There are more than a few big challenges facing pizza brands, but Blaze Pizza, given its strength and willingness to succeed, is facing the hurdles head-on. Blaze Pizza President and CEO Mandy Shaw share how her company is getting creative on finding interim solutions and meeting consumers’ demand for convenience and comfort food. Every brand in the pizza space is wrestling with a wide range of challenges, from the ongoing coronavirus Delta variant and the labor shortage to supply-chain obstacles and consumers’ changing expectations. And the industry scenario is no different at Blaze Pizza which was founded in 2011 by Elise and Rick Wetzel. The brand has more than 340 restaurants across 41 states and six countries. So far this year Blaze has signed six multi-unit franchise agreements, totaling 22 individual unit commitments, and opened nine locations across key markets like Texas and Florida. The brand is dealing with the same volatile road to recovery following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic year and has been fast to pivot in adopting new protocols and responding to changing customer wants, needs and expectations. The recovery charge is being led by Mandy Shaw, who joined Blaze Pizza as CFO in January 2018 and was named president and CEO in November 2019 — a few short months prior to the pandemic hitting the U.S. in March 2020. Shaw is no stranger to running a big brand has served as chief accounting officer, CIO, and CFO in the international division of Bloomin’ Brands, one of the world’s largest casual dining companies with approximately 77,000 team members and more than 1,450 restaurants throughout 47 states and 20 countries, according to the company’s website. In an in-depth email interview, Shaw shared how Blaze Pizza is navigating the challenges as well as what she attributes to the brand’s success. Q. As the restaurant industry, as a whole, emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic what are the top challenges those in the pizza marketplace are facing? Is it keeping the digital pace strong or now grappling with the second wave thanks to the Delta variant? Or both? A. As we continue to navigate the ups and downs of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the road to recovery has a lot of volatility today at the individual location and regional levels. The restaurant industry has faced a handful of challenges, and to survive in this fast-paced environment, brands have had to pivot restaurant operations and adopt new protocols to ensure they’re meeting their customer’s wants and needs and responding to changing local protocols. The real top challenge affecting the restaurant industry and many others is the labor shortage, as business owners experience new pressures on recruiting as well as hiring and retaining staff. These challenges have not only pushed hours of operations but also led to development delays and supply distribution issues. Who hasn’t been in a business in the last month and seen a sign asking for patience because key ingredients are unavailable? Manufacturers of both food and non-food equipment and supplies have felt this ripple effect in their production and fulfillment capabilities. Those product and food shortages have affected restaurants and pizza concepts collectively, coupled with skyrocketing prices of supplies in general. At Blaze, we are committed to keeping supply costs low for our franchise owners and doing everything we can to support our restaurant operators. We’ve gotten really creative on finding interim solutions or ways to get products into our locations while avoiding the drastic increases in cost. The delta variant is certainly hindering the restaurant industry’s recovery, but it’s yet to create issues in the way COVID-19 did last year. It’s safe to say that 2020’s unprecedented challenges have allowed us to better prepare for what may come of the delta variant, and by tapping into our strength and willingness to succeed, we will be able to face these hurdles head-on. Q. Pizza, along with other quick food options, spiked big in the past year with consumer shutdowns and COVID stress. What are today’s pizza consumers looking for (innovative menu items or faster delivery) from a pizza brand and how is Blaze responding to the consumer demands and expectations? A. The pandemic sparked new consumer behaviors and demands, but it really leaned in on the necessity of convenience. With dining room closures across the nation, customers became accustomed to having a handful of reliable dining options, including takeout, third-party delivery, and curbside pickup. This demand for accessibility is not going away and a survey conducted by VIPinsiders says that more than 50% of consumers will still use a curbside pickup, as opposed to dine-in post-pandemic. We have long held the mantra of 360-degree availability so that our guests can get Blaze the way they choose, whether that’s in a restaurant or off-premise. The more channels you have, the higher your sales volumes because you can’t force them to only use one avenue of getting your product. Speed of delivery will of course always be something that appeals to the consumer, but the ultimate reality is that for great food, they want reliability. Does their food arrive at the committed time? Then, as the service provider, you win. In addition to convenience and reliability, today’s pizza consumers are looking for both classic craveable items, like our Cheesy Bread, and innovation, like our newly launched Pesto Garlic Cheesy Bread. Blaze has always been recognized for its fun, surprising menu items, which we recently took to the next level by launching a Blazin’ Hot Chicken Pizza and a Chipotle Ranch Chicken Pizza. At Blaze, we have more permissibility than other pizza brands to play with ingredients and toppings because of the quality of our product and ingredients. With our Chief Culinary Officer and co-founder Brad Kent spearheading Blaze’s menu, we’re constantly staying ahead of the latest food trends and adding new pizza toppings to meet our customer’s cravings and dietary restrictions — all while staying true to who we are and what we do best… great pizza, fast.

Q. One of the toughest challenges for any business, but especially those in the foodservice world, is keeping the supply chain healthy and wrestling with product and ingredient access. Can you talk a bit about if Blaze faced or is facing supply chain challenges and how you’re dealing with them?

1. The supply chain is among the many challenges restaurants have faced during their COVID-19 recovery. Although businesses were able to snap back somewhat quickly after dining restrictions were lifted, the supply chain wasn’t as lucky. The demand for supplies, food and other products significantly outnumbered manufacturers’ and distributors’ capabilities. Even businesses outside of the restaurant industry reported shortages in items, and as the demand continued to increase, so did the prices. Re-establishing the full chain will still take some time, even though the first half of next year for all the sources to catch up and get back to normal staffing and reliable production and distribution. At Blaze, we managed to successfully dodge many issues facing the competitive set by getting creative about how to fulfill our restaurants and franchise owners’ needs. Having our core staple products on demand and a dedicated team of creative people that have remained on top of the supply chain disruptions has kept our outages limited and our shelves stocked.
2. From your perspective what has been the biggest change or trend in the past year in the pizza world and what drove it and what do you see that being in the next year?
3. The biggest trend that intensified over the past year was consumers’ demand for convenience and comfort food.

As consumers became accustomed to effortless, off-premise dining during the pandemic, their preference also shifted towards craving more comfort foods. Pizza has always been credited as one of the most beloved foods no matter the demographic. Recently, legacy pizza brands have begun to dabble in the nostalgic sale of some of their older products. Popular cheeseburger and taco flavors have been making waves, along with other iconic styles like Detroit-style pizza resurfacing in headlines. While bringing back fan-favorites can generate buzz among consumers, Blaze Pizza has remained true to its mission of sticking to what we do best — our version of great pizza, made fast. Our brand has gone to great lengths to reimagine and upgrade America’s favorite food. Using only natural and fresh ingredients by utilizing smart food sourcing with an eye toward sustainability, we’ve been able to establish new ingredient standards across our segment. We’ve hand-picked preservative-free ingredients that have elevated our topping options and increased our menu variety, putting us ahead of what I suspect to be next year’s trend. The deepening of the consumer desire for customization. Guests are looking for options that cater to all of their needs. Our natural ingredients check one of their boxes, while our diversified menu checks another. Options like our Keto, cauliflower and amazing house-made gluten-free crusts have opened the door for new and existing pizza lovers to enjoy their favorite Blaze creations.

1. What do you attribute to Blaze Pizza’s success at this point and what will be ‘behind’ its success in the next few years?

A. Our company’s success stems from Blaze’s unwavering authenticity. We provide consumers with a well-crafted product backed by the culinary design, clean ingredients, and great guest service. Our relationship with our franchise owners is also at the core of what we do and how we do it, as we pride ourselves in maintaining clear communication with our restaurant operators and providing best-in-class support. It’s the franchisee’s passion for our brand and business model that spearheads Blaze’s success both internationally and in local markets. These outstanding qualities, along with our executive team’s focus on maintaining profitability, have enabled Blaze to grow rapidly and expand our footprint across 38 states and six countries. In 2021, Blaze has signed six multi-unit franchise agreements totaling 22 individual unit commitments and opened nine new locations so far this year across key markets like Texas and Florida. Of these developments, the four restaurants that opened this summer in the greater Dallas market have experienced strong opening sales and remain a favorite in their communities. It’s testimonies like this that give us confidence for Blaze’s future success, especially as we expand in new states, such as Alaska, and open 10 more locations this year. The last key component to our future will be a focus on technology. We’re excited to launch a new mobile app this month, which has been redesigned to enhance our customer’s ordering experience. Consumers will get a faster and more intuitive way to re-order their Blaze favorites or create their own great-tasting pizza made exactly how they want. We are also working on a variety of internal technology developments intended to simplify the operating experience for our franchisees. That partnership is key to delivering on an elevated guest experience alongside our dedication to quality product and hospitality. – Source: Fast Casual.