How to Start a Pizza Business

Pizza is quickly becoming one of the most popular foods in the UK today. The pizza industry grew by 6% in 2007 and is widely regarded as a convenient and tasty food option. The origins of pizza are widely debated – some credit it to pita bread in the Middle East, others to the Greeks in the first century but most to peasants in Naples, Italy in the late 1800s.

Starting your own pizza business can be tricky and you must do some research before deciding if the pizza business is for you. If you haven’t already worked in a pizzeria, then perhaps you should work part time in a pizza place to learn the ropes. People who have been working in the industry for years say it is tricky and you should not go into it without knowing that it is definitely for you.

Here are some questions you should ask before investing in a pizza business franchise opportunity:

Local Ordinances: What kind of certificates and licenses do I need to open my own pizzeria? There are many health and safety issues you should consider before opening your own pizzeria, for example licensing and fire safety. You should contact your local Chamber of Commerce or this website  to find out about the health and safety requirements you will need to fulfil.

Location – Where do you want to locate your pizza business? Where would be best to locate your pizza business? University campuses are great for regular but small orders while residential areas are great for larger evening and weekend orders. What type of building do you need? Decide between dine in or delivery or both. If you want to do dine in you will need a larger premises and maybe a different license. Also if you decide to just do a delivery service you will still need to be near your target clientele as no-one wants to eat a pizza that has cooled during the delivery journey. What kind of interior will you need? Here, you will need to consider floor planning, kitchen size and interior design. Usually franchises will have specifications about the interior design and floor planning and you should keep this in mind.

Menu and Suppliers - Can you serve local food produce or do you have to stick to the produce from the franchise’s approved suppliers (if they have any)? You should consult the franchise agreement to find out whether or not you can use local produce or buy from the franchise directly. Buying local produce would be good for the pizza business’ image and it would be beneficial to build up a good rapport with the local suppliers, however buying from the franchise’s suppliers directly can be more cost effective.

Marketing & Advertising – Will the franchise help with your advertising campaigns? If so, is this just for the opening or does it continue regularly while the pizza business is open? Most franchisors will help with the business launch, however not all will continue your advertising campaigns after opening. Therefore, you should include in your budget projections costs for regular marketing campaigns and advertising costs.

Specialised – Would you like to target a specialised area within the pizza business? The pizza business is competitive and to match that many pizza businesses have become innovative with their services, now you can get Take n Bake pizzas and now health food and organic pizzas. The next big thing in the pizza business is the emergence of health food pizza and it looks like it is here to stay. Organic produce is in high demand but can be very expensive. If you decide to open an organic pizza business, you should make sure that you locate your business in an area with a demand for organic produce. University students will probably not want to spend too much of their smaller budgets on organic pizzas, yet city centre populations have such a diverse range of budgets that you will be likely to attract the right clientele.

Having found answers to all the questions above, you should be ready to make the right, informed decision on which pizza business franchise opportunity will suit you. To find out more about the current pizza business franchise opportunities available to you today follow the link provided.