Create-your-own pizza franchise Pieology Pizzeria is the latest notable area restaurant chain beefing up its menu with ingredients geared toward vegans, vegetarians and other foodies seeking more nutritional—and palatable—items.
The Rancho Santa Margarita-based fast-casual operator, which has about 150 locations, about half of those in Southern California, started the year off by introducing three new plant-based toppings to the menu.
Vegans, vegetarians, and “flexitarians” no longer have to stick to the standard cheese and veggie pizza. Instead, they now have the option of meatless diced chicken, spicy Italian sausage rounds and meatless meatballs.
The vegan palette is non-GMO, cholesterol-free and protein-packed, company officials said last month during an unveiling of the new ingredients at its Cypress restaurant.
The new ingredients can add a buck or so to the base price of a typical Pieology make-your-own pizza, which start at about $8 or $9, depending on location.
Company officials said Pieology gets its supply of plant-based proteins from Marina del Rey-based Gardein’s collection of frozen meatless meat.
The new products aren’t a gimmick, but a “fact of life” for restaurant operators these days, according to Chad Bailey, vice president of marketing for Pieology.
“It was 10 years ago when you’d have something and it was—let’s be honest, it was not good,” Bailey said.
Today, a consumer is increasingly unlikely to go to a restaurant with no vegetarian, vegan, or dietary sensitive options, he said.
“Our intention is to be the best in health or the best in indulgence,” said Bailey. As such, Pieology’s goal when thinking about adding the plant-based proteins was to offer a balance, whether that be going light or ordering the deep-dish crust with extra cheese, he said.
It’s not the company’s first nod toward healthier pizza. Last year, it launched a cauliflower crust pizza.
Riced cauliflower has been a trend in the health and fitness community; the low carb vegetable is often an ingredient replacement in high carb meals.
Bailey said the cauliflower product “was in high demand before [Pieology] even started scaling it.” The company’s also looking into other vegetables as crust options for the future.
Tacos, Too
Pieology ranked No. 15 last year among Orange County-based restaurant chains, with an estimated $150 million in sales—roughly $1 million per store, according to Business Journal research.
Test kitchens at some of Orange County’s larger chains are working overtime to introduce their own vegan offerings.
Del Taco Restaurants Inc. (Nasdaq: TACO), OC’s fifth largest restaurant chain with more than $780 million in sales last year, said around the start of the year it would expand its use of the plant-based meat substitute brand Beyond Meat to 21 additional locations throughout South-ern California.
That news followed a pilot test in Los Angeles last year.
The Lake Forest-based restaurant chain said it’s the first Mexican fast food chain to offer Beyond Meat.
“With a growing demand for vegan and vegetarian options among our guests, we saw an opportunity,” Chief Executive John Cappasola said in a statement.
Offerings include the Beyond Avocado Taco with plant-based crumbles, avocado, lettuce and tomatoes. The vegetarian Beyond Taco option has crumbles, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp., OC’s No. 1 restaurant chain with more than $10 billion in sales last year, recently said it sold 350 million vegetarian-friendly items last year; representing about 7% of the items ordered.
The company is reportedly planning to unveil a new menu specifically marketed at nonmeat eaters later this year.
Drones, Wings
Like the two taco titans, Pieology has its own unique set of competitors, such as make-your-own pizza chains Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza.
Pieology stays competitive by identifying trends and extensive customer research, according to Bailey.
It’s not just food; Pieology has been testing a drone delivery service at a Connecticut location.
Pieology recently got kudos from PETA for the new menu items with a Proggy Award, an award companies can get for progress towards trying to be cruelty free.
“We’re happy to have any organization that helps to get the word out about our product and share what our offerings are, because that’s a sign that we’re doing something right,” said Bailey.
The company isn’t against food that might add a few calories to their customer’s diets.
The test location in Cypress is serving up fries and wings with a self-service sauce station that includes six different sauces.
“We call it our Sauce Boss station,” said Bailey. They provide boneless and bone-in wings that come sauceless until the customer personalizes the mix at the station.
