INDEPENDENT PIZZERIAS CHAIN STORES

DESPITE TOTAL U.S. SALES FALLING 1.5%, AVERAGE SALES PER STORE ROSE 2.5% consumers. It makes perfect sense that a popular food like pizza would now offer plant-based options.”

It definitely makes sense to the chains. They brought a veritable smorgasbord of new vegan pizzas to the masses this summer. MOD Pizza, based in Seattle, unveiled a plant-based Italian sausage—made by Plantly—at all of its 500-plus stores nationwide on August 31. That same month, Chicago-based Sarpino’s, with 41 franchised locations, rolled out a pea proteinbased pepperoni from Field Roast after unveiling Beyond Chicken Tenders in July. In fact, Sarpino’s now offers a full vegan menu at most of its stores, including specialty pizzas, calzones, pastas and sandwiches.

But some of the bigger U.S. chains haven’t shown the plantbased market any love (we’re looking at you, Domino’s), while others don’t seem ready to commit just yet. In July, Little Caesars introduced the Planteroni pizza, topped with a plantbased pepperoni from Field Roast but still featuring dairy-based cheese. Pizza Hut, meanwhile, debuted a vegan pepperoni topping from Beyond Meat as a limited-time offer at 70 stores in August, but it came with non-vegan cheese as well.

Of course, many pizzaioli struggle to find a vegan cheese that offers the right flavor profile with their recipes. Miyoko’s Creamery believes it has the solution. The vegan cheese brand this year unveiled a potentially revolutionary liquid vegan mozzarella made with cashew milk. An alternative to the traditional block of vegan cheese, it’s pourable and, the company says, delivers a better melt on pizza.

If you want to keep your options open and conduct your own tests, vegan cheeses and meat substitutes are getting easier to find, thanks to fast-growing companies like Daiya Foods, Field Roast, Violife, Numu, Pleese Foods and others. Just know this: If you’re thinking of topping a pie with a plant-based meat substitute and regular dairy cheese, vegan consumers will ask why.

WHAT TO DO IN ’22

• Raise your prices if you need to. One of the industry’s true wise men, John Arena of Metro Pizza in Las Vegas, told PMQ years ago that pizza restaurateurs should never hesitate to raise their prices to stay in business. “That’s the biggest mistake people in our industry make,” Arena said in 2017. “They’re looking at the competition and saying, ‘I have to charge what they charge.’ I’m not interested in what the guy down the street is charging. I have to base what I charge on my expenses.”

Shahpour Nejad of Pizza Guys agrees. “Don’t be afraid