Is the World Ready for an Organic Pizza Franchise?
April 11, 2007 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
Overview: First organic pizza franchise opens in Florida. Pizza Fusion nominated as a Top New Franchise at TopNewFranchises.Com.
Is the world ready for an organic pizza franchise?
Pizza Fusion thinks so. And so do the franchisees who opened the first Pizza Fusion franchise in Ft. Lauderdale last month.
Pizza Fusion was founded by college buddies Michael Gordon and Vaughan Lazar in February of 2006. With a menu of all-natural and organic gourmet pizzas, sandwiches, wraps, salads, desserts, beers, wines and more, Pizza Fusion is marketing to health and environmentally conscious consumers. According to the company, “By promoting the organic movement and practicing an eco-friendly approach in all operations of the company, Pizza Fusion is ‘Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time’.”
The grand opening took place Saturday, March 24, with over 600 guests showing up to celebrate the grand opening of the first organic pizza franchise (as far as we know).
The new franchisees are Michael Block, and Jeffrey and Sandra Yagoda. Michael Block is currently director of CoreGear, an outdoor sportswear company, and serves on the board of Voices For Children, a foundation that provides support and financial assistance to abused and neglected children. Prior to that he was a top executive for Hasbro, the world’s second largest maker of games and toys.
Jeffrey and Sandra Yagoda bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to Pizza Fusion. Jeffrey has over 24 years of foodservice industry experience. He and his wife also own a KFC and Taco Bell combo franchise.
What sold the new franchisees on being the pioneers of franchised organic pizza? “The popularity of the organic food industry coupled with Pizza Fusion’s aggressive environmental approach makes for an amazing restaurant concept that has entered the market at just the right time,” Jeffrey Yagoda explains. “However, their concept wouldn’t be a success without the high quality of their product. They’ve mastered the art of the pizzeria with a pie that’s taste speaks for itself. From the oval shape of our gourmet pizzas to the unique taste of our specialty pies, it’s a pizza unlike any other. Once you try it, you’ll be hooked.”
The new store is 1,200 square feet with a raw, modern, earthy design that reflects the bare, basic approach to organic and sustainable living using accents from the natural elements of the earth. In addition to the Fort Lauderdale location, the entrepreneurial trio also purchased the entire Miami Dade territory with plans to open locations in both Aventura and South Beach in Miami.
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Hi Jim,
I think the world is definitely ready for organic pizza. Organic seems to be the new buzzword for 2007. One of the things I notice in the supermarket is how many of the product categories have added organic to their product mix. Good luck Pizza Fusion!
Best regards,
Marty McDermott
FranchiseInterviews.com
Any one heard anything new of Pizza Fusion. I also heard they brought in a big invester/CEO is that good or..
Exactly what is organic about Pizza Fusion? A couple of ingredients? It takes a lot more than that to make an organic pizza that meets USDA organic criteria (at least 95% or more of all ingredients must be USDA certified organic and the non-certified must be on the USDA’s NOP list…). All Pizza Fusion does is declare they’re organic! But they are NOT organic.
Yes you can get a full 100% organic pizza at pizza fusion. I ordered an organic crust with organic cheese, organic sauce and organic NY steak, and you are telling me I can not get an organic pizza… At least they are saving the earth one pizza at a time, what are you doing instead?
Got it – so this is the only pizza I can have at the “all-organic” Pizza Fusion, if I want to have an organic pizza. Thanks for the tip!
Actualy wrong again Victoria.
The certified organic items are as follow:
white crust, olive oil, mushroom, tomato, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, red onions, basil, pesto sauce, tomato sauce, garlic, NY steak, feta, cucumber, walnuts, pear, sun dried tomotoes, balsamic vingrestte, oregano, brocooli, eggplant, mozzarella and more. Not to mention all salad dressing, beer, wine, and some juice/teas. If my calculus is correct that is easily over 1000 different combitaion of Organic Pizza at Pizza Fusion, please check my math. If you read the previous comment it states what she personally ordered on her pizza.
That’s absolutely brilliant. I found this by googling for Organic Pizza restaurants. However, the idea is not new at all and there are plenty of other successful organic pizza co.s – just visit Toronto (or Ann Arbor).
I am the supply chain developer for Pizza Fusion, and I wanted to clarify some of the points raised in the discussion.
We source organic and all-natural ingredients in our restaurants from local distributors, and over 75% of our menu is certified organic. We also have a certified organic store in Fort Lauderdale, the first of many as we are mandating organic certification for all of our restaurants. This certification means that we preserve the organic integrity of every organic ingredient that we serve, from seed to table, through strict sourcing, handling, and serving practices. We maintain a database of organic certificates for all of our organic items, and update it every six months to make sure all of our vendors are in good standing.
Our menu does not claim to be 100% organic, but every item we carry has gone through an extensive selection process to ensure that only the highest quality ingredients go into our products. We are doing our part to ‘green’ the restaurant industry, and serving organic food is only one of the many ways in which we are making a difference.
Ashley:
What are the requirements for an ingredient or menu item to be called “certified organic”?
What does that mean?
Thanks
Hi Sean,
Thank you for your interest in the process Pizza Fusion goes through to certify our menu items. In order for an item, say, a tomato, to be certified organic, the farmer must prove over three consecutive years that there is no chemical residue (from synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) left in the soil before they can start certifying their crops. The farmer also keeps detailed records about their farming techniques that they must present to a third party inspector that enforces the guidelines set forth in the National Organic Program, created by the USDA. These include documenting water sources, integrated pest management techniques, and handling and storage techniques to ensure that the food is not contaminated at any stage in the process.
For Pizza Fusion to certify a menu item and a restaurant as organic, there is a two step process. First, the menu items must be documented with a recipe that includes all ingredient sourcing, with the ingredients’ organic certificates updated every 6 months. Our entire restaurant is inspected by a third party certification agency (we use QAI), and they inspect everything from all food invoices to verify sourcing, to any potential surface contaminants on any food contact surface from cleaning and sanitizing chemicals. We are inspected each year to maintain our good standing, and can be inspected at any time, unannounced.
To be certified organic means that we not only serve the highest quality, best tasting food available (organic food has a better flavor profile because the ingredients aren’t pumped up with growth hormones or artificially ripened), but we also go to great lengths to support organic farmers in their mission to produce a sustainable and healthy crop year after year. If you would like to learn more about organic farming, I would recommend taking the free “Organics 101″ course online at http://www.albertsorganics.com. Thanks again for your interest in organic certification and Pizza Fusion!