News

In the bag

The beauty of a pizza delivery bag is in the eye of the beholder ... and the buyer ... and the user.

May 25, 2005

Were there ever a pizza shop component given less respect than it deserves, it would be the humble delivery bag. Some operators pay more heed to price than performance by buying the cheapest available, and drivers are known to use them as shields against sudden downpours or surly canines.

Regardless of whether the bag costs $15 or $140, it has the potential to make or break a pizza shop's reputation if it doesn't protect the pie on the drive to the customer. In other words, the world's best pizza may taste like the worst if it's held in a poor-performing bag.

Even the most high-tech hot bag is worthless if a delivery operation isn't well run, said J.W. Callahan, president of the Association of Pizza Delivery Drivers.

"It's not as much about bags as some might say," said Callahan, who has delivered pizza for nearly two decades. "Delivery systems first need to focus on operational efficiencies inside the store. If we can get it out in 30 minutes by doing things the way we're supposed to, it's going to be hot regardless of the bag."

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Callahan admits that's not always the norm in an industry challenged by driver turnover, lean crews and inexperienced kitchen staffs. And one of the industry's attempts to offset those concerns has been to improve delivery bag performance with electronically heated cores and/or better-insulating bag materials. But those gains don't necessarily benefit the customer, he said. Oftentimes he sees heated-core bags used as holding cabinets when drivers get behind the pace of the kitchen.

"If you could make a bag that could keep the pizza hot for two hours, you'd have an excuse to take two hours to deliver a pizza," he said. "I've seen people take that attitude because they're short on drivers."

But do they work as designed? Yes, said Callahan, they keep the pizza plenty hot. "You can scorch your hand reaching inside the bag for the pizza. ... But were it my money, I'd spend the $15 on the vinyl bag."

Michael Clements agrees that good delivery is more about execution than equipment. His company, To-Go Services, in Eagan, Minn., is a contract delivery service that specializes in dispatching large orders for restaurant and pizzeria customers. Even in the cold climes of the northern United States, he doesn't use heated bags.

"We've never had enough complaints about the temperature of the food to warrant using them," and his delivery area is limited geographically, he said. Food doesn't get cold "if you pick it up and deliver it quickly."

A matter of preference

Operators of stores run by Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza and Papa John's swear by heated-core bags and have invested thousands on those systems. Their collective belief that the loss of heat is greatly minimized if the bag itself is hot is a difficult, if not impossible, point to dispute.

But many say the materials used to make delivery bags have come a long way since vinyl bags came onto the scene more than 20 years ago. Modern materials allow steam to escape from within the bag while maintaining the proper serving temperature. The use of Asian manufacturing operations also is driving costs down for buyers, said Dave Schaefer, president and co-owner of Bag Solutions in Aurora, Ill.

"One of the biggest expenses in a pizza bag is the labor used in sewing," Schaefer said. Using Asian labor "keeps our prices very competitive, too."

Callahan, who prefers inexpensive vinyl bags to any other, said he's impressed with the temperature retention of newer cloth bags. But cloth bags have their drawbacks, he added.

"Vinyl doesn't slip and slide in your car, and especially if you start stacking the bags," said Callahan, who lives in Warner Robbins, Ga. "Cloth doesn't dry up fast at all when it gets wet. Let it rain good on you for 4-5 hours while you're using the bag for your umbrella to keep the water off your head. ... And if something spills inside the bag, you've got a mess. With vinyl, you just wipe it out and it's ready to go."

When asked if vinyl bags' tendency to retain moisture, and thus degrade the pizza, was a drawback, Callahan again said, "if the operation is well run, then that's not an issue."

Clements employs a staffer to maintain and clean To-Go Services' 150 bags, all of which are returned at the end of every day and not left in drivers' vehicles.

"Every bag is turned inside out, put on Metro shelving and dried out overnight," he said. "We kind of baby our bags, and

We've never have had enough complaints about the temperature of the food to warrant using (heated core bags). Food doesn't get cold "if you pick it up and deliver it quickly. —Michael Clements, Owner, To-Go Services

 we should; we're putting food in them and it's important they be clean."

Since the average order size Clements delivers is for 27 people, his drivers typically use carts to move their delivery bags. Still, that doesn't protect them fully from inside spillage, and the company uses removable rubber liners to protect the insides of the bags. "When you're delivering Chinese food and Italian food, you're going to have some leakage now and then," he said. The liners, he added, last about six months, but help keep his bags in service for as long as three years.

To add rigidity to his bags, Clements developed plastic inserts to slide between food items. He was pleased, however, to learn recently that bags manufacturers like A+ Bags make wire racks to do the trick.

"With so many of our customers delivering school orders, we developed wire racks for people who are carrying eight to 10 pizzas per bags," said Merrill Hansen, owner of A+ Bags in Golden Valley, Minn. "They slide right inside the bag, and they have shelves for whatever you put in there."

Though Hansen and Schaefer said they see a trend toward larger bags, they also see smaller, purpose-built bags in greater demand for carrying side items, sandwiches and pastas.

"What's happening is ... they want a variety of bags," Hansen said. "We keep innovating our pizza bags to perform better for the end user and for whatever need they have. It doesn't let us stand still."