Monitoring Period:
Bella Luna Pizza Kitchen
5OOODIES
LOCAL NEWS
“Local food truck opening storefront in downtown Harrisonburg,” by John Hood
- Mashita will be opening a physical store location off of North Liberty Street. An indoor facility will appeal to more customers in the winter (Hood, J., WHSV3, 2019).
- The truck was awarded “The Best Food Truck in the Shenandoah Region” by Virginia Living Magazine in 2018 and 2017 (Hood, J., WHSV3, 2019).
- The restaurant will take this opportunity to bring about new recipes in order to give a new experience to patrons (Hood, J., WHSV3, 2019).
https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Local-Food-Truck-expanding-to-Downtown-Harrisonburg-506574401.html
This is article is relevant to Bella Luna as it addresses the need for small businesses to expand beyond their current spaces. Although Bella Luna’s location is prime real estate in Downtown Harrisonburg, if and when they outgrow their current space, they might consider a food truck in order to reach a different section of the population. In this article, Mashita purchased a physical space to appeal to customers who dislike the winter weather. Bella Luna could consider a mobile restaurant to reach patrons who would much rather spend all their time outdoors during the spring and summer months.
Local News Section
“Local Chef Invites Community On Food Journey,” by Kathleen Shaw
- Professional chef Adrian Taylor created “Chef’s Hike” to connect with other industry professionals and to provide demonstrations (Shaw, K., WHSV3, 2020).
- A native of the Shenandoah Valley, Taylor views bringing his cooking classes to the area as an opportunity to give back to the community in a creative way (Shaw, K., WHSV3, 2020).
- Parks and Recreation is offering free workshops by Taylor at the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center (Shaw, K., WHSV3, 2020).
This article explores the story of a local chef who views food as more than just something to eat, but as an experience. Bella Luna, too, cherishes all the different facets of enjoying a meal. The public seem interested in learning basic information, as well as industry secrets from Taylor. Ideally, if the chefs at Bella Luna were to offer a similar workshop or cooking class, people from around the local area would come to visit. This would be great promotion for Bella Luna, as well as an opportunity for them to continue to build relationships with its neighbors.
SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING
INDUSTRY NEWS
Rapid Fired Pizza Adds Meatless Sausage as Another Vegan Option
- Rapid Fired Pizza is a growing delivery pizza chain, with locations in 7 states, including new locations in North Carolina and West Virginia coming soon
- “Rapid Fired Pizza has introduced their Vegan Pizza just in time for Lent.”
- The restaurant is using vegan dough, “ Follow Your Heart vegan cheese”, and “MorningStar Farms’ meatless sausage rounds” to make their new vegan pizza
- The restaurant has “35 toppings” for pizza or pasta for customers to choose from, and they have a ““No Duh” menu that allows people needing gluten-free options to still be able to enjoy pizza every day”
Rapid Fired Pizza’s new pizza shows their commitment to providing options for customers of all diets. Though the chain pizza restaurant doesn’t directly affect nor compete with Bella Luna (BL) the news of their new pizza impacts the restaurant nonetheless. It is another vegan and vegetarian “meatless” option, similar to “Burke Corporation which is under Hormel Foods… new plant-based meat” discussed in the previous blog post. More plant-based meat options are becoming available and more widely used as well. It may benefit BL to look into using similar products in their food.
Will the Coronavirus Help Boost Pizza Delivery Sales?
- Many experts are expecting the restaurant delivery service industry to boom during the coronavirus outbreak, because many will be expected to stay home and order food in
- Apps like Grubhub, Postmates are expecting higher user rates during the outbreak
- “The CEO of Zume thinks the growing panic over the coronavirus, could lead to an increased demand for restaurant delivery in the U.S”
- “The restaurant industry continued this week to prepare for dealing with a growing number of coronavirus cases, with at least one executive forecasting a resulting shift toward delivery”
- “Alex Garden, CEO and chairman of Zume Inc.” a pizza chain in California said “while everyone hopes that Covoid-19 will go away, the impact will be likely felt in the restaurant industry… They are being confined to their homes. What do you think will happen to delivery habits if people are confined to their homes for a couple weeks?”
Bella Luna (BL) isn’t available for delivery but may want to look into it in case the coronavirus outbreaks worsens. If many customers don’t leave their homes for possibly days or weeks at a time then BL won’t have many customers if any for a while. They may benefit from looking into a delivery service or using a third party service temporarily. Though the outbreak is not currently serious in the Harrisonburg area, it would benefit BL to have an emergency plan in place in case the situation worsens.
ADVISORY COMMENT
Other restaurants are mixing up their current marketing plans. In order to keep up with competitors, Bella Luna should consider adding something innovative to the menu or emphasizing lesser known aspects of their business. For example, Bella Luna’s food is 100% sourced from local farms. Perhaps having farm “spotlight” profiles on the menu or social media or holding a “meet the farmers” event would bring in more business. They should also consider sponsoring/partnering with a local event. This will allow them to reach customers that they may not usually reach.
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