SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Hot Stuff Pizza, the signature pizza brand from South Dakota-based Orion Food Systems, is celebrating its 30-year anniversary. In 1986, Hot Stuff Pizza became the first company to offer fresh pizza in U.S. convenience stores when it launched in Webster, S.D.
The company continues to boast locally sourced ingredients for its dough recipe, as well as 100% real cheese. Over the past 30 years, Hot Stuff and Orion have expanded locations into more than 1,000 sites in rural and metro areas.
“Thanks to experience and retention, over a quarter of our current Hot Stuff Pizza locations have been with us for more than 20 years,” says Orion Food Systems CEO Steve Watkins, “We’re extremely proud of the legacy Hot Stuff Pizza has established. It’s one of our most famous brands and continues to grow.” Hot Stuff Pizza is Orion’s flagship pizza platform among the company’s retail brands, which includes Papa Primo’s and other private-label offerings.
Hot Stuff Pizza is answering a distinct consumer preference with restaurant-quality pizza, considering pizza is the top-ranked item for lunch, dinner and snacks. Technomic’s most recent Convenience Store MarketBrief data on hot foods reveals that fully half (50%) of frequent c-store foodservice consumers purchase pizza for lunch, while 49% purchase it for dinner.
Also, 42% of consumers ages 18 to 34 order a pizza from a c-store at least once a month, and 44% choose c-store pizza specifically for a snack during the day.
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