WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Sure, the autumnal equinox technically marks the official start of fall, but let’s get real – the true kickoff to the season begins when pumpkin spice starts landing on menus. One of the most iconic flavors of all time, pumpkin spice is a flavor consumers anticipate every year. Today, &pizza officially put the PSL on notice with something that will leave pumpkin lovers drooling: Pumpkin Spice Knots.

No one does sweet and savory quite like &pizza, and its new Pumpkin Spice Knots were created to deliver on that promise – and then some. Wrapped inside &pizza’s legendary dough is a warm pumpkin spice filling. Once out of the oven, they’re finished with a sweet vanilla icing and a healthy dash of powdered sugar that will have everyone ready to don their plaid flannels, denim and UGG boots. The new Pumpkin Spice Knots will be available for a limited time while supplies last for $6 at all &pizza locations.

“Let’s be honest, brands hang their hats on pumpkin spice every year, but it’s a rinse-and-repeat cycle that’s become mundane at best,” says Mike Burns, CEO of &pizza. “Boring and expected are a death sentence, so we decided to do something about it. We don’t tip toe around trends – we hijack them.”

Mission-driven to create a more socially conscious, culture-carrying community, &pizza is not “Big Pizza,” and it’s proud to be so. More than just a better flavor/quality ingredients kind of pizza shop, &pizza leads with real actions and an unwavering commitment to being more; so, expect more.

Ready to give the Pumpkin Spice Knots a try? Join &pizza’s rewards club to unlock members-only deals, VIP events, swag and more. Download the app or visit andpizza.com to start stacking your &coins.

For more information and to place an order online, please visit order.thanx.com/andpizza.

Price and participation may vary by location. For a list of all location, please visit andpizza.com/andpizza-locations.

About &pizza

Founded in 2012, &pizza is a mission-driven, culture carrying community dedicated to better flavor, quality ingredients, and community betterment. Proud to differentiate themselves, &pizza is doing more for their workers by providing a livable wage, a socially conscious vision, and real action to help advance real social progress. &pizza has locations across the East Coast in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

SOURCE: &pizza

The post Are You Punkin’ Me With These Pumpkin Spice Knots? appeared first on Pizza Today.

That’s the magic of limited-time offerings (LTOs), and if you’re not using them in your pizzeria, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful tools for driving sales, engaging customers and keeping your brand fresh.

At Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, Lars Smith from State of Mind Hospitality Group delivered a masterclass on why LTOs should be part of every pizzeria’s strategy. As chef and co-owner of three successful locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Smith has built LTOs into the very DNA of his business since day one. His insights reveal how these temporary menu additions can transform not just your sales figures, but your entire restaurant culture.

What Makes a Limited-Time Offer Actually Work?

An LTO is any special promotion available for a limited time – whether that’s a discounted item, special menu creation, or one-off event. But here’s the thing: not all LTOs are created equal.

Smith breaks down the key ingredients that make LTOs irresistible to customers:

Urgency creates that “get it now or miss out forever” feeling that drives immediate action. When customers know something won’t be around long, they prioritize it over their usual choices.

Seasonal relevance taps into what’s happening in the world around us. Think pumpkin spice pizzas in fall, Super Bowl specials, or holiday-themed creations that feel perfectly timed.

Exclusivity means offering something they literally can’t get anywhere else. This isn’t about copying your competitor’s latest promotion – it’s about creating a unique reason to choose your pizzeria.

Scarcity amplifies desire, whether through limited daily quantities or short availability windows. When State of Mind offers just 15 grandma slices per day, customers know to order early or miss out.

Six Game-Changing Reasons to Embrace LTOs

1. Turn Fence-Sitters Into First-Time Customers

Acquiring new customers is expensive and challenging in our crowded market. But an enticing LTO can be the push that gets someone who’s been “meaning to try your place” through your doors.

Smith shares how restaurant week specials, featuring unique pizza and spritz pairings, not only brought in new faces but generated free press coverage. “It’s a great way to get people that are on the fence with an enticing reason to visit,” he explains.

2. Reignite Your Regular Customers’ Excitement

Even your most loyal customers can fall into routine. LTOs give them something new to get excited about and share with friends and family.

Smith shares that after his wife won an international competition with her pumpkin spice pizza, they put it on the menu as a limited-time offering. “Regular customers already believe in us,” Smith says. “And they’re really excited to come in and try that award-winning pizza.”

3. Unleash Your Team’s Creativity

Here’s where LTOs become more than just a sales strategy – they become fuel for innovation. Smith calls this his favorite aspect: “Doing LTOs is an incredible outlet for your chefs, your team’s creativity.”

When you build creativity into your regular operations, you’re not just keeping customers interested – you’re keeping your team energized and pushing the boundaries of what your kitchen can accomplish.

4. Showcase Seasonal and Local Ingredients

For pizzerias committed to quality ingredients, LTOs provide the perfect vehicle for highlighting seasonal produce and local partnerships. Smith’s California location takes advantage of short-season items like fresh figs and local apricots that would be impossible to feature year-round.

“Particularly when we’re talking about figs, which is only a couple weeks season, or apricots that are only really a few week season, you really have this opportunity: ‘Hey, we’ve got this great local thing and you can only get it for three weeks,’” Smith notes.

5. Test New Products Without Long-Term Commitment

Want to add prosciutto to your regular menu aren’t sure if customers will bite? Run it as an LTO first. Smith’s team tested everything from truffle honey to Aperol spritzes this way, tracking sales and gathering feedback before making permanent menu decisions.

“You don’t have to make a long-term investment in something,” he explains. “You can get a case, run it and see what customer feedback is like.”

6. Create Marketing Gold

LTOs give you something compelling to talk about across all your marketing channels. Instead of posting, “Come eat our pizza because we made it yesterday and the day before,” you’re sharing exclusive, time-sensitive content on social media.

Smith emphasizes how this creates “organic marketing opportunities” while providing natural hooks for email campaigns, social posts and even local press coverage.

Beyond Profit: LTOs as Community Connection

One of the most powerful applications Smith shares involves using LTOs for community support. By creating special pizzas and donating a portion of proceeds to local organizations, State of Mind has supported disaster relief, youth coding programs and food pantries.

Their fire relief pizza generated over $2,000 in donations for Slice Out Hunger while introducing chicken to their menu for the first time. “You’re going to drive people in and they’re not just buying that pizza,” Smith notes. “They’re going to spend more and feel good about it.”

The Secret to LTO Success: Planning and Execution

Having a great idea isn’t enough; successful LTOs require systematic execution. Smith emphasizes the importance of:

Detailed Planning: Create build sheets, recipe cards and pricing strategies before launch. Your team needs to know exactly how to prepare and present the LTO.

Staff Training: Team members can’t sell what they don’t understand. Make sure everyone tastes the LTO and knows how to describe it to customers.

Strategic Marketing: Give yourself adequate lead time for photography, social media content and staff preparation. Rush jobs rarely succeed.

Clear End Dates: The “limited” in limited-time offering is crucial. Even successful LTOs should have planned end dates to maintain their special nature.

Making It Work for Your Pizzeria

Before introducing LTOs, get your regular operations running smoothly first. “Give it a month or two to get to know the flow,” he suggests. “Make sure you’re executing your menu because if you’re not operating as a well-oiled machine and you add an LTO, it’s probably creating more of a problem.”

The key is starting with your bandwidth and building up. Even simple LTOs like daily pizza specials or weekly add-on features can drive engagement and test new concepts.

Ready to Transform Your Pizzeria?

LTOs aren’t just about boosting short-term sales – they’re about creating a culture of innovation, community engagement, and customer excitement that extends far beyond individual promotions. As Smith puts it, “LTOs are a great way to keep evolving your menu and your business.”

The restaurants thriving in our competitive landscape aren’t just serving great food – they’re creating experiences, building anticipation, and giving customers compelling reasons to choose them over the countless other options available.

Your next LTO could be the spark that transforms a slow Tuesday into your busiest day of the week, turns a curious browser into a loyal regular, or creates the signature item that defines your brand for years to come.

The question isn’t whether you can afford to experiment with limited-time offerings – it’s whether you can afford not to. Your customers are waiting to be surprised, your team is ready to be creative, and your community is looking for reasons to support local businesses that care.

What will your first LTO be?

The post Why Your Pizzeria Needs Limited-Time Offerings appeared first on Pizza Today.

(CINCINNATI, OH) March 11, 2025 – Dewey’s Pizza is bringing a bold twist to a deli classic with Uptown Reuben, a limited-time pizza packed with rich flavors and housemade ingredients. Inspired by the beloved Reuben sandwich, this unique pizza will be available for just two weeks at all 26 Dewey’s locations from March 11-24, 2025.

Crafted by Carter Stepp at Dewey’s O’Fallon, IL location, the Uptown Reuben pizza was one of four winning creations from the 2024 Dewey’s Pizza Recipe Battle. Stepp, a dedicated Dewey’s team member for the past seven years, has a passion for crafting new and exciting flavor combinations. Last year, the Recipe Battle brought fans the Peach Street pizza, a standout creation that showcased fresh basil, Vidalia onions, prosciutto, and wine-infused peaches. This year, Stepp continues that tradition with Uptown Reuben—a tribute to the iconic deli sandwich, which features olive oil, Cleveland Kitchen sauerkraut, mozzarella, corned beef, Swiss cheese, caraway seeds, housemade rye breadcrumbs, and housemade Thousand Island dressing after the bake.

“For the seven years I’ve worked at Dewey’s, I’ve had a special interest in creating new recipes and sharing them with the Dewey’s crew in O’Fallon. Whether it’s my honey sriracha chicken pizza or Italian beef pizza, the reactions from my fellow team members to my creations have warmed my heart,” shares Stepp.

The Uptown Reuben represents more than just a sandwich-inspired pizza—it’s a blend of flavors, culture, and creativity. “Uptown” signifies an elevated take on the classic Reuben, a nod to the metropolitan deli scene where the sandwich gained fame, and a subtle tribute to the musical influences that have embraced the term “Uptown” in hit songs over the years such as “Uptown Funk” and Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl”.

For a perfect pairing, try the new Citrus & Beet salad, available March 18 – April 14, 2025. Made with field greens, sliced pickled red beets, house-roasted & sliced golden beets, goat cheese, roasted & salted sunflower kernels, and housemade orange zest vinaigrette, this fresh and vibrant salad complements the distinct flavors of the Uptown Reuben pizza.

Gluten-free crust and dairy-free cheese are also available upon request at all Dewey’s locations. Guests can purchase The Uptown Reuben pizza and the Citrus & Beet salad for dine-in, carryout, or online at deweyspizza.com.

About Dewey’s Pizza

Dewey’s Pizza is a casual, family-friendly restaurant offering authentic pizzas, fresh salads, and local craft beer. The company celebrates more than 26 years of taking pizza to the next level with their 26 locations across the Midwest. Dewey’s is passionate about delivering exceptional quality and enlightened hospitality. In addition, Dewey’s philanthropic giving efforts are dedicated to nourishing the local community through volunteerism and fundraising efforts, raising over $2 million for local nonprofits since 2009. More information can be found at deweyspizza.com.

The post Dewey’s Pizza Announces Employee-Created Pizza for Limited Time appeared first on Pizza Today.

“A brand becomes a brand when it is consistent.”
– anonymous

There is always a debate on what is marketing and what is branding. There is one factor that runs into both, and that is consistency. When crafting your message, it must ring loud enough and often enough to make an impact.  We talked last month about implementing pizza styles that make you stick out from your competitors. When putting together the marketing campaign around the new style, you want to make sure your branding message is entrenched in the overall campaign.

We recently introduced a Tavern Style pizza to our menu, and we now are advertising it. We built this campaign for a 90-day stretch of time. In the past we have done monthly pizza specials. However, we have found that 30 days is not enough time to run a Limited Time Offer pizza. We like to run somewhere between 4 to 6 limited time offerings throughout the year. Some examples of LTO’s would be our stuffed crust pizza, our pickle pizza, a new style of pizza or a collaboration with a non-profit.

We like to run these LTOs because it keeps things fresh and new. When we run a new campaign, here are the ways we promote and position the new pizza:

• We start by taking great pictures. Set aside a few hours where you can take some great photos of the new pizza. We usually start this process at least two months before we launch the special.
• Once we have the pictures, we then create in-store displays. This includes posters, table tops and sometimes box toppers.
• We also create digital ads for social media. We have found that if we create fresh digital ads for all of the social platforms (each one having their own ad) that the results are higher. Additionally, we have found that if we use another fresh digital ad halfway through the campaign we likewise end up with higher visibility.
• On top of the digital static ads, mixing in videos in the form of short videos is a huge plus. Short videos of staff talking about the creation or trying it goes a long way in the eye of the customer. We typically have some paid Facebook and Instagram ads to which we allocate some of these advertising dollars. That further helps push these specials to introduce them to the public.
• Finally, training your staff to offer the LTO is another key to success. We let the staff try all the new LTO pizzas so that they understand the item and can get excited about it. We always offer it at a fair price — a fair price for the customer, but also a fair price for us so that we can still run a profitable restaurant.

If you have other forms of advertisement in your arsenal already like direct mail, TV, billboards or radio, I suggest you use them around your limited time offers as well. Since we mentioned profitability, that’s what we will get into in the next installment of Building Blocks!

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh.  Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Building Blocks: Promoting Your Limited Time Offerings appeared first on Pizza Today.

Successful LTO strategies find the middle path between innovation and familiarity. Too new and different, and guests may be hesitant to try a menu item, but laying what’s new on a familiar foundation greatly increases the chances of success. This is why pasta makes a great framework for LTOs: it’s got broad appeal — loved/liked by 89 percent of consumers according to Datassential — and offers endless possibilities for customization and personalization.

“For me, pasta is a great menu category for trying new things because people are already comfortable with the basics,” Felice says. “They understand what pasta is, so if you can incorporate fun ingredients or new items into something familiar, they’re more likely to give it a try.”

To truly stand out, LTOs should be visually appealing, taste great, and perform consistently. This is why pizza operators have experienced success with simple innovations like heart-shaped pizzas, and the new, limited-edition heart-shaped Barilla Love pasta also taps into this concept. “The appeal of the heart-shaped pasta is obvious; it’s cute, fun, and looks great on the plate,” says Felice. “On special occasions, small details like these make a big difference.”

Pasta is a versatile dish that can stand alone or pair with popular menu items. A heart-shaped pasta with “rosa” tomato-cream sauce is perfect for a Valentine’s Day menu, or a baked item with fall-season flavors for National Pasta Month. As a side, it can be used for a heart-shaped mac and cheese paired with popular menu items like wings. Pasta’s ability to maximize existing SKUs and sauces, particularly in the pizza category, makes it an easy addition to the menu.

Pasta is also quick and easy to prepare without highly skilled labor, which is crucial for restaurant operations. “Speed of service is important in the pizza category, and a delicious bowl of pasta can be served fast,” Felice says. “Pasta is quick from both a kitchen and guest perspective.”

Crucially, pasta is profitable. Operators can control portion sizes and ingredient costs while delivering a dish that feels indulgent and satisfying to the customer. With the right sauce or toppings, a simple bowl of pasta can add value to the guest while maintaining excellent margins.

As the need to drive traffic only increases, using LTOs can be a winning strategy, especially with an easy, versatile, profitable, and popular item like pasta. Available only for a limited time, Barilla Love adds an instant hook to the menu, offering more than just the visual appeal of the heart-shaped rigatoni. It comes with Barilla’s well-earned reputation for quality, a legacy shaped by over 147 years in the pasta business.

Barilla Love is available through your distributor now via pre-order from DOT Foods, delivering in early 2025. Supplies are limited! For samples and more information, visit the Barilla website today.

The post Pasta LTO’s Pave the Way to Profit appeared first on Pizza Today.

Bill Jacobs’s voice fills with energy as he discusses the 2024 Slice to Meet You campaign at Piece, his Chicago-based brewery and pizzeria.

Starting in January, Piece debuted a different monthly pizza crafted in collaboration with an acclaimed Chicago chef in support of PAWS Chicago, the Midwest’s largest no-kill animal shelter. For every $35 pizza sold over the three-month fundraising campaign, PAWS collected $50 – a $10 donation from Piece coupled with matching donations from four separate donors. After raising nearly $30,000 for PAWS last year, Jacobs hopes this year’s edition, which concludes April 9, surpasses $50,000.

“This has taken on a life of its own,” Jacobs says. “People are passionate about animals, celebrity chefs and pizza, so we hit the trifecta right there.”

Many pizzerias share Jacobs’s zeal for community-centered philanthropy, which can be good for the soul and for business by stimulating revenue, awareness and public goodwill.

“Find a cause that resonates with you and emulate what we’ve done,” Jacobs challenges his fellow pizzeria operators.

Creative campaigns

Pizzerias across the country continue creating clever LTOs to support worthy causes.

Last July, Milwaukee-based Pizza Man introduced a special burger pizza to support Ronald McDonald House Charities Eastern Wisconsin.

In Dallas, Sfuzzi’s month-long Influencer Pizza Challenge tasks local personalities to create limited-edition pies and compete head-to-head for charitable dollars. Efforts have supported a local homeless recovery center, a women’s shelter and the North Texas Food Bank.

In Audubon, New Jersey, Genova Pizza has embraced a different approach, using its pizza boxes, rather than its pies, to support admirable causes.

Last spring, the family-owned establishment created themed pizza boxes featuring an animated superhero caricature of Callen McDonnell, a local two-year-old battling Leukemia. Throughout April 2023, any purchase of a Grandma Pizza – Genova’s best-selling Sicilian-style pie – was placed in the special “Super Cal” box with proceeds directed to the family. The effort raised $1,500 for the McDonnells.

“This felt like an opportunity to do something that mattered,” says Genova Pizza co-owner Ali Doukali.

Genova followed up its Super Cal initiative with a second “local hero” pizza box in September highlighting former Genova employee and U.S. Marine Harrison Whitman. Proceeds from that campaign’s effort went to the Warrior Foundation in Whitman’s honor. Genova has since created a nomination process for community members to suggest future local heroes and beneficiaries.

“Amid a lot of negativity in the world, we want to give back and be a positive community partner,” Doukali says. “Since getting this off the ground, we see potential to do a lot of good for people around us.”

Optimizing results

As Piece, Pizza Man, Sfuzzi and Genova demonstrate, creative, philanthropic initiatives offer pizzerias a chance to show their community-minded ethos and capture attention.

“A lot that can be done to make this attractive to your market,” Jacobs reminds.

And a few well-executed steps can help pizzerias create fruitful campaigns:

#1: Make it special.

At Piece, Jacobs has leveraged the culinary talents – and ingredients – of his collaborators to create novel limited-time offerings. The Hot Smoque’n Pizza created by Barry Sorkin of Smoque BBQ and Doug Sohn of Hot Doug’s, for example, features Sorkin’s smoked chicken thighs and Sohn’s andouille sausage on a white pizza with smoked mozzarella, scallions and creole sauce.

Jacobs and his culinary team at Piece work with every chef collaborator to create, test and tweak the special pizza before its debut.

“You need an enticing and interesting product to draw orders,” Jacobs says.

#2: Time it right.

Pizzerias create urgency when they put an expiration date on cause-related initiatives. Time limits also give operators a focused period to build a story and spark interest without risking a stale initiative. For many, one month seems about right – enough time to let a campaign simmer and capture results, but not too long that the initiative fades into the background as routine business.

And while a pizzeria can roll out a special initiative at any point during the calendar year, a little strategy can maximize impact. Piece, for instance, rolls out its Slice to Meet You effort over the year’s opening three months, historically the year’s slowest quarter for Piece’s bottom line and PAWS’s fundraising.

#3: Spread the word.

When Callen McDonnell and his family visited Genova Pizza last spring to see the pizza boxes, the pizzeria shared photos of the family’s visit on social media, which elevated awareness of the effort.

“Without community support, this wouldn’t have taken off the way it did,” Doukali says.

It’s vital the restaurant (and its partner) actively promote the initiative. Invite local media and influencers to visit and post regularly on social channels to drum up interest.

“It’s important to provide concise and consistent communications throughout the campaign,” says Jacobs, who builds a library of ready-made social content by capturing photos and videos of the pizza-creation process with each celebrity chef.

#4: Plan ahead.

A half-baked effort will do little good for the pizzeria or its beneficiary, so get the necessities in hand before launch.

Ready print marketing collateral, including in-store signage and table tents, and any special ingredients required to make the LTO pies well in advance. Before Genova Pizza introduced its Super Cal pizza box, Doukali researched custom box vendors and secured a high-quality box for the 32-slice Grandma pizza.

In addition, Jacobs urges operators to run the numbers and charge an appropriate price for the special pizzas to ensure beneficial results.

“Be aware of your costs so you can make it work,” Jacobs advises.

#5: Amplify the impact.

A cause-related initiative does not have to stop at the pizza sale, as eateries can drive additional impact.

Genova’s effort to benefit the McDonnell family, for instance, included selling Super Cal t-shirts and sharing a link to the McDonnell’s GoFundMe page on every pizza box. Moving forward, Doukali sees an opportunity to improve messaging and propel impact, perhaps by including a QR code on boxes linking to a personal video or call to action.

“As we go through this process, we certainly see ways to refine it,” he says.

DANIEL P. SMITH Chicago-based writer has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post Backing Causes on the Menu appeared first on Pizza Today.

Time is running out! Buy now before it’s too late! Don’t miss your chance!

It’s a cold hard fact that scarcity sells. Companies like eBay and StubHub are valued in the billions because of it. We get excited every time the McRib comes back and there’s mayhem when Pumpkin Spice Latte season returns. Fortunately for you, it’s also useful to independent pizzerias. A limited time offering, or LTO, can provide the power to do more than just boost sales. By tapping into the customers’ fear of missing out you can increase sales, attract media attention, and strengthen your community relations.

Seasonality

Every summer, pizza fans flock to Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana’s sixteen locations for a taste of their fresh tomato pizza. This is a pizza that’s only available while tomatoes are in season, unlike the restaurant’s perennial pies that use canned tomatoes. Sales surge as customers grab what they can before time runs out. When summer ends, so does the fresh tomato pizza.

The rhythm of seasonality keeps Dan Richer engaged with both his customers and local farmers through his ever-changing menu at Razza in Jersey City. “Customers want to know when corn is coming back and when zucchini will be on the menu again. The truth is that I don’t know! What we’re doing is alive.” Richer bases his entire concept on perpetual change. He reprints menus every day so he can adjust to the limits of nature. There are some pizzas that will always be available, but the ability to constantly add items based on seasonality gives Razza fans a reason to come back more often.

Collaboration

What’s better than marketing to your own customers? Marketing to someone else’s customers! You can use LTOs to do both by offering a limited-time collaboration with another local business. Greenville Avenue Pizza Company in Dallas teamed up with a popular Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood to create a hit. “They told us their number one seller was the Dan Dan Sausage, so we took inspiration from that dish to create a super popular pizza that lived on our menu for just a few weeks,” says owner Sammy Mandell.

Alex Coons has had great success collaborating with like-minded businesses through his restaurant Hot Tongue in the Silverlake section of Los Angeles. “We recently ran a collaborative pie for just one weekend with a fantastic local restaurant called BeeWali’s. The collaboration proved to be a fantastic marketing tool for both of us, drawing in lots of new faces. It was one of our best weekends of the year.” Collaborations like this don’t just build a restaurant’s audience, they also strengthen communities.

Publicity

The main reason Greenville Avenue Pizza Company runs limited-time offerings is to stay relevant. “Our focus is on staying top of mind,” says Mandell. “How do you get yourself press coverage if you’re doing the same thing every day?” By having a rolling series of LTOs, Greenville Avenue Pizza Company has established a reputation within their community. It’s so much a part of their identity that the largest local magazine in Dallas recently featured them on the cover of their pizza-centric issue. Even better, the magazine asked GAPCO to collaborate on a special pizza in celebration of the issue. It doesn’t get any better than collaborating with the press!

On the social media side, an LTO provides loads of content opportunities. Images and videos of your new creation will generate buzz and provide a nice break from the same photo of your pepperoni pizza. MaiPai Tiki Bar in Hamilton, Ontario uses Instagram Reels to announce a new featured pizza every week. These videos rack up thousands of views and lead to a spike in pre-orders. MaiPai once ran a social media campaign that invited their followers to vote for their favorite weekly feature. They scored lots of engagement and used the results to update their regular menu.

Boosting Slow Periods

Time-sensitive offers have the ability to bring people through the door in times of need. Mama’s Too in New York City creates a new sandwich every week to be sold only on Wednesday. Regulars who usually come in for pizza make an extra visit on Wednesday just to pick up the weekly sandwich. The pizzeria announces the sandwich one day in advance via Instagram and they regularly sell out.

Diana Huynh, owner of Cici’s Pizza & Wings in Toronto, fired up an LTO when she noticed her merch line wasn’t selling. Last October, she celebrated Pizza Month with a special offer of a free slice with the purchase of any piece of Cici’s swag. She usually sells just five pieces of merch per month, but the free slice incentive increased that number to over forty.

Challenges

Creating temporary menu items takes a lot of work. You’ll have to devote time to R&D, especially if you’re working with an unfamiliar ingredient or process. Seasonal items pose a particular challenge because a short season won’t give you much time to experiment.

Before you can take your new item public, you’ll have to train your staff. The kitchen has to know how to prepare the dish and your servers need to be able to sell it. A complicated process that clogs up your makeline will give you more headaches than solutions. This is another reason it’s great to collaborate with another restaurant that can handle some of the prep for you.

One of the most popular LTOs at Greenville Avenue Pizza Company is their Pretty Pickle pizza. “We get more requests for this than any other pie,” says owner Sammy Mandell. “We would have already added it to the regular menu, but each pie gets 100 slices of pickle and that’s just too labor-intensive for my staff.”

Dan Richer agrees. “I can spend months perfecting chocolate cake but if it’s not a process my staff can execute perfectly every time it’s not worth adding to the menu.

The loudest refrain from pizzerias that use limited time offerings is that they have to become part of your routine. Greenville Avenue Pizza Company spent two years building their LTO program but now it’s an essential part of their restaurant. Razza and MaiPai consider short-run items to be part of their DNA. They’ve trained customers to anticipate LTOs as a way of holding their attention. It’s important to put in the work of establishing consistency, otherwise the occasional one-off will go unnoticed. It takes time and energy to build a rhythm, but the results could pump a new lifesource into your pizzeria.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Using FOMO to create an LTO appeared first on Pizza Today.

Limited time offers or LTOs can be a great way to test the viability of new menu items, move inventory that may be close to its expiration date, or increase sales on a particular day of the week, enter “Doppio Frico Tuesdays” at Wholly Stromboli. When I began to write this story, I was eager to share all that I have learned over the last 15 years about releasing LTO’s and most recently The Doppio Frico — Fort Lupton Deep Dish. I began to think about the idea that if you are the visionary of your company, as I am, you’re probably the one who comes up with the creative ideas.

For us visionaries, LTOs can be a great outlet for our creativity, which keeps us motivated through tough times, feeds our souls and helps drive our vision for the future. While every business needs a visionary, we can tend to see the BIGGER picture and not the minute details required for a successful implementation. It takes a team of implementers to put these ideas into action — people with a more systematic way of thinking. As I reflected on our recent release, I started to think, why don’t I ask the implementers in my organization what it takes to successfully execute an LTO, and here’s what they shared.

Proper planning is key. “Tweaking things” as you go is hard on your team. Resolving questions such as, what is the desired look and feel of the dish, plating and whether it is an in-house only special in advance will ensure your rollout will go smoothly. Make sure that your training materials are rolled out to your team well ahead of the release date. Knowledge is power and this preparedness will spurn excitement with your team vs. stress and anxiety because they don’t know the plan. Lastly, lack of communication is perhaps the biggest pitfall in successful execution. We have to ensure that all team members, including those who work part-time, receive the communication and training needed” says Eric Frey, General Manager, Wholly Stromboli.

Timing is critical! Clashes with holidays, and events (parades, festivals or concerts), could put a damper on your release, not to mention that your team may be requesting these dates off as well, leaving you understaffed. Lastly, give your team enough time to perfect the process. Your team really wants to be able to execute flawlessly and sell your special with confidence! “Give them the training they need to fall in love with your big idea, instead of despising it because they feel incompetent or ill-prepared,” says Rowen Ben-Joseph, Front  of The House Manager.

Determining the goal of the LTO is the first step and most critical. Is your desire to increase sales or move specific products from your shelves? Then we decide if it’s cost-effective. Look at COGS, price point and factor in how much labor you are adding to the overall cost. Knowing where you will put any new ingredients on your makeline, which positions in your kitchen will be involved, and how will they be affected are all keys to a smooth rollout, says Edgar St John, Kitchen Manager.

Accurate recipe costing is critical. Our margins are razor thin and profitability of the LTO is vital. Wasting labor and ingredients on a creative whim that is not profitable isn’t good business. Take the time to write a solid recipe, set your desired margin, cost out your recipe and set your selling price accordingly. Having a great recipe isn’t just about putting great ingredients together in a way that is appealing to your guests, recipes and sub-recipes that list ingredients, tools needed, yields, techniques and the process are key. Include pictures and videos if you can.

Additionally, if you are creating additional SKUs to your inventory, you’ll need time to research, source and test them. And don’t forget yield testing for items that have trim loss, says Eric Rickman, CFO & Co-Founder.

Give adequate time and space for media coverage. You can only get so far on word of mouth. Start your marketing campaign no less than three weeks before your launch date and don’t rely on social and print media alone. Get your team involved! Contests are a great way to get your team motivated to sell and don’t forget the heart of the house. You want your whole team invested. Take photos and post them on social or have a contest for the prettiest “pizza,” says Jordan Montoya, Director of Marketing.

If you are going to use table tents or other print media, invest in high-quality photos, graphics and professional printing. On the planning side, playing devil’s advocate can be an effective way to ward off potential issues before they happen. Ask yourself and your team what could go wrong and then make a plan and a backup to that plan, says Monika Jesser, Graphic Designer.

And finally, my two cents — Staying on brand is key! Think about what will resonate with your current customer base, and also consider the new guests you want to attract and connect with your brand long-term. By way of example, if you pride yourself on using quality ingredients in a cozy, well-appointed atmosphere with a $30 per person average, you wouldn’t want to attract guests who are looking for cheap eats with an under $10 offer. Your new customers could be disappointed that there aren’t any “deals” on your menu once the LTO has ended. While you may have gained new customers, they won’t stick around and may not bring the kind of word of mouth desired.

LTOs can be a fun and advantageous experience. Driving sales, attracting new guests and bringing a little variety to your team day are just a few things that I love about special offerings. When we work as a team to market, train, sell, plan ahead and execute we make it an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Let there be no limits to the success of your limited-time offerings!

MELISSA RICKMAN is co-founder of Wholly Stromboli in Fort Lupton, Colorado, and member of the World Pizza Champions.

The post Make Limited Time Offers Work for You appeared first on Pizza Today.

We’ve entered uncharted territory in marketing during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Bill Vivian at Regents Pizzeria in La Jolla, California, has stated in a recent Checking In With video, “it’s like throwing ideas against the wall and seeing what sticks.”

One area of marketing that has taken an interesting turn, limited-time offers. Many experts surmised that traditional limited-time offers took a hiatus when the pandemic began. Or did they? Just as restaurants have adapted to operational changes, LTOs have shifted to fit the customers’ changing needs.

“When the pandemic hit, we basically had to throw out our entire marketing calendar and start over,” says Carol DeNembo, vice president of marketing at Mountain Mike’s Pizza with more than 220 restaurants across California, Oregon, Nevada and Utah. “We had our entire year mapped out, but our team quickly came together to create a new strategy that involved developing weekly calendars that were tweaked on the daily to ensure Mountain Mike’s was offering unique value and convenience wherever possible during a time of fierce competition.

“LTOs have long been a part of our DNA. We are very thoughtful about what we offer, and when, and identified LTOs that we believed would bring the most value to our guests at this time,” she continues. “Yes, it’s been effective, and we have been positive as a whole. In addition to driving sales, LTOs are a chance to stay in front of our guests, providing unique reasons and incentives to enjoy Mountain Mike’s while also making sure they know we are open and how they can place their orders.”

As a single-unit operator, Vivian also sees the shifts. “There is a wonderful article in The Atlantic where Tom Colicchio is being interviewed and I think he summarizes it very well,” he says. “There is going to be a significant shift towards safety, convenience and value. Those are far more important than they were pre-crisis.”

Let’s explore ways to give customers what they are looking for in a limited-time offer.

Here are three LTO categories that will resonate with your customers:

• Comfort.

When times are uncertain people look to comfort, especially as people venture out less. What special item or service can you provide to give your clientele comfort?

DeNembo says, Mountain Mike’s brought back one of its popular LTOs, heart-shaped pizzas. “The decision to bring back the heart-shaped pizzas when the pandemic struck was for a completely different purpose,” she says. “It was a natural segue that we could apply to the environment we were all now in, bringing new meaning to the age-old saying ‘Home is where the heart is.’ Besides just being fun to eat, we were seeing customers order heart-shaped pizzas for delivery to others as well, which wasn’t something we had anticipated. It was heartwarming to see and paired perfectly with our contactless delivery. Also, being that we had offered heart-shaped pizzas in February, it was simple for our franchise partners to implement operationally.”

• Family.

All the heavy hitters offer specials for families right now. Leave it to the independent pizzeria to come up with an idea that drives to the heart of family and entertainment rolled into one. Pizza kits have been widely successful as families became bored of the same old takeout. Pizza kits evolved into entrée and dessert kits.

Bundles and packaged meals have been trending in restaurant and pizzeria segments. They wrap everything a household needs for a meal in one package at a reasonable price.

Fine Folk Pizza rolled out its Feed the Family meal for $50, which includes a 16″ Cheese Pizza, a 14” Specialty Pie, 10 Classic Breadsticks w/ marinara, Regular House Salad with 1 extra dressing, and Two-Liter Beverage.

“This special is designed for a family with a few young kids,” says Co-owner Michael De Nunzio. “Kids tend to order mainly a traditional cheese or pepperoni pizza, so a 16″ cheese pizza is great for them, but maybe not their parents. Here’s the problem we are solving with this special: Many adults don’t get the pizza they want because their kids only eat cheese. The 14″ specialty pizza in this package solves that problem and encourages them to order what they want and that it’s ok to do so.”

Regents also debuted its first-ever Family Value Menu targeting an overall 15-percent discount. “It didn’t stick,” Vivian says. “We have a premium price point. We try to be authentically New York and authentically Chicago in our two styles. We work very hard at that. We have never really couponed or discounted.” Vivian is on to other ideas.

• Service.

Use your LTOs to do good deeds. Regents Pizzeria launched a “Buy a Meal, Give a Meal” deal. The unique offer gave 7,000 meals those in need through Feeding San Diego. “I’ve been wanting for a long time to do something like this,’ he says. “What we are hoping to do is once a quarter do something like this, just have a routine way of giving back to the community.”

Vivian says benchmarking has been key for Regents. “We are constantly searching for the next idea,” he says. “That’s where I’m spending a ton of my time doing finding the good ideas and then adapting them with our team to things that will success for us.”

Regents sits in a business district with a neighboring university, so retargeting offers was key. Social media geofencing has helped Regents reach its neighbors. Bill says they decided to even expand those geofenced areas and expanded our deliverable areas. “That really gave us a strong kick.”

DeNunzio has tapped all of Fine Folk’s marketing tools. “The current avenues we market today are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Ads, Youtube, our website, e-mail marketing to our loyalty club, various forms of direct mail, and most importantly, having the specials available in our online ordering platform,” he says.

If developed and executed effective, LTOs can be a big sales generator. It comes down to this, DeNembo says: “At the end of the day an LTO is intended to drive trial, frequency and transaction average – short term efforts to create long term results – there’s no magic solution out there. The brands who do it well know their customers, their identity and are very targeted in their approach and won’t stray too far from what they’ve been doing.” 

Denise Greer  is the Executive Editor of Pizza Today.

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