Instore - July 2018 - 37

central kitchens that make pizzas for them,
says Jim Viti, DeIorios' vice president of
sales and marketing.
For commissaries and central kitchens,
shells and par-baked shells are the most
popular, Viti says. Shells are a great fit if
retailers are looking for a pie that more resembles one you'd get in a pizzeria. Par-bake
is more for those customers looking for durability and a longer shelf life.
Dough consistency can be an issue for instore grocery pizza programs, Viti says.
Kitchens making the pies, for instance, may
be using different machines for their crusts.
With more than 90 years' experience, DeIorios differentiates itself from its competitors
with the reliability of its doughs, he says.
"The consistency of our products is second
to none."

Today's pizza doughs and crusts come in a wide variety of shapes and flavors.
Photo: BQ Flatbread

Doughs diversify
Self-rising crusts are Waukesha, Wisconsinbased Baker's Quality's Pizza Crusts Inc. big
sellers for grocery store prepared foods sections, commissaries and central kitchens,
says Anne Cookson, the company's co-owner and sales and human resources manager.

"I get requests every week from
grocery stores and commissaries
looking for ways to enhance their
pizza programs."
ANNE COOKSON, BAKER'S QUALITY PIZZA CRUSTS INC.

Retail grocery demand for pizza crusts is
rising, as stores look to differentiate themselves and provide their customers with a
better option to frozen, Cookson says. "I get
requests every week from grocery stores
and commissaries looking for ways to enhance their pizza programs," she says.
And within the retail category, Cookson
says, the balance is definitely shifting toward commissary and central kitchen pie
production. "People are streamlining more,"
she says. "It's a consistency issue. Retailers

Instore grocery demand pizza is growing,
Viti says. And within the category, two subcategories stand out for DeIorios when it
comes to growth: meal kits and organic. DeIoirios provides its doughs for kits and often
co-packs for other pizza ingredient compa-

want the pizza to be the same at all of their
locations, made by the same people."
Baker's Quality distinguishes itself, Cookson says, by making its crusts by hand, using top-drawer ingredients and no preservatives or artificial flavors. That dovetails
nicely with today's grocery retailers, who
are mindful of clean-label and of the need to
step up their game when it comes to quality.
As far as trends, Baker's Quality is seeing big
demand for the beer-infused pizza crusts it
introduced two years ago, which were a big
hit at the International Pizza Expo in March
in Las Vegas.
As a value-add to its customers, Baker's
Quality also shares pizza recipes it's developed over the years and ships pizza sauce
and a pizza seasoning blend. The sauce and
blend are Baker's Quality but are not made
in-house, Cookson says. "What makes them
special is that they are delicious," she says.
"The sauce is a bagged, shelf-stable product
and the seasoning is super-unique."
Utica, N.Y.-based DeIorios Foods Inc. sells
shells, par-baked shells, gluten-free and organic shells and dough balls for instore prepared foods sections and commissaries and

Gluten-free crusts are gaining in popularity.
Photo: DeIorios

commissary INSIDER * JULY 2018 * 37

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