So I get a call from my employees tonight as I am at the dealership dealing with problems with my car. They created something and I want to run it by you guys before I get too excited. They called it a half and half.
They put a 14" dough on a screen. On one half they put sauce. On the other garlic salt. Then they put on cheese and then pepperoni on the sauced half. They cooked it and cut the “pizza” side into 4 good-sized slices and the “cheesebread” side into sticks. They were pretty proud of themselves and I gotta say so was I. I made one to bring home after work and it was good. I am thinking of bundling this with a garden salad and a two liter of pop and selling it at $9.99 as a complete meal for 2.
What do you guys think? I used 8 ounces of cheese on the whole thing and probably about 15 pepperoni.
Sounds like a great Idea, but you might make it $10.99 or $11.99. Don’t undersell yourself. I sell an 14" Pepperoni for $13.50, half of that is $6.75 plus an order of cheese bread $5.99…that would be $12.76… I don’t know what your market is like, but you need to pay yourself someday.
LOL! I would love to get those prices. I sell a large Cheese & Pep for $7.24 so half would be $3.62 + a Cheesebread $3.99 so half would be 1.99 + a garden salad $3.99 + a 2 liter $2.09 = regular price of $11.69.
As for paying myself, well that is probably never going to happen so why start worrying about it now, I haven’t paid myself since I bought this store in December of 2005!
Sounds like you need to sell and move to a less competitive market.
I have three stores that average about $5k a week and profit about $75k a year each. They are in small markets, small towns of 2000 to 3000 working class people with maybe one or two other competitors, I get $22.99 for a 16" pizza all day long, and I make about $7.00 pure profit on each one.
I would look for a town of 1000 to 2000 that doesn’t have a pizza place, now thats a gold mine.
for what is worth, my 14" one topping is 9.99, add $1 for other toppings, except for sausage and extra cheese which is $1.50 additional each.
8" one topping is $3.69, 20" is $18.99
Spontaneous creation is always a proud moment for an owner. Get excited . . . get very excited. It sells very well. If you will go a step further and add some flexibility, you can score lots of sales at a good food cost.
Our pizza guy had the idea in 2005 (not trying to steal your thunder . . . encouraging your staff’s ingenuity). We finally took his advice and put it o the menu after he got married. We call it “Micheal’s Better Half”. We do 2 toppings and any sticks we offer and charge 13.25 for 16" pie - food cost 32% for highest possible cost (average about 29%). Your idea for the salad and drinks is truly inspired for the full meal plan.
It is weird to make a Ham and Banana peppers half / cinnamon sticks half. Gotta keep a “sauce break” line in there.
VERY cute idea - even more so that it came from the staff.
One more thought on the pricing - you added up a pie, stix, salad, and got to $11-something. So why sell this package for $10? You don’t need to discount to sell a package - you just need to promote it. A full meal for $11.99 sounds like a bargain - even if it isn’t necessarily lower (or much lower) than your usual price…
I’d promote it and see how it sells. And I’d reward the team that thought it up even if it doesn’t…
I agree with MM, don’t every undersell your products. I have one loss leader on my menu its a one topping 16" pizza for $10. I really don’t lose money on it but I usually get $16.00 for it, and make about $8. profit.
Create a Visual Loss Leader item fro your menu, that everyone will perceive as a great value, and then price everything else normal. What you will find is customers will roll in on the Special, only about 20% of them will just buy the special the rest will by add-ons, and add-ons is where you make your money.
My favorite is “Buy One Get One Free” Dine-in Only!!! A family of four or six will come in and buy this it runs about 55% food cost, but I usually get $20 for the pizza, and then at least $2.00 each for drinks, and a couple of bread sticks, or side items, and if they are drinking beer its another $2.00 each cause my soda’s are bottomless, not my beers, and then maybe an occasional dessert cause I carry Ice Cream now! at $2.00 a scoop!!!
The average Family of Four will spend about $40.00, and the Family of six will spend $50.00 With my Contribution Margin at 40% this is a beautiful thing.
See Tommy there is one major difference. You DISCOUNT your 16" one topping to $10.00, whereas my REGULAR price for a 16" 1 topping is $9.49! And beleive me when I tell you that is not the lowest price option in my market. I am pretty much middle of the road on pricing. If someone tells me how I will upload my menu and coupons. THey are in MS Publisher format. THanks!
Just a thought Kyle - and I understand markets vary.
But if your 16" 1 topping were on the menu for $14, but you couponed it and advertised specials on it all the time…
“Extra Large Pizza $5 OFF”
and
“SAVE $5 - Extra Large Pepperoni only $9.99”
Then it would be a BARGAIN.
Right now, $9.99 is what your pie is “worth”.
The other way, it’s worth $14, but they only have to spend $9.99, so the customer is getting a deal…
I see what you are saying. In any other market that would probably be a great ploy. Here they look at the menus and see whose price is cheaper and order there. Even with your scenario at $9.99 I would still be only middle of the road pricing and not too many folks around here think ANY pizza is worth $14. Pizza is a $5 commodity. Just like a White Castle burger is a 50 cent burger and a Double Cheeseburger at McD’s is a dollar. Caesars has ruined this market for the indys and the crappy economy and lack of jobs sure as hell doesn’t help.