Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or about 350 slices per second. That statistic, courtesy of the National Association of Pizza Operators (NAPO), is good news for single-store owners who have or are interested in adding a pizza component to their foodservice offerings.

"Pizza is one of those foods that is easy to execute, and it is a popular food," said Tim Powell, Technomic Inc.'s director of c-store programs. "When you look at pizza, it is a consumer favorite and the margins are pretty good. The average gross margins for c-store foodservice items are around 60 to 70 percent, and pizza is at the top of that range."

As gas prices have risen and the economy has waned, foodservice has become a key area of opportunity for convenience stores nationwide. According to Technomic's 2010 Convenience Store Foodservice Consumer Trend Report, c-store foodservice sales have grown at a double-digit pace every year since 2004.

"As revenues from gasoline and tobacco products fall, foodservice sales are increasingly becoming convenience stores' most profitable category," the report stated.

With pizza's popularity firmly implanted among American consumers – 93 percent of Americans eat pizza at least once a month, and the average consumer eats pizza nearly three times per month, according to Technomic's 2010 Pizza Consumer Trend Report – it has the potential to become one of the biggest boons to c-store foodservice.

Singing Pizza's Praises
JD's Quik Stop in Akron, Colo., is one c-store reaping pizza profits – and it is "quite by chance," said co-owner Jill Dreher, who bought the former convenience store/liquor store/gas station with business partner Daryl Bowin when the property came up for auction in 2008.

"During the remodeling process, Hunt Brothers Pizza was attempting to expand into the Colorado market and one of their representatives stopped in to explain their program," Dreher recalled. "The timing was right and after researching the Hunt Brothers company, we decided to design our deli kitchen to accommodate the necessary equipment."

Pizza sales account for about 10 percent of revenues at JD's Quik Stop, which offers the Hunt Brothers Pizza program.

The area's demographics were right, as well. "Our town of Akron – a small town of about 1,400 people in the northeast corner of the state – was experiencing a lack of other dining options, especially in the fast-food or take-out category," Dreher explained. "Making the decision to feature pizza, along with breakfast burritos we make fresh in-house daily, really seemed to fill a niche in our area. None of the other nearby gas stations had deli offerings."

That decision proved to be a wise one. Pizza sales now account for about 10 percent of revenues at JD's Quik Stop, with other deli items coming in at approximately 3.5 percent, Dreher reported.

"We have since expanded our deli to include fresh chef salads, sandwiches, wraps and fresh-baked cookies, which we bake in our pizza ovens, by the way," she added. "Our customers seem to enjoy having something freshly prepared and quick."

Pizza also has drawn more customers into JD's. "One of the biggest benefits is the added foot traffic in-store, which definitely adds to additional purchases and return visits from customers," Dreher said.

A similar story is playing out at Glynn's Motor Mart in Grand Meadow, Minn., a suburb of Rochester that's home to some 1,200 residents. Pizza was part of the mix when owner Jeremi Glynn bought the existing c-store in 1994.

Before officially debuting the store under its new name, Glynn sampled Piccadilly Circus Pizza in a nearby town and was sold. "I tried it and I liked it, so I switched right when we opened our doors and have had it the whole time," the one-store operator said.

While the store's pizza business has always been steady, Glynn has noticed an uptick in sales over the past few years.

JD's Quik Stop co-owner Jill Dreher says pizza draws more customers into the store.

"Pizza is our No. 1 food in the store," he reported, noting the business no longer sells hot dogs, but does a good business in hamburgers and chicken sandwiches.

Not only are pizza sales significant, but they also have boosted sales of other products. "Pizza is a big piece of the puzzle for c-stores, and here it brings customers in and helps add-on sales," Glynn said. "We sell a ton of personal pizzas at lunch, and those customers buy pop and candy bars. At night, they'll take a pizza and buy a 12-pack of [soda], a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread and buy their gas, too. Pizza helps tremendously."

Quality. Choice. Value. Those words sum up what customers want when they are craving a hot, saucy pizza – and they're the words single-store owners must keep in mind if they want to capture a share of the growing pizza market.

Freshness and flavor are the keys to quality. When it comes to creating a good pizza, consumers indicate that freshness is more important than any other factor. Nearly four out of five consumers – 78 percent – say fresh toppings are highly important to creating a good pizza. Flavor is a close second. Consumers report that the flavor of the sauce (71 percent), cheese (70 percent) and dough (70 percent) are all very important factors, Technomic's Pizza Consumer Trend Report showed.

Eighty-six percent of consumers said they like to choose their own toppings when they order pizza. And nearly half of consumers polled – 46 percent – report that coupons or promotions influence where they decide to purchase their pizza. More than a third of respondents – 37 percent – say loyalty or rewards programs would encourage them to patronize a specific pizza concept more often, the Pizza Trend Report revealed.

While location is a key to getting consumers in the door, a strong value proposition – in addition to a quality product – is a must for stores that want to translate that traffic into foodservice purchases, according to Technomic's research.

Glynn and Dreher have succeeded by delivering the quality, choice and value customers demand.

"The biggest thing about the success of our pizza program is making sure our employees put out a good product. The pizza should look like a work of art," Glynn said. "I tell them, 'Don't sell one you wouldn't want to eat yourself.' You have to make sure it is fresh and hot. We mark what time we put it in the warmer and make sure it isn't there any longer than one hour."

Dreher keeps JD's Quik Stop customers happy with a broad choice of toppings. "We offer all the usual toppings and keep a few unusual toppings on hand for those customers that request them, such as cherry tomatoes, pineapple and fajita chicken strips," she said.

Glynn touts promotional programs as one ingredient in his pizza business' success. "I credit the growth in our pizza sales to good marketing ideas and fliers that go to all the P.O. boxes in the area," he said. "Over the last two years, we've developed a website where we always have coupons and specials featuring the pizza. In November, we offered a large one-topping pizza for $10 or a large specialty pizza for $12 – that was a savings of $4 per pizza."

Dreher, too, relies on specials to stimulate sales. "Hunt Brothers occasionally provides a 'limited time only' specialty pizza, such as the Buffalo Chicken Pizza or the Philly Cheesesteak Pizza [which launched in October]. We also try to offer combination specials for short periods a few times a year," she said. "We market our store primarily through radio advertising and in-store flyers and posters. And we firmly believe that customer satisfaction spreads far and wide, and is our best marketing tool."

Pizza is the Fifth Most Popular Food Item at C-stores Which of the following types of foodservice (FS) and retail (R) food items do you purchase from convenience stores for lunch at least occasionally (about every 90 days)? Base: 409 consumers aged 18+ who purchase lunch from c-stores once a month or more and typically purchase food. Source: Technomic Inc.

Visibility is another important element of pizza promotion. JD's Quik Stop features a large, glass-warming display cabinet customers can easily access, while a Piccadilly Circus Pizza display greets customers right as they enter the front door of Glynn's Motor Mart.

Tackling the Challenges
While pizza clearly can enhance a c-store's profits, offering it isn't as simple as hanging a sign announcing a new menu item. For a pizza program to succeed, store owners must carve out space for ovens, storage and display cases and ensure that all employees understand how to make and serve a quality product.

"The biggest challenges go back to training," Glynn said. "As an owner, you can't be there all the time and the foodservice manager can't be there all the time, so you have to put a system in place to make sure you deliver a quality product."

Glynn's Motor Mart employees go through extensive training, much of it with Piccadilly's ongoing support. "I want to make sure our employees are doing things the way Piccadilly wants us to," said Glynn.

At JD's Quik Stop, employees are trained in safe food-serving practices, Dreher noted.

In spite of the challenges, these c-store owners said pizza has been a boon to their businesses. And they recommend it to others, albeit with a few words of caution.

"In my situation, as a single-store owner in a town where my business is the only place for customers to get fresh pizza, pizza is a big piece of our puzzle," said Dreher. "So if someone is in a similar situation, I would say, 'Yes, go for it, you need to have it!' But if you're in more competitive market, it might not be as beneficial."

Technomic's Powell, however, is a big c-store pizza proponent, and noted there are a myriad of programs available to suit most any situation.

"There are a lot of options in turnkey solutions, and amazingly not every c-store offers pizza. It is one of the things that is catching on and once operators are comfortable moving into more perishable foods, they will be more comfortable moving into pizza," he said.