The annual International Pizza Expo featured an estimated crowd of more than 10,000 attendees over the past two days.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, some innovations stood out more than others for their potential benefits in a pizza operation.
Among them were:
- Conocopia – a cone made out of pizza dough. The cone crust is not a new concept (think Crispycones, K! Pizzacones and Cono Italiano) but Conocopia is offering pizzeria operators the machine and kit to create the cone-shaped pizzas with either a soft or crunchy texture in less than two minutes. Its conveyor oven can create 180 cones an hour.
- Perfect Crust Pizza Liner is made from virgin pulp paper and an embossing press that elevates, ventilates and circulates pizza so the product doesn't stick to the box. The liner can be round, square, rectangular or single-slice shaped, and can incorporate a name/logo.
- Thinking Foods' automated dough mixer eliminates labor and delivers a consistent batch of dough every time. A password-protected mixing procedure is programmed into the appliance, and the operator simply just adds a bag of flour and pushes the start button. The mixer aerates, adds the exact amount of water, mixes and settles before the final mixing. The company claims that 18 dough formulas can be programmed into the smart appliance, accompanying a variety of pizza styles.
- Thrust Electric Bikes were created for pizza operations with a 2-mile radius of delivery; for example, college campuses or military bases. The bikes are powered by a rechargeable lithium battery and can transport up to 12 pizzas, as well as sandwiches, salads, drinks and paper plates. For larger orders, a trailer unit can be attached. The bikes can maintain speeds of 20 mph and have a range of about 20 miles with a 2-hour recharge time.
Read more about pizza trends.
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