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The Operations Issues

Pizza store operations — order-taking, pizza-making, baking, packaging, delivering, and the like — are the acid test of a pizza carton. It might be a beautiful-looking box, but if it can't pass the rigors of store operations, it's nothing. An optimal pizza carton must “fit” a store's operational system, protect and enhance its pizza, and be user-efficient. In that regard here's some factors to consider when evaluating a new or current carton in terms of “the operations issues.”

Always a Downside, Always an Upside. Relative to any given pizzeria, every carton has both an operational downside and an operational upside. The No-downside Carton doesn't exist. Some pizzeria owners might believe that their current carton is a no-downside carton, but that's only because either (a) they're incognizant of the carton's downside or (b) they've worked with the carton for so long that they've inadvertently installed methods to compensate for its downside. So the evaluation question isn't whether any particular carton has an operational downside but, rather, does the carton's upside justify accepting its downside? Or do the pros justify the cons?

Quality Enhancement Issues. When pizza company executives speak of product quality, it's ingredients and pizza-making methods that they're usually referring to. Fact is, packaging plays a crucial role, as well. The point to realize is that what counts is not what a pizza is like when it comes from the oven but, rather, what it's like when being eaten. The difference can be substantial. So when we speak of quality we're talking about quality at the point of consumption, as opposed to the point of production.

Further, quality enhancement involves (a) perceived quality by the consumer and (b) actual product characteristics. Ultimately, it's perceived quality that matters. However, we concern ourselves with product characteristics because that's one of the ways we influence perceived quality. Packaging plays a role in both dimensions. (For a discussion of the relationship between packaging and quality perception, see Hey … it's just a box!) Following, we describe various ways that pizza packaging impacts both perceived quality and product characteristics at the point of consumption.

1. A QUALITY PIZZA is one that's cut all the way through. A half-cut pizza where a customer must rip one slice from another detracts from the pizza-eating experience. The best way to insure a fully-cut pie is to use a rocker knife instead of a pizza wheel for pizza-cutting.

2. A QUALITY PIZZA is one in which the slices contact one another, or aren't spread apart. Slice-spreading can occur during delivery when a driver stops quickly or turns a corner rapidly or holds a pizza carton in a non-level position. This problem can be greatly reduced by using either an octagon carton or a carton with anti-slide cover flaps. Slice-spreading also occurs when a pizza that's cut on a peel or board is slid into the box. To see an example of slice separation, click here. When slices separate, it not only looks sloppy but it also allows sauce and cheese to ooze into the space between slices and stick to the bottom of the box. To see what an ugly mess this can create, click here. Further, when a consumer picks up such a slice, the cheese and toppings often slide off the crust and remain in the box. To reduce or eliminate both of these negative conditions, use in-box pizza-cutting with a rocker knife (more on this in a later section on Cut-table Issues). To enable in-box cutting with a rocker knife, you'll need either a non-connected carton or a hybrid carton that enables the carton to be folded into a non-connected carton prior to pizza-cutting and then re-folded into a connected carton as it's being closed up after pizza-cutting. Correll Concepts recently introduced this new type of hybrid carton.

3. A QUALITY PIZZA is one that's in its original shape (typically, round) when it arrives at the customer's door. During delivery a pizza can slide into a corner of the carton, resulting in a crumpled product. This occurs from fast stops and rapid cornering in transit. To eliminate this, use either an eight-sided, or octagon, carton or a square carton with anti-slide cover flaps (a Correll Concepts technology). For a discussion of square shape versus non-square shape, see the Square vs. Non-square section.

4. A QUALITY PIZZA is one which arrives hot and remains hot throughout the duration of its consumption. Pizzas can be easily delivered hot by any of various hot-bag delivery technologies. However, in the customer's residence, heat dissipates amazingly fast. To reduce heat loss, use a box that employs Pizza Carton Elevation, or PCE. In addition to retaining product heat, when properly conceptualized in marketing strategy and box graphics, PCE can have a pronounced impact on enhancing consumers' perception of a pizza's quality. See PCE: Hot Feature of the Future for details of this new technology.

5. FINALLY, to drive perceived quality to the top, a carton must contain an optimal integration of message, graphics, and structure. For more on this, see GSI: Pizza Chain Brand-builder and also Creating a Sales-building A-bomb.

Blank Storage Issues. Some pizza companies run a commissary distribution system. In these cases, limited truck and warehouse space is usually an issue. If the company is currently using B-flute pizza cartons, it can reduce space requirements for box blank storage by nearly 50 percent by switching to E-flute cartons. (See the Structural Options section for a discussion of B-flute vs. E-flute.) Typically, the cover panels of E-flute cartons experience between an eighth inch to a quarter inch more downward warp (in the center) than that of B-flute. To measure the amount of warp in a cover, place a straight edge across the carton and measure the distance from the straight edge to the center of the box cover.

Pizza steam creates the warp. Storing loaded pizza cartons under a heat lamp worsens the situation. To compensate for added cover warp, the height of larger E-flute cartons (14-inch and 16-inch) may need to be increased over that of B-flute by between an eighth to a quarter of an inch. The larger the carton, the greater the cover warp. This, in turn, might increase the cost of the E-flute carton over the B-flute by a few percent.

An option for eliminating E-flute cover warp altogether is to use one of several plastic lid supports — a device placed in the center of the pizza prior to closing the box cover. Compare the cost of the lid support to the cost of increasing the height of the carton. Another option is to install warp-resisting cover flaps, a new technology of Correll Concepts.

Box Storage Issues. Perhaps the biggest space hog in a pizza store is stacks of pre-folded boxes. At one time this posed no problem. But as companies have expanded their menus, storage space requirements have expanded, as well. This has caused companies to reconsider whether stacks of boxes filled with air is a good use of limited space. A way of reducing storage space requirements by about 50 percent is to parfold boxes (ready for loading and with the cover open) and then nest the parfolded boxes inside one another like clamshells. Correll Concepts has a patented technology for easily enabling this. Still further, it's possible to eliminate the need for folded-box storage altogether by using Correll Concepts' Insta-fold™ technology. This enables a carton to be parfolded ready for loading in about a second, thereby virtually eliminating both storage space and folding-time issues.

Box-folding Issues. Box-folding — sometimes called setting-up, erecting, or building a box — is a concern of most pizza companies when evaluating a carton. Understandably, they want the box-folding process to be intuitive and quick for store employees. Any serious deviation from current box-folding methodology can cause them to forego testing a new carton. However, the key issue should not be how long it takes an employee to fold the first box but, rather, how long it takes them after they've practiced on folding an entire bundle. With some types of box structures the folding learning curve rises steeply, taking a person no more than 20 or 30 boxes to reach top speed.

Some managers reflexively reject a new box structure simply because it looks complex. However, complexity of box structure doesn't always equate with long folding time. Some complex-looking structures can be folded very quickly (usually by applying some little “trick”), while some simple-looking structures can be virtually unfoldable.

A key to quick learning of a new box-folding process is MOTIVATION. Offer a small incentive to employees for achieving a predetermined box-folding speed (i.e., a certain number of boxes folded within a certain time period, such as three minutes) and you might be surprised at how quickly everyone acquires expert proficiency.

As previously mentioned, it's possible to virtually eliminate box-folding altogether by applying Insta-fold™ technology. With this, instead of pre-folding boxes, an employee picks up a box blank and parfolds it ready for loading in about a second. The parfolding occurs right after receiving the order or as the pizza is exiting the oven.

Cut-table Issues. Pizza-cutting and packaging methodology play a crucial role in both store efficiency and product quality. We'll discuss the options involved and their pros and cons.

PIZZA WHEEL VS. ROCKER KNIFE. The two main pizza-cutting tools are the pizza wheel — also called a pizza cutter — and the rocker knife. The pizza wheel consists of a circular rolling blade attached to a handle. The rocker knife consists of a half-moon blade with a gripper section at each end. Pizza people often debate the pros and cons of each. However, when all's said and done, the rocker knife is the superior instrument. It's faster, makes straighter cuts, doesn't “bulldoze” toppings on a deluxe pizza like a pizza wheel does, and more readily cuts all the way through the crust (eliminating those half-cut pizzas where a customer must wrestle to disengage each slice from adjacent slices).

A main factor effecting the choice of pizza wheel vs. rocker knife is the structure of the pizza carton. A connected carton — that is, one with connected corners that create permanently-upright side walls — prevents in-box pizza-cutting with a rocker knife because cutting the pizza in the carton with a rocker knife tends to crush the carton walls. Therefore, to use a rocker knife with in-box cutting, a non-connected carton (which has lay-back side walls when the box cover is open) must be used. For more on connected and non-connected cartons, see the Structural Options section.

Unlike with a rocker knife, it's possible to do in-box cutting in a connected carton with a pizza wheel. However, the pizza must be positioned rearward of center by a couple inches (to allow the circular cutting blade to clear the front wall of the box) and then after cutting, the pizza must be slid forward with a jerk of the box before closing the cover.

Other pizza-cutting instruments include kitchen scissors, pizza knife (a long saber-like knife with a hand-gripper on the tip of the blade), and varieties of special pizza-cutting tools that cut an entire pie at once.

OUT-OF-BOX PIZZA-CUTTING VS. IN-BOX PIZZA-CUTTING. Pizza-cutting methods can be classified into two types: Out-of-box and in-box. With out-of-box cutting a pizza is cut on a peel or board and then slid into the carton. With in-box cutting it's placed into the carton and then cut. Out-of-box cutting is the original method. Companies that still use it usually employ a combination of connected carton and rocker knife.

Of the two methods, in-box cutting produces the best results. There's two advantages to it. First, in-box cutting saves time — it eliminates having to slide the pizza from the cutting board into the box. Second, it produces a higher-quality product. During sliding of the pizza from board to box, pizza slices tend to separate. For an example of slice separation, click here. This creates a sloppy look to the pizza and, in addition, increases the tendency for sauce and cheese to ooze into the space between slices and stick to the bottom of the box. For an example of cheese sticking, click here.

So, everything considered, what's the preferred pizza cutting-packaging method? It appears that it's a combination of in-box cutting with a rocker knife. This provides both optimal speed and optimal quality. To accomplish this, of course, a pizza company must employ a non-connected carton. However, if the company prefers to have a connected carton (perhaps for customer perception reasons) but would still like to do in-box cutting with a rocker knife or do in-box cutting with a pizza wheel without having to jostle the pizza back and forth, a solution exists in a patented Correll Concepts' hybrid structure. This structure enables a box to be folded into a non-connected carton prior to pizza-loading but instantly re-folded into a connected carton after the pizza has been cut (with the pizza in the box). This, in effect, provides the best of both worlds as regards connected vs. non-connected carton structure.

TIME INVOLVED IN PACKAGING OPERATIONS. During the rush a pizzeria requires efficient cut-table operations. The overall time it takes to open the box, load the box, cut the pizza, and close the box should be stopwatch calculated and taken into consideration when evaluating competing box structures. Generally speaking, in-box cutting beats out-of-box cutting in time-efficiency.

For more on how carton structure relates to product quality and efficiency, see the Structural Options section.

Holding-shelf Issues. After packaging the pizza it's usually placed on a holding shelf under a heat lamp to await delivery or pick-up. Here, the cover of a pizza carton can experience substantial downward warp in the center. This can result in the cover panel contacting the top of the pizza, resulting in cheese sticking to the cover. E-flute board warps more than B-flute. If you encounter a serious warping problem, three remedies exist: (a) go to a taller carton, or (b) use a plastic lid support, or (c) install warp-resisting cover flaps onto the carton (also called anti-slide cover flaps). This is a new Correll Concepts technology that reduces cover warping and also eliminates pizza sliding during delivery. If you're using an E-flute box, another possible option to reduce cover warping is to switch to B-flute.

Delivery Issues. The biggest potential problem during delivery is carton crushing. This can occur when multiple loaded cartons or, worse yet, multiple delivery bags, are stacked. To avoid crushing, a pizza carton must have substantial stacking strength, or crush resistance. Bear in mind that the stacking strength of a moisture-laden pizza-loaded box can be substantially less than that of a dry, empty box.

The stacking strength of a corrugated pizza carton is largely a function of the number of vertical panels in the carton and also the number of vertical corner folds. The walls and cover flaps of a carton comprise its vertical panels. The fold lines connecting two adjacent walls or a wall to a corner flap comprise a carton's vertical corner folds. The traditional Chicago folder-style carton, which has no vertical corner folds and virtually no cover flaps (yielding only four vertical panels), has minimal stacking strength compared to other cartons. The traditional pizza box with the double-panel front wall has, by comparison, substantial stacking strength. It derives from three cover flaps and five wall panels for a total of eight vertical panels, plus four vertical corner folds. This carton has more stacking strength than is necessary and, therefore, could be regarded as material-wasting.

Another factor effecting stacking strength is a carton's rigidity, or ability to avoid having the cover panel shift relative to the bottom panel, which can result in the carton walls “falling over” when multiple loaded cartons are stacked. This can easily occur, for example, with the traditional Chicago folder box.

With proper design, a carton of sufficient stacking strength can be achieved while using a minimum of material.

Consumer Handling Issues. At the delivery destination there's an exchange between delivery driver and consumer. The driver pulls the loaded carton from a delivery bag and hands it to the customer. Typically, the customer grasps the carton at a rear corner with one hand. If the carton happens to be the traditional box in a large size loaded with a heavy deluxe pizza, a scary thing often happens. The front end of the tray portion of the box drops down while the cover panel doesn't. This results in accidental cover opening, or separation of the tray and cover, and, on occasion, results in the side walls of the tray bending or “breaking.” This isn't the type of incident that most pizza companies want their customers to experience. To eliminate it, employ a pizza carton that has an interlock between the cover and the tray portion of the box.

After the carton is placed on a table, customers must lift slices from the box. At the corners of the carton this is no problem because there's plenty of space for a person to slide their fingers under the crust. But along the side walls this can be a problem. To make it easier for customers to retrieve pizza slices, you might consider adopting either a non-connected carton or a carton with movable lay-back side walls. This is a patented Correll Concepts technology in which the side walls of a carton move to an outward-slanting position when the cover is open.

Sauce Cup Separation Issue. Recently health departments have been requiring that all items handled by human hands be separated from contact with any ready-to-eat food product. So it may be that your Health Department may require that sauce cups put in the carton with the pizza have a physical barrier between the cup and the pizza. If that's the case, you may have to place a paper between the cup and the pizza. Another option is to use Correll Concepts' new patented sauce-cup-separation technology, which positions a cover flap panel between the cup and pizza. For examples of unique sauce cup separation structures in breadstick boxes, see Superior Side-item Packaging (examples 2, 3, and 4).

Consumer Convenience Issues. Although not exactly part of store operations, certain customer convenience issues relate to packaging. A first issue is that of leftover pizza storage. Research has shown that 56 percent of delivery/carry-out pizza-buyers have leftover pizza which they refrigerate. Almost half of these folks store it in the pizza box (the remainder put it on a plate). To make it easier for consumers to fit the box into the refrigerator, there are a couple patents pertaining to reducible box technology. A key to making these inventions user-friendly is to print how-to-use instructions on the carton.

In addition, research also indicates that 42 percent of pizza-buyers have trouble disposing of their pizza box in a kitchen trash can. There are several patented structures (one of them a Correll Concepts' structure) that purport to assist consumers in breaking down a box for fitting into a trash receptacle. However, an easy (non-patented) way to facilitate carton disposal is to use a non-connected carton as opposed to a connected carton, and then provide instructions on the carton for how to “fold it up” for disposal.

Summary. Here for your convenience is a bullet list of the above factors in summary form.

Non-marketing Factors to consider in evaluating a carton
• Impact of cutting tool on pizza quality.
• Impact of cutting method (in-box vs. out-of-box) on pizza quality.
• Impact of pizza sliding during delivery on pizza quality.
• Heat retention at the point of consumption.
• Amount of space required for box blank storage.
• Amount of space required for storing pre-folded boxes.
• Amount of time per box required for folding.
• Time consumed in cut-table packaging operations.
• Amount of cover warping under a heat lamp.
• Crush-resistance or stacking strength during delivery.
• Carton rigidity when a large loaded carton is held at a rear corner.
• Ease of retrieving slices from the carton.
• Separation of sauce cup from the pizza by physical barrier.
• Ease of carton disposal for the customer.

For a comprehensive discussion of these and other carton design and evaluation factors, see Dream Box.

If you'd like to explore innovative packaging concepts that could further enhance your pizzeria's product quality and operational efficiency, contact John Correll - 734-455-5830 or email john@correllconcepts.com. We likely can get you into such a box at no additional packaging cost to your company ... in other words, free of charge. Please note — Correll Concepts is a packaging design specialist, not a box manufacturer.