Oven Technology: The Key to Accelerating Growth of 200+ Pizza Franchises

The Challenge

For many decades, a large U.S. pizza franchise has been serving up fresh, stone-baked pizzas to local families and friends. Struck with increasing customer demands, a competitive marketplace, soaring food costs and the lack of qualified labor, the franchise was eager for a solution that would not only address these challenges but also maximize sales and profits. 

They decided that adding technology to their baking process would be key to growing the business and attracting new franchisees. Having built their brand around traditional stone-baked pizza, maintaining this quality standard was essential.

The Solution

After considering many options, the franchise decided to focus on oven technology. According to the founder, there was “no way in the world” they would consider a conveyor oven—until they came across the Hot Rocks stone conveyor oven and quickly realized it would be an asset to their business. The Hot Rocks would integrate authentic stone-baked taste and quality with speed and consistency, ticking off all the requirements the franchise was looking for. They immediately began to transition the Hot Rocks oven to all locations throughout the U.S.  

The art of baking is tricky, and removing the human factor was possible by adding a stone conveyor. This enabled the franchise to offer a consistent product, reduce the need for skilled labor and considerably lower food waste, resulting in increased sales and profits and a solid brand image. 

Focused on providing the highest quality to customers, it was critical to maintain the crispy crust they would get from baking on stone. Serving customers in a timely manner leads to happy customers and great reviews. The speed of the oven enabled them to cut baking time by over 50% during rush hours. Large orders, third-party apps or a sports team reservation were no longer challenges.  

Not only has this franchise successfully addressed its initial challenges with Hot Rocks’ innovative technology, it is also reaping benefits such as increased sales, improved profitability and soaring customer reviews, allowing them to grow their business to the next level. 

Customer: Company with 200+ U.S. pizza franchises

To respect confidentiality, the name of the franchise cannot be disclosed.

Challenges:

• Shortage of skilled labor
• Lack of product consistency
• Food waste costs through the roof
• Increased customer demands for quality
• Serving customer in a timely fashion

Goals:

• Increase capacity to sell during peak periods
• Keep up with third-party apps demand
• Increase revenue stream without adding staff
• Cut food costs
• Decrease reliance on employees

Results:

• From 5% to 28% increase in weekly sales
• Over 6% hike in overall satisfaction scores
• Over 4% increase in food quality scores
• 20% more pizzas without hiring
• No more burnt pizzas