Beyond The Dough

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MERRY CHRISTMAS… IN APRIL!

I love Christmas! The gifts, the food, the family and , most importantly, your faith!

I truly love Thanksgiving and Christmas! These two holidays should be the cornerstone of your daily life.

Having Gratitude and Giving To Others!

I believe what you give, with zero expectations, comes back to you tenfold.

I also believe that when you’re thankful for what you have it is multiplied.

Give to your family, friends and community with a selfless heart full of gratitude and watch your life EXPLODE!

I was hired at Perfect Crust in April 2019. It was the best “gift” I’ve received in a long time.

Our president and part owner, Nick Hedlund, is a selfless giver. He’s a great example of a boss, father, spouse and friend.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Perfect Crust Team!

To learn more about Perfect Crust’s pizza liners and other products, visit perfectcrust.com or email Eric Bam at Eric@perfectcrust.com

About Eric Bam:

A Boston native now living in Tulsa, OK, Eric Bam is VP of sales and marketing for Perfect Crust, with 20 years of experience in the foodservice industry. A powerful force in the workplace, Bam uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. He has three children and loves helping the men and women of the pizza industry grow their businesses.

The Price We Pay

Until the robots take over, though, running a pizzeria will remain a mostly human enterprise. And since other industries, including processing plants, farms and trucking companies, are facing their own labor problems, food costs keep shooting up, and supplier bottlenecks and shipping delays are kinking up the works. According to the BLS, wholesale food prices in September jumped 12.9% compared to the previous September—the biggest 12-month increase in more than 40 years. In that same month, a survey by the National Restaurant Association found that 95% of restaurant operators had experienced supply delays or shortages of key food or beverage items in recent months. Ninety-one percent said their total food costs (as a percentage of sales) are higher than they were prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Restaurant owners hate raising menu prices, but inflationary pressures have given them little choice. A late October report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed that the Consumer Price Index for “food-away-from-home” (restaurant purchases) in September was 4.7% higher than September 2020. The USDA also estimated those prices would increase between 3% and 4% in 2022.

If you have to raise your menu prices, make sure you explain to your customers why you’re doing it—and why the higher price they’re paying is worth it, a recent Technomic report advises. “Although consumers are aware that costs in general are rising, transparency about the impact of inflation on the restaurant and refined messages that underscore the value consumers receive through quality or uniqueness of these items can help consumers to justify that increased expense—and make the additional purchase with their order.”

At Federal Hill Pizza, menu prices fluctuate from week to week, and customers don’t mind. “We examine our pricing weekly based on the rising cost of goods and labor and adjust accordingly,” Manzo says. “Some items go up during some weeks, some go back down during some weeks, and some stay the same. Our customers understand what is happening because they see the trend in their own lives. Groceries and gas and the general cost of living are up due to inflation. They realize that, if they go out to eat, prices simply can’t be where they were two years ago or a year ago or, in some cases, even a week ago.”

Shahpour Nejad, the president and CEO of Pizza Guys, a 70-store pizza chain based in Sacramento, California, says his company has raised menu prices, “but not across the board.” He adds, “The increase was not drastic but a small increase. We figured it would not have a big impact on our customers and gives us room to reevaluate next year if needed.” His patrons aren’t complaining either, he says. “I believe that, since many restaurants, stores, etc. are increasing their prices, our customers are not too shocked that we have slightly increased ours.”

Planting The Seeds

Speaking of menus, yours probably has—or soon will have— more vegan items nowadays. Plant-based proteins exploded in 2021, splattering soy and pea protein all over the place. As The NPD Group reported in August, units of plant-based meat substitutes and ingredients shipped to pizzeria operators from

Join the Pizza Vegan Community!

Discover new vegan products, vegan pizza recipes and more at our sister site, PizzaVegan.com!

foodservice distributors jumped 56% in the second quarter of 2021 compared to a year earlier. According to Datassential, cauliflower wings have grown nearly 1,100% on menus in the past four years, offering an intriguing alternative to the real thing, which keeps getting more and more expensive. Chickens of the world, rejoice! (Sorry, chicken farmers.)

“Plant-based is no longer just a niche player in the foodservice market,” says Tim Fires, president of NPD’s SupplyTrack service. “It’s a mainstream ingredient that appeals to a broad section of