Healthy Pizza in Demand

More and more Canadians are demanding healthier meal options for themselves and their families. Like it or not, most Canadians do read the nutritional labels on products before deciding whether or not to purchase the item. Women, who still do the majority of household shopping, are the most likely to read the nutritional information.

Food manufacturing companies have noticed and are even adding things like Omega 3, DHA and extra iron to everything from yogurt to bread. Health Canada is demanding that restaurants reduce the amount of sodium in their dishes, although so far they’ve neglected to impose the same threats on all the ‘heat & serve’ meal options at the grocery store and the recommended levels of sodium are still in debate. There is a lot of discussion of banning trans-fats, which New York City did this past year. It makes a great deal of sense, a healthier population means less dollars need to be spent on health care and an overall better quality of life; call it preventative health care.

The movement toward healthier meals was instigated by the consumer. Back in 2000, we began making a line of 100% whole wheat pizza crusts and while it took time to catch on, today it represents 40% of our sales. Paired with our low fat mozzarella, a few vegetables and our lean grilled chicken breast it’s not just healthy, it’s also quite delicious. These days, Canadian consumers expect to find heart smart and heart healthy meal options on our menu – even on fast food menus. More and more chains are adding these options to their menus and are having positive feedback.

Most places are reactive about this change in the marketplace. Several companies thought that it was simply a trend which would pass quickly and failed to accommodate what’s now an expectation. The companies that are constantly asking and exposing their customers to different options which they may not have previously known about are in a better position to be ahead of the curve and profit from this change in consumer tastes.

At Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria, we have always polled our customers and created pizzas and menu items to cater to them. Our whole wheat crust began in very small batches, with free samples slices to gauge our customers’ reactions. About a year ago we started getting calls requesting gluten-free pizza. The number of calls increased every week, so we decided it would be wise to invest time in creating a recipe. We spent about 6 months developing a from scratch recipe and then incorporating it into a busy pizzeria that specializes in wheat pizzas. The day we launched our gluten-free pizza crust, we already had a list of customers who were eagerly anticipating it.

Back in October 2009, we had the fortune of working with some folks at the Canadian International Grains Institute on perfecting a barley flour pizza crust. Barley is beneficial by providing both soluble and insoluble fibre, whereas whole wheat flour only has insoluble fibre. North American diets are severely lacking in fibre and our initial batches have had very positive tasting results from staff and customers alike. Just a little more tweaking to our recipe and we’ll likely add it to the menu as a taste of the month later this year. Depending on the response, it may end up on our menu as a permanent heart healthy choice.

We’ve also been taste testing turkey bacon as another heart smart option. Many of our regular customers are baby boomers and like my husband, have been told by their physicians to cut down on red meat. Customer reactions to sample slices with turkey bacon have been extremely positive, so positive that it’s been one of our featured ‘taste of the month’ since December 2009.

Regardless of whether you thought healthy pizza was a fad or a fleeting trend, you have to be living under a rock not to notice the increased demand for healthier meals in 2009. 2010 will no doubt be more of the same.