QSR Media chats to Scott Geiszler, co-founder, Pizza Capers
Pizza Capers recently blitzed Canstar Blue's national pizza survey picking up the most satisfied pizza customers accolade amongst other achievements. These are impressive results. QSR Media recently caught up with Scott Geiszler, co-founder Pizza Capers to find some of the reasons behind their success and what some of their longer term goals are. We asked Scott the following questions:
1/. Tell us about the recent Canstar Blue Pizza Survey and how Pizza Capers performed?
Naturally, we are delighted with the results. Canstar's research into pizza consumers nationally proves that Pizza Capers ranks highest amongst our peers in the categories of "overall", "service", "taste" and "other menu options". When we started Pizza Capers in 1996, our belief was that customers wanted and deserved high quality convenient food and that there were very little options available for this. We believed that customers did not want forcemeat, preservative laden 'ham in a can" style toppings with dubious nutritional value. We set our mindset, our ethos and our menu to deliver high quality, honest, natural pizzas, pastas and the like. We avoided the trickery employed by many of the major fast food companies. We figured that the best way to make beef taste like beef wasn't to spend time in the laboratory trying to copy nature, but was to just go ahead and use natural beef.
2/. What do you attribute your success to?
The success of the Pizza Capers story is down to three things. Firstly, it’s about holding steadfast to the philosophy of using only natural, authentic ingredients and resisting pressure to cut corners to cut costs, which so many others succumb to. Secondly, it has been vital to listen to customers and provide solutions to their concerns, by delivering items such as Gluten Free pizza bases, the 97% fat free range, risotto and pasta products and other menu options. And thirdly, it really comes down to the people who work alongside us. Our franchisees, our Head Office team and all the staff in the stores, from pizza chefs to customer service professionals, right though to our trainees . Without all of the team pulling together we'd be unable to supply the quality of product and service that is making Pizza Capers a household name, and a favourite pizza kitchen for so many customers.
3/. How do you differentiate yourselves amongst the gourmet pizza category?
Our point of difference really is about the quality of the product and service. Most fast food is heavy, oily, greasy and leaves you feeling guilty and weighed down. With Pizza Capers, we load up on natural lean meats, fresh vegetables, and low fat and low salt ingredients wherever possible, leaving a product that's fresh, light and tasty. The result is a convenient alternative to a home cooked meal that can be enjoyed regularly, without compromising on the need to look after yourself. There are even options as good as 97% fat free, which is an Australian first in the pizza category.
4/. 100 stores now, what are your 12 and 24 month goals looking like?
At this point we're moving our focus to the development of the brand interstate. We already have a solid base, with seven stores in Melbourne, three in Adelaide and two in Canberra, and we're working on a plan to deliver more stores, and great convenient option for these areas over the coming 12 months. We'll also open across the remainder of Australia in the next 24 months. Internationally we have operations in Singapore and are working with several parties to open up other parts of the Asia Pacific region.
To read the full Canstar blue results, click here
