After hearing of a number of think tankers who sell low cost pizza that are struggleing to stay afloat, I wanted to see how many on here thrive on selling pizza at little ceasers prices or below. My company was built on extremely inexpensive pizza, but has slowly chnaged the reputation and increased prices to more than double what they were 12 years ago. If you are selling your pizzas for $4 or $5 and doing well, tell us your story.
paul what are your weekly sales like?
I understand the LC, although privately owned now, so we do not know the figures, is very profitable.
that was Big Dave’s opinion, and I think he would know,
Otis
I’m typically doing between 21K and 23K per week, but I am no longer quite in that super cheap market I was asking about. I just have seen so many negative posts from places selling pizzas so cheap(Kyle and more recently Jay P are a couple that come to mind) I just wanted to see if this market could still allow an independant to do well. From the lack of response, I have to assume that those selling pizzas this cheap are either closed or too busy trying to keep their margains to a minimum to respond. It doesn’t seem like it’s the business model to follow.
After opening our 2nd store 11 months ago we still sell Large One Topping Pizza for 6.00 carry out only.
When we opened LC would bring a truck in on thurs and sell them for 5 bucks. D’s joined them and so we were dead on thurs. We are off the main drag and thurs became dead.
We started selling them for 5.00 and truly got slammed. It got people in our door and they were able to see the place and our staff was aware our service had to be 100%.
Since then the LC truck has moved on and D doesn’t sell them anymore. We raised them to 6.00 and don’t suggest it, or advertise it. We honor it if they call and ask for it.
For us we had to do it just to get people coming and it worked for us.
Our other location did it for 4 weeks because people were calling and asking why the other location had them and we did not. We got slammed and then when the month was over so was the special. The business their is established and selling cheap pizzas gave us more customers on thurs but didn’t increase sales…like the other location.
I think it is great to get people in the door when you are new. Get them in the habit of ordering from us. We have lots of competition in our small town so we just needed them to try us.
Kris
On these $5 pizza’s what kind of food cost are you running.
How much sauce, cheese, and Pepperoni, are you loading the pizza’s with?
one large cheese pizza
14 inch doughball? .40 I buy fresh dough delivered…
8 oz cheese ? 1.25
sauce? 3 oz .25
14" box .37
Total $2.27
I don’t sell them for $5.00 but this would be my total…cost I;d have to make my own dough…go to a cheaper stock 14 " box use cheaper cheese and maybe drop it to 6 oz instead of 8 and less sauce…
Don;t see how anyone can do it…
Big SAL
We do make our own dough. Our food cost is about 40%. The key thing to remember is it is just to get people in our door. We do it one day…Thursday. People were not used to ordering from us if they wanted to order pizza they were in the habit of calling one of the other places who have been around forever.
The other key thing to remember is not one single order is taken without suggestive selling xtra toppings, xtra cheese, sodas, cheese breadsticks, dessert or a salad. You would not believe how much upselling we have. (For those of you who don’t do it…I challenge you on ONE thursday or friday night suggestive sell one of your speciatly items…you will be amazed. We have contests daily…whoever upsells the most gets one of the items they can offer.)
If they order one the food cost is down to around 35%.
My labor would be the same if we weren’t doing it. If I have the staff…might as well have them working.
I certainly wouldn’t do it everyday and hope not to do it forever but for now it is working and doing what we set out to do.
Kris
what is the lowest product cost anyone could get on a large
14 inch pizza…cheese only
dough 10 cents
sauce 20
cheese 1.00?
box .25
total 1.55 ??? just curious…add pepperoni ??cost???
Big Sal