There is a reason people like spicy food, it’s HOT. Not just the feel of the burn, but the consumer trend. Hot and spicy are IN.

In fact, most people prefer spicy food over mild, which is why pepperoni is the No. 1 topping on pizza.  Pepperoni pizzas are the pies of choice among Americans – eaten in equal quantities as the No. 2 favorite; cheese pizza.  (About 70 percent of pizzas are either cheese or pepperoni.)

Spicy foods are hot right now for many reasons: (more…)

Excellent article from Pizza Today Magazine – Michael Sheppard speaks

1. The pizza business is the “people business.” You need people to make your pizza, and you need people to buy your pizza. You need both a passion for people and pizza. The sooner you understand this the sooner things will make sense.
2. Being profitable is a deliberate action. It doesn’t come by luck or automatically by high sales. Restaurant profit is in the boring details and tedious tasks of managing ideal food cost variance, labor budgets, prime vendor agreement, portion control, and so on.
3. Systems and delegation allow for growth. Creating easy-to-follow systems and procedures gave my employees the tools they needed to do the job right. They knew what to do and how to do it, freeing managers up to manage and allowing me to focus on growing the business.

read more – https://www.pizzatoday.com/news/pizza-expo-news/top-ten-important-lessons-ive-learned-pizza-business/

Generation Z— that millennial cohort born between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s — is the subject of a lot of restaurateurs’ attention these days. After all, this teen-aged to young adult group makes up a large segment of that always-coveted 18-to-35 demographic. Now a network known as Unidays has released a study that casts light on “What Restaurant Need to Know About Gen Z.”

The study — based on qualitative research generated by a survey of more than 1,800 U.S. Generation Z students last August — highlights common misconceptions and often surprising trends when it comes to understanding and engaging this sometimes tough-to-reach consumer subset.

Here are four of the major findings from the survey results  that pizza restaurateurs can both learn about and put to immediate use:  read more – https://www.pizzamarketplace.com/news/gen-z-spends-most-their-cash-on-restaurants-4-ways-to-get-it/

According to a recent article on Eater, pizza now reigns supreme as the leading fast casual restaurant model, representing 37% of all fast casual restaurants. This number is ahead of seafood fast casual at 25% and “healthy” at 21%. Here are a few takeaways we picked up about fast casual pizzerias from the Eater article:

1. Fast casuals offer quick, affordable, personal-size in-store pizzas.

2. They offer “wild, organic, creative, natural, high-quality” ingredients.

3. They get guests in and out quickly during a lunch rush.

4. Guests have a variety of options when it comes to crusts, sauces, and cheeses (including vegan).

5. They cater to regional preferences.

6. Through careful pre-measurement of ingredients, operators know approximately how much each pizza will cost them.

read more – http://www.pmq.com/October-2017/Pizza-Rules-Fast-Casual/

Halloween is a great opportunity to share your creative side with artistic pizzas and appetizers. Share your creations on social media and invite guests in to try a sample. read more – 

Pumpkin pepperoni pizza pockets