Austin, TX-One year after re-launching the Gatti’s Pizza brand in its hometown of Austin, Texas, the company has added nine new product options with Gatti’s “Crave More Save More”(tm) menu, which offers nine deals for nine dollars. The menu marks a bold departure from industry approaches of the past two years, where the category has seen both deep discounting on premium items and unlimited choices for toppings, crust, and size at a set price.
“In our opinion, neither of those approaches seemed sustainable given the size of our company and the everyday challenges of food and labor costs,” said Gatti’s CEO Mike Mrlik. “We also felt that consumers would have a hard time understanding why they could purchase any pizza they wanted for only ten bucks this year, and then watch the same product cost rise by three to five dollars, or more, in the future. Instead, we decided to try an innovative new menu that we think strikes the perfect balance between quality, choice, and value.”
The “Crave More Save More”(tm) menu features nine of Gatti’s most popular products-seven large pizzas and two combo options. Mrlik explained the move this way: “Essentially, we created a new tier for consumers-one that delivers the highest quality and best-loved ingredients in a less expensive version of each pie. The result is seven large two and three topping pizzas, and two combo options-one featuring a ten-count of our popular wings and salad, and the other featuring our salad and cheese sticks. Consumers can order any of them for just nine dollars each.”
Among the pizza choices, two new premium items are also featured as Limited Time Offers (LTOs)- “The Torch”(tm), designed to satisfy a regional flavor profile with the company’s signature smoked provolone cheese, spicy chorizo, pepperoni, jalapenos and onion; and a classic Margherita Pizza on thin crust, featuring Roma tomatoes, Italian seasoning and fresh basil. Two additional premium pizzas will appear on the “Crave More Save More”(tm) menu, replacing the current LTOs, in about six to eight weeks. The entire menu can be viewed at: http://gattispizza.com/locations/austin/
When asked what prompted such a unique approach, CEO Mike Mrlik explained the process. “We conduct annual perceptual studies to track brand progress and consumer sentiment, and this year we found that consumers are still seeking value above all else. Last year, Gatti’s independent research showed that the company was in fact the value leader in Central Texas. Working closely with The Ampersand Agency, our Austin-based ad firm, we worked to adapt our long-term Crave More(tm) branding campaign in a way that continues to feature our quality, but allows us to introduce new, innovative products in a value menu. We think the “Crave More Save More”(tm) menu allows us to emphasize quality, innovation, and choice. It gives the consumer a lot of great products, all at one great price.”
Based in Austin, Texas, Gatti’s Pizza (Mr. Gatti’s, LP) is a privately held company with franchises in eleven states.
