fired oven or brick oven instore<br />
along with the animation of making<br />
pizza in front of the consumers,” advises<br />
Crissan. “We are still seeing a lot of true<br />
Neapolitan- style Margherita pizzas, an assortment<br />
of vodka sauce pizzas, and many<br />
white pizzas with either all cheese, frutti<br />
di mare [assorted seafood such as clams,<br />
shrimp, lobster, crab and smoked salmon],<br />
Alfredo sauce or aioli base.”<br />
Deli operators can offer consumers<br />
both the convenience of prepared pizzas<br />
and the opportunity to add special ingredients.<br />
“We have topped pizzas you can add<br />
a few ingredients to,” says Deiorio’s Caloia.<br />
“We have thinner crust in an 11-inch round<br />
and par-baked shells at 12 or 16 inches.”<br />
Flatbread crust options also are gaining<br />
in popularity, in part because the deli can<br />
use them to create multiple items. “We are<br />
selling more to delis than we have in the<br />
past, especially products like flatbread you<br />
can use for sandwiches or small pizzas,”<br />
says Caloia. “The flatbread is the big thing<br />
right now. You can get a few menu items<br />
out of one SKU, and that helps if you are a<br />
small retailer or small department.”<br />
Individual Pizzas<br />
There are so many possibilities when it<br />
comes to pizza these days, it may be helpful<br />
to offer individual-sized pies so everyone in<br />
the party can have their favorite.<br />
“The continuing trend with pizza is individualism<br />
or individual creativity,” says<br />
Warren Stoll, marketing director at Kontos<br />
Foods, Paterson, NJ. “In the pizza industry,<br />
everyone wants it their own way. That’s<br />
the trend I see. We sell individual-sized<br />
crusts in both retail and foodservice. These<br />
crusts are 7 inches in diameter and the ingredients<br />
you can use are limitless.”<br />
As Kontos moves toward more flatbread<br />
sales in the retail market, the company<br />
finds there is strong interest in their<br />
pizza crust built for one. “We are mainly<br />
foodservice, but we’ve recently increased<br />
our retail penetration,” says Stoll. “We recently<br />
picked up several mainstream retailers,<br />
and everyone wants the pizza crust.”<br />
Pizza by the slice is another way to let<br />
every member of the family make an individual<br />
choice.<br />
“Offer pizza by the slice or a fresh<br />
made-to-order whole pie,” says Crissan.<br />
“Sampling a freshly made pizza when it<br />
comes out of the oven is a great way to increase<br />
sales.”<br />
There is even room to showcase crusts<br />
as another area in which consumers have<br />
multiple choices.<br />
“We see variety as key to the pizza<br />
category, offering different types of readybaked<br />
crusts and flatbreads for consumers<br />
to be creative at home,” says Stonefire Au-<br />
PHOTO COURTESY OF RUSTIC CRUST<br />
42 <strong>DELI</strong> <strong>BUSINESS</strong> OCT/NOV OCT/NOV 2015