Who's our No. 1? - Networld Media Group
Who's our No. 1? - Networld Media Group
Who's our No. 1? - Networld Media Group
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
leapfrogpos.com<br />
Naked Pizza<br />
New Orleans-based Naked Pizza – with its “LivNaked” mantra – is<br />
just a few years old, but is way ahead of the fledgling healthier food<br />
trend with its all-natural, gluten-free ingredients. The business got<br />
its start around 2006 by f<strong>our</strong> ambitious partners who tapped highstakes<br />
investors such as billionaire Mark Cuban to help get the ball<br />
rolling.<br />
In the six years since, the chain has been recognized by publications<br />
such as the New York Times and Entrepreneur magazine. Cuban<br />
has also taken a more active role in the company, bringing his<br />
network and res<strong>our</strong>ces into the mix, according to partner Robbie<br />
Vitrano.<br />
Naked Pizza’s health-focused menu and mission was the<br />
differentiator Vitrano, Randy Crochet, Brock Fillinger and Jeff<br />
Leach needed to plant the seed. Its social media strategy helped<br />
with the germination.<br />
Naked Pizza is up to 7,000 Facebook fans and nearly 17,000 Twitter<br />
followers. The business garnered much attention early on when<br />
the delivery billboard in front of its New Orleans restaurant was<br />
replaced with one that advertises its Twitter handle.<br />
“We've continued to be invited to share <strong>our</strong> story and<br />
lend <strong>our</strong> point of view relative to social innovation<br />
and entrepreneurship, most recently keynoting Inc.<br />
magazine's GrowCo and next month at the Social<br />
Innovation Summit 2012 at the UN,” Vitrano said.<br />
Naked Pizza’s customized POS systems can track orders<br />
related to social media promotions and can individualize<br />
special offers. Each store is equipped with an iPad kiosk<br />
for customers to place carry-out orders, tweet to the<br />
company and sign up for email newsletters.<br />
Naked Pizza’s main niche is its food, with a crust made<br />
from an Ancestral Blend of 10 grains, plus prebiotic agave<br />
fiber and probiotics (think, yogurt). The tomato sauce is<br />
all-natural, spiced and herbed, with no added sugar or citric<br />
acid. Cheese is 100-percent natural, rGBH-free, real Wisconsin<br />
mozzarella, and veggies are also all-natural, no additives. Proteins<br />
on the menu include pork, chicken and beef, all free of growth<br />
hormones and antibiotics.<br />
“We intend to launch the world’s largest grassroots health<br />
movement. We’ll do that by making a delicious, affordable, allnatural<br />
pizza,” according to the company’s website.<br />
Naked Pizza also just jumped into the frozen pizza space, adding a<br />
retail component to the fast-growing business.<br />
The fledgling company has 23 units in the U.S. and the Middle<br />
East (five in Dubai), with numerous agreements in the pipeline,<br />
including in Beirut, Sydney, Nairobi, Miami, Chicago, Vancouver,<br />
Seattle and Philadelphia. India and Australia are also scheduled to<br />
get their first Naked Pizzas in late summer/early fall, Vitrano said.<br />
7
Change language