Canadian Pizza Virtual Summit creates pop-up pizza community

We couldn’t be together in person this year . . . so members of our pizza community got together virtually! On Oct. 19 Canadian Pizza hosted a live, half-day Virtual Canadian Pizza Summit to promote conversation and fresh ideas for your pizzeria. It featured live roundtable talks with pizzeria operators across the country and marketing experts, video demonstrations – including a killer dual demo on Windsor-style and Detroit-style pizza by previous Chef of the Year Dean Litster, and our Great Pizza Box Fold-Off – Virtual Edition.

Scott Wiener, founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and Slice Out Hunger (current campaign: Pizza Vs. Pandemic) joined us live with inspiring opening remarks on how to get people to actively root for your pizzeria. It’s not just about the food, Scott told us – pizzerias are “a reset” to a simple pleasure many people associate with childhood.

My key takeaways from the event:

• Tell your pizzeria’s story over and over.
• People will root for your pizzeria if they understand the people behind the product.
• Explore new ways to reach out to your community.
• If you’re seeing good sales, keep up your current marketing strategies; if sales are dropping, that’s when it’s time to pivot.
• Check out Canada Post’s mailer deal before Oct. 31 to reach customers in your pizzeria’s neighbourhood to get an extra sales bump.
• “Get out of your own head and try something new.” – Chef of the Year 2019 Dean Litster on creating innovative pizza.
• And finally, always continue learning from each other and all from all available resources.

Thank you to all the attendees, panellists, sponsors, and my own team for a fabulous Virtual Canadian Pizza Summit #VirtualCanadianPizzaSummit2020

If you missed this unique industry event, you can still register to gain access to the recorded sessions. Check back to canadianpizzamag.com for details in the coming days.

Meanwhile, enjoy our Canadian Pizza Virtual Summit Playlist on Spotify – highlighting songs that express our operators’ current mood!

The Virtual Canadian Pizza Summit is made possible with the help of our generous sponsors: Premier sponsors Faema Canada, Euro-Milan Inc. and Ardent Mills, Prime sponsor EM Bakery Equipment and Great Pizza Box Fold-Off sponsor Lallemand Baking.