Sept. 26, 2012, Toronto – Pizza Pizza is now offering its
customers a line of personal size gourmet pizzas made in five minutes for the
value price of $4.99.
The 10-inch pizzas are made on a thin multigrain crust and
feature upmarket ingredients, such as arugula, cipollini onions, and smoked
provolone.
Pat Finelli, chief marketing officer for Pizza Pizza, was on
hand Tuesday to present the new line to media. The company has been working on
the product for the past two years, an effort that has allowed the chain to
offer customers an upscale alternative to slices while still making a good
margin, says Finelli. The pizzas are available to walk-in clientele only.
“This pizza doesn’t deliver well,” he says of the
thin-crust’s tendency to get soggy on the drive. He says Pizza Pizza is also
looking to increase their lunchtime walk-in share with this new offering.
The word healthy was a descriptor batted around a few times,
and the pies do seem to fit the description, all coming in around 500 calories
due to an easy on dough, sauce and cheese approach.
Each of the 12 featured recipes are $4.99, with the
exception of the Quattro Funghi, Chicken Bruschetta, Sweet Chili Thai and the
“a la carte” option, which sell for $5.99. Pizza bases for the line are either
red, pesto or white. Eight new recipes were developed and four existing ones
used, says Florence Alexander-Parray, product developer for Pizza Pizza.
“In the end, I was very happy with what we achieved,” says
Alexander-Parray. She also commented that the tuna topping is new to people,
but they are becoming accustomed to it. Pizza Pizza now carries 38 toppings.
The gourmet line’s soft launch is currently being rolled out across Canada with the official kick-off slated for post-Thanksgiving, says Finelli.
Print this page
