Pizza Today - February 2022 - 44

and price those options. Not to digress
but while cycling in Denver I always pass
the hot dog vendor at Confluence Park.
I told him once to add a vegan hot dog
and he would increase his sales by 15 to
20 percent, which is significant. I said
to him that I, as well as many others,
would buy a hot dog almost every time
we come here if he had a vegan dog. That
was about two years ago. He hasn't added
one. Sometimes stubbornness gets in the
way of reason. I will tell his wife next
time and I bet I would have more success.
Maybe he can afford to ignore this everexpanding
market, but can you?
Let's explore the financial feasibility
of adding plant-based options to
your menu. With supply chains cut or
disrupted, a worker scarcity and inflationary
pressure, it's a challenging time to be
a restaurant owner. So, the question begs,
how does adding plant-based options
affect the bottom line? At the end of the
day as much as we want to be altruistic
(and we are), making money doing something
we love is why we are in the pizza
business. Anyone who says otherwise is
either lying or going out of business fast.
I want to first look at the two most
popular toppings in the pizza world:
cheese and pepperoni. Right now, for
Pizza Head in Missouri, shredded
whole milk dairy mozzarella is $3.19 per
pound. Our vegan shredded mozzarella
is around $7 per pound. The margin on
pizza is large compared to other cuisines
so there is plenty of room. Even though I
don't believe you have to put a premium
on vegan products, customers are more
than willing to pay a premium because
the plant-based market is fiercely loyal
and health conscious. They are willing
to travel far and pay higher prices than
regular consumers. The flexitarians might
balk, but even they will pay a premium
(although begrudgingly). For example,
our 20-inch cheese pizza starts at $18 before
toppings, but our vegan cheese pizza
is $22. We also make cashew cheese.
Cashews are about $4 per pound and
with labor, it comes to about $5 per
pound. Portion size is important with
expensive ingredients. You want the
customer to feel satisfied, but you have to
make sure you're not putting too much
product on. For example, the vegan
shredded mozzarella goes a long way. A
lot is not needed to get enough flavor
for the customer to be satisfied and you
haven't broken the bank with a vegan
pizza. I think there is a psychological
aspect to pricing as well. Having higher
prices for plant-based items gives the
impression they are worth more and
better. In this writer's opinion that is true.
However, perception is half the battle.
Pepperoni, an Italian American
creation, is unquestionably the
most popular pizza topping in the
United States. Although pepperoni is
an offspring of Italian salami, pepperoni
doesn't really exist in its American form
anywhere else. (Except U.S. based fast
food chain pizza where you can probably
get a pepperoni pizza anywhere in the
world). Vegan pepperoni can range from
44 / PIZZATODAY.COM / FEBRUARY 2022
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