Operations

Pandemic-era pizza catering swings toward social over business

Workers are home-bound, meetings are virtual, and health and safety are a primary concern. These are the factors that have dried up once-healthy corporate pizza catering programs, but savvy brands are finding a revenue source in social catering.

Image: iStock

September 10, 2020 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

In restaurant land, it's pretty much already the holidays. And for casual dining pizza brands, like Mellow Mushroom, you might assume there would be little to celebrate this coming season, given the brutal gut-punch the pandemic has delivered.

The Atlanta-based brand, however, has recently transformed its catering program. Like most pizza brands before COVID-19, it focused on business events. As those opportunities dried up, social events became a top priority. The result? A steady stream of sales, which although smaller than most business catering orders is more plentiful in number.

"In May, (we) added celebration packages to capture … home graduations. Now, we are planning for the holiday party season and what that will look like this year. "
-Mellow Mushroom's Ann Mejia

"Over the past six months, catering at Mellow Mushroom has transformed from primarily a business catering focus to a social catering focus," Anne Mejia, vice president brand development for Mellow Mushroom's parent company, Home-Grown Industries of Ga Inc. told Pizza Marketplace. "Along with that, we have implemented food safety protocols. For example, selling more individual pizza pies, as opposed to large, shared pizza pies in the pre-COVID era.

"The good news through this transition is that pizza travels well and is popular with both the business and the social crowd. Early on, in March, we introduced Meals For Home as a category on our online ordering platform. Since March we continue to evolve the menu, and in May added celebration packages to capture … home graduations. Now, we are planning for the holiday party season and what that will look like this year. "

Personal pizzas are a catering hit now. (Photo: iStock)

Nationally, restaurant executives and other longtime foodservice players have watched as the level of pizza catering for business customers has slowed to a stall. In fact, one catering veteran and founder of the Chicago-area catering company, Cater Cult, Bill Holleman, told Pizza Marketplace that many pizza brands were doing just 10% of their former B2B catering business.

"B2C (social event) catering is coming back first, but in smaller capacities," Holleman said in an interview. "B2B catering needs to be focused on essential businesses and engagement through community outreach."

But, as pizza brands reach for ways to capture what exists of those big business orders, catering-dependent pizza brands are adjusting their products and services to meet the demand that does exist, and increasingly that's for at-home or small-event customers.

"Pizza restaurants should consider adapting their menu: Some of the most successful pizza brands on ezCater offer personal pizzas or two-slice boxed lunches, which include salad or breadsticks and a drink."
-ezCater's Mike O'Hanlon

Granted, these events ring up fewer meal sales in total, but brands that are succeeding say that is made up through the larger quantity of such orders. Likewise, social occasions tend to be a tremendous wellspring of future business through referrals. Brands, however, must adjust their offerings to fit those needs, said Mike O'Hanlon, head of ezCater's catering partner business.

"Boxed lunches and individual meals are the most popular items on ezCater right now," he said in an interview with Pizza Marketplace. "Many companies are requiring that any food delivered to the workplace be individually packaged.

"Pizza restaurants that don't offer individually packaged menu options are missing out on potential orders. Pizza restaurants should consider adapting their menu: Some of the most successful pizza brands on ezCater offer personal pizzas or two-slice boxed lunches, which include salad or breadsticks and a drink."

O'Hanlon also pointed out that this demand for individual, un-shared meals is a great source of orders for all those pizzeria menu items that have always been geared to individual servings, like subs, salads and single-serving items that focus on special dietary restrictions.

"Restaurants who offer gluten-free or vegan pizzas will stand out," he said.

Regardless of catering end-customer, however, both Hanlon and Hollemann reinforced the importance of online ordering.

"On your restaurant's website, make it easy for customers to know how to order," Holleman said. "Make the 'order online' and 'order catering' buttons front and center, on your main page. On social media pages and posts, share your menu, link to your ordering directly … focus on improving ease of ordering and access through existing and new channels … (and) increase sophistication of technology with bidirectional curbside functionality."

O'Hanlon stressed that brands give some thought to the needs of the social catering customer. Then he advised brands to build in responses to those needs through their online channels to enhance both catering and regular customer online ordering.

"Inform your customers about how you are keeping your staff and customers safe, such as mask and glove requirements. …" he said. "Lower order minimum(s) and expand (the) delivery area. An order minimum of $50 or less will attract more customers who need smaller orders (and they may return with larger orders later). Expanding your delivery area to 10–20 miles will also increase the number of customers you can serve.

"Make your customer aware of your updated menu. For those looking for individually packaged meals, they might not think of pizza. Make sure they know what you offer so when they need to place an order, you are top of mind."

In essence, pizza brands have to get back to that age-old practice of walking around in customers' shoes. Only now, those shoes are often parked in front of a mobile phone or laptop, so brands must adjust their digital presence accordingly.

"One of the keys to success over the past six months has been our ability to remain open and the resilience and creativity of the Mellow store owners," Meija said of Mellow Mushroom's approach. "They have found creative solutions and created Neighborhood Pizza Nights, Pizza Kits for Kids and the list goes on. Throughout the pandemic we have helped to feed first responders and have seen an uptick in catering overall since July."

About S.A. Whitehead

Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.