Doing more with less is the name of the game for convenience store foodservice, especially as labor challenges, supply chain disruptions and elevated food costs reach an apex. For many c-stores, getting creative with pizza toppings may present an area of untapped potential—beyond just Italian-inspired cuisine.
Variety keeps c-stores competitive
When it comes to quick meals on the go, fast-food operations represent c-stores’ main competition for foodservice sales—especially at lunchtime, according to Technomic’s Q2 2022 C-Store Consumer Marketbrief. Historically, variety is one metric by which some QSRs may have had an advantage; offering a more extensive menu can present a challenge for c-stores working with limited space and labor. Variety is a top priority for consumers, however, with 27% of convenience shoppers saying that food variety is among the main reasons they purchase lunch from c-store foodservice rather than another operator—and 23% saying a lack of variety is the reason they don’t purchase more often.
Choosing versatile pizza toppings can offer c-stores the opportunity to add and enhance menu items without expanding the kitchen inventory. One reason pizza ingredients offer a great opportunity for creativity is that most c-store foodservice operations already need to keep them in stock: Pizza is the No. 1 item consumers say they’d purchase from a c-store at least occasionally, according to Technomic’s Q2 2022 C-Store Consumer Marketbrief. In addition, popular pizza toppings can integrate seamlessly into other offerings consumers say they’re most interested in ordering, including sandwiches, burritos, tacos and entrees.
Pizza toppings remixed
Classic toppings, such as sausage and pepperoni, can liven up a number of recipes, especially for c-stores that choose quality ingredients from a trusted supplier, such as Tyson Foodservice’s Hillshire Farm® brand.
Chorizo—a piquant Spanish-inspired sausage—is a multitasking topping at its finest. Not only does it bring big flavor to sausage pizza, but countless other recipes as well. According to 2022 Ignite menu data, breakfast burritos are the No. 1 dish featuring chorizo in terms of menu penetration, and breakfast tacos are quickly catching up—growing nearly 14% in menu penetration year-over-year. Other Mexican-inspired applications, such as nachos and quesadillas, can feature chorizo as the primary protein or as a flavorful addition to the standard ground beef or shredded chicken.
A quality pepperoni can fit perfectly across menu parts, too. Beyond pizzas, top menu items featuring pepperoni include calzones and pizza puffs—which, thanks to their ultra-portable formats, have increased in menu penetration by more than 10% from the same time in 2021 as well as mixed-protein sandwiches and antipasto salads for the grab-and-go case.
Hillshire Farm® Sausage Crumbles, including the award-winning All Natural* Fully Cooked Pork Chorizo Crumbles, along with several Hillshire Farm®Pepperoni varieties, add a new level of versatility the c-store foodservice menu.
To get started on easy-yet-effective kitchen innovations featuring Hillshire Farm® toppings, click here.
*Minimally processed, no artificial ingredients
This post is sponsored by Tyson Convenience