BIGGER PIECE OF THE PIE
Pizza Nova eyes growth
How do you compete with the 800- pound gorilla in your industry?
Carefully. You have to figure out your competitive differentiator ( or “secret sauce”), and stick to it like melted cheese. Then you have to find ways to party- size the distance between you and your rivals, while always being ready to invest big dough in new marketing opportunities.
That’s the recipe used by Torontobased Pizza Nova Restaurants to stand out in one of Canada’s most competitive markets. Beyond the global chains such as Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Little Caesars, Pizza Nova president Domenic Primucci estimates that about 70 per cent of all restaurants offer pizza dishes. And now even supermarkets are getting into the game, by offering fresh artisan pizzas and frequent takeout specials.
Then there’s the real heavyweight: Pizza Pizza, the endlessly promotional “Big Orange” that first developed the call- one- number home- delivery model that inspired legions of imitators.
Through this double- cheesy marketing mayhem, Pizza Nova has emphasized its humble, Italianimmigrant family roots and its boast of fresher, higher- quality ingredients. The southern Ontario chain has carved out an enviable position in its market as the quality alternative that’s a little more expensive than most competitors. The difference is summed up in the brand promise that Primucci bellows at the end of his radio commercials: “You can taste the difference!”
But asking customers to pay more for quality is rarely a sure bet, especially in a market evolving as fast as the food industry ( local ingredients! gluten free! no dairy!). Still, Pizza Nova seems to be cooking up the right mix of product and marketing innovation.
According to figures compiled by Ontario Restaurant News, Pizza Nova’s sales last year grew 17 per cent to $ 112 million. As Canada’s fourth largest pizza chain, it’s catching up to third- place Pizza Hut, whose sales fell nearly three per cent last year, to $ 120 million. And Pizza Nova is growing faster than heavyweight Pizza Pizza, whose revenue grew 2.6 per cent last year to $ 363.2 million.
In fact, last year Pizza Nova seized one of those rare opportunities to leapfrog the market leader. In January 2014, Pizza Nova signed a three- year deal to become the official pizza of the Toronto Blue Jays, taking over Pizza Pizza’s former operations at the Rogers Centre.
In an interview over a bacon/ mushroom pizza at the Scarborough strip plaza where Pizza Nova began in 1963, Primucci told me that taste made the difference in the deal: “They ( the Jays) did their homework and decided we have a product that is an improvement to what their supplier at the time was providing.”
Primucci wouldn’t reveal details of the contract. But when I asked if the deal took long to work out, Primucci’s father Sam, the CEO, proudly jumped in.
“It didn’t take long,” he said. “They had their minds made up before they called us.”
Sam Primucci, now 75, co- founded the company with his three brothers in 1963. They opened their first outlet in the east due to some homegrown market research: brother Michael had delivered pizzas for a restaurant in central Toronto, and found almost all of his deliveries were to Scarborough. Over time, Sam became the driving force.
“Today, consumers are more aware of what farmers are doing, and how they are growing their product,” says Sam.
“People understand more now, and we’ve always been on that track. There is no place for us but to grow.”
Recent moves include optional non- dairy mozzarella- style toppings, and a line of pepperoni that’s hormone- and chemical- free.
Both Primuccis agree that Pizza Nova’s big- league presence, which includes on- field signage and TV exposure, has given the chain a higher profile. They’re hoping it will help attract new franchisees, so the company can fill in territories its 140 stores don’t yet cover between Hamilton, Kitchener and Peterborough. Then it will expand outward toward London, Kingston and Ottawa. Growing beyond Ontario, especially to Alberta, raises quality concerns, Domenic says.
“We have to find the right partners.”