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Review: Pizza paddle innovation

The Portion PadL is a highly versatile tool in that it can be used to cut small, medium, large and extra-large pizzas into as many slices as a restaurant owner may want.

July 8, 2015 by Darrel Suderman — President CEO, Food Technical Consulting

It’s not often that the restaurant industry can point to examples of small wares/equipment innovation for one of the most basic tools in the pizza industry — the paddle! I recently found a pizza cutting board on an Internet search that cuts equal sized, perfect cut pizza slices every time. It’s called the Portion PadL, and manufactured without a handle by NuVo Grand LLC. Like most examples of new innovation, this product was developed out of a need to serve equal sized pizza slices to children in school lunch programs.

Innovation created by need(s)

Serving equal sized portions to school children may not sound like a big deal, but it is. The first, and most obvious reason, is that children compare their food serving size to their classmates and complain if they get a smaller portion. And second, the FDA and USDA go to extremes requiring food manufacturers to calculate the nutritional content of both retail food products based on serving size and child nutrition program products. Therefore, the Portion PadL enables equivalent sized pieces for school lunch programs and perfectly matches the nutritional listing requirements for restaurant menus.

Innovation concept validated by patent

One criteria that I used to test whether a concept is innovative or not, is whether the U.S. Patent Office will grant a patent. So, I contacted Greg Getzinger who is the product inventor and CEO of NuVo Grand LLC, and found that his company has received at least one patent with several more patents pending. A patent is a mark of distinction. A unique feature of this paddle is that the cutting board grooves are wider on the outer edge than the middle to accommodate the rocker knife.

Innovation versatility

The Portion PadL is a highly versatile tool in that it can be used to cut small, medium, large and extra-large pizzas into as many slices as a restaurant owner may want – although this may require multiple padLs or different grooves on the PadL top and bottom. Each padL can be used as a pizza serving platform if desired.

The Portion PadL products are primarily custom made which allows each customer to have a Portion PadL designed for their pizza size(s) and slice application(s). NuVo Grand LLC can manufacture a two sided Portion PadL for pizzas as large as 16s. This accommodates pizza businesses which may have two slice applications like an eight and a 10 cut to have one cutting board for several size and slice combinations. For example, a pizza establishment could use the padL on one side for small four cuts, large eight cuts and extra-large 10 cuts. The other PadL side could be used for a completely different cut - now that's versatile!

The innovation challenge

If this short story of pizza equipment innovation has stirred creative juices in your thought processes, then I want to challenge you to think of some creative ways to develop some new innovative products that meet NEEDS in your restaurant operations. And for some additional inspiration, take time to watch the TV shows Profit and Shark Tank — and good luck!