Motorpoint Arena
The London School
of Economics campus,
just off The Strand
in central London
IS ONE OF THE LATEST ESTABLISHMENTS
TO ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF
FlatStone PIZZA co.
A CONCEPT FROM COUNTRY CHOICE
Stephen Swarbrick, Catering Manager at the London School of Economics explains how he took the decision to offer Flatstone Pizza at the LSE Campus.
“I wanted pizza, as opposed to other options like burgers and hotdogs, because I think it has greater perceived value for the customer. But simply providing pizzas was not enough (there are plenty of frozen options available). We wanted a premium quality concept, that offered customers a wide choice of toppings, and would allow us to take advantage of the aroma and theatre that only comes from pizzas that are freshly prepared and cooked in front of the customer.
It also had to have the look and feel of a high street quality brand, right down to things like the signage and packaging. It needed to be straightforward for us to operate, providing a quick turnaround from the point of order to serving the customer.”
Fully Costed Concept
“Our visit to the demonstration kitchen at Country Choice headquarters addressed all of these points and was a vitally important part of the decision making process. It allowed us to see the concept in action, taste the products, evaluate the marketing support, and get a really good understanding of how Flatstone Pizza Co. would work for us.
Once we had decided the concept was perfect for us, Country Choice put together a fully costed commercial proposal. They presented a detailed plan relating to other key aspects including a recipe breakdown, finalised branding proposal, installation, training, and support for the launch. Nothing was too much trouble.”
The Complete Pizza Solution
“The Flatstone Pizza Co. concept is a one stop, off the shelf solution that overcomes all the barriers I had previously encountered when launching a new range.
The pizzas are really good and require very little skilled production, whilst still retaining the ‘cooked fresh on the premises’ tagline.
It comes with an exceptional support package, including promotional material such as ‘A’ boards, window posters, table talkers, wall posters, and
ceiling boards.
As well as excellent training, which ensured that the launch went really well, and that interest has subsequently been maintained.”
Margins in Excess of 55%
“Set up was very straightforward and the training was very thorough with good consideration given to portion control and consistency.
The ordering of ingredients is extremely simple thanks to the templates that Country Choice supplies, and the process operates really smoothly.
We are already selling around 160 pizzas per week with the bestsellers being the 9″ Margherita and Pepperoni varieties, with excellent margins in excess of 55%.”
Unrivalled Support Package
“The Flatstone Pizza Co. identity is really attractive and, most importantly, it makes it look like we have gone into partnership with a well-established external brand, almost like a franchise. This is really key for me as my experience of providing pop-ups on the campus is that customers are far more attracted to external brands. This is because they feel they offer both a great tasting product and trusted quality.
From the initial visit to Country Choice, through to the process of setting up the range, promotions, margin analysis, ordering template, training, and launch, has all been seamless and delivered with ease. The after-sales support has been really excellent. ”
