Move over, Papa John’s. There’s a new number three in town. According to Nation’s Restaurant News’ ranking of the Top 100 foodservice chains, Little Caesars has taken over Papa John’s third-place slot among the country’s top pizza chains. The magazine revised its sales numbers from 2010 and 2011 and reported that Little Caesars has actually been in the number-three spot for the past couple of years. The quick-service chain reported $2.9 billion in sales in 2012, beating Papa John’s by about 20%. That means Papa John’s has moved down a spot to number four, with Papa Murphy’s coming in at a distant number five.

Read more at PMQ.com

Focus on Repeat Customers

Your goal should be to have at least 25% of your profits coming from repeat customers. They spend more, provide word-of-mouth advertising, and loyally return to your store again and again. Earning their business goes beyond just serving great pizza. Make them feel like a star, offer something unique, provide value and great service, and show them some love!

Read more at The Pizza Insider.

This Week In Pizza

Today on This Week In Pizza: Little Caesars Edges Out Papa John’s; Wimbledon Fans Crave Pizza; and Pizza-Flavored Candy

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Wimbledon Fans Show Love for Pizza

Forget strawberries and cream. It’s pizza that tennis fans are craving at this year’s Wimbledon Championships. According to press reports, restaurants around the All England Club—the site of the famous tennis tournament in London—have been enjoying booming pizza sales. Last week they sold a total of about 4,500 pizzas every day, and those numbers were expected to rise this week. Caterers have also seen a dramatic spike in the sale of specialty coffees, such as cappuccinos and lattes, plus new twists on some traditional favorites, including, of all things, strawberry and cream-flavored popcorn.

Read more at PMQ.com.

Nurse Invents Pizza-Flavored Candy

It had to happen sooner or later—a registered nurse has invented a candy that tastes like pizza. Rita DiCarlo of Palm Desert, California, created Pizza Is 4 Suckers, which tastes like cold pizza and gives off a pungent oregano smell, for patients on restrictive diets who can’t eat as much pizza as they’d like. It’s sugar-free, fat-free, sodium-free, gluten-free and, in case you’re wondering, yes, it’s kosher, too. It even won second place in the Most Innovative Product category at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago. Next on DiCarlo’s to-do list: She’s leading a push to get Pizza Is 4 Suckers in the Candy Hall of Fame.

Read more at PMQ.com.

Pizza Without Borders

CiCi’s Says “Si! Si!” to Mexico, Puerto Rico

The buffet model at CiCi’s Pizza lends itself to international markets, making it easy for the popular chain to experiment with different local ingredients and flavors. That may explain why CiCi’s is planning new units in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Canada. Keep your fingers crossed for poutine pizza!

Read more at Pizza Without Borders.

The 10 Percent Solution

Parishioners are always looking for ways to help their church. Make it easy for them by offering to return 10% of the proceeds of the sale when they patronize your pizzeria. Ask church leaders to distribute coupons that, when redeemed, give 10% of the sale’s proceeds back to the church. The church members can turn their receipts in to the church. At the end of the promotion, the church leader returns all the receipts to you for a cash redemption.

Source: Tom Feltenstein, “501 Killer Marketing Tactics To Increase Sales, Maximize Profits and Stomp Your Competition”