Wow, this is good Pizza!


Starting a new food business is tough. How do you let the public know you exist? How do you stand out in a crowded marketplace? How do you maintain quality and standards? Sanjay Joshi and his partners at Wow Pizza seem to have worked it out. Their unique products, innovative marketing, and systemic approach strike me as a recipe for success.


Unique Products 
Wow Pizza’s menu is designed to stand out from the competition. They have innovative products that you won’t find anywhere else. Mac n Cheese pizza is the ultimate comfort food combining rich, creamy cheese pasta and sauce with a crispy crust. Butter Paneer pizza is for those days when you crave something a little bit different. The crust is topped with a plentiful helping of mild curry sauce, marinated paneer (small cubes of fresh cheese), jalapeño peppers, tomato, green pepper, and onions sprinkled with mozzarella cheese. There is a pleasant curry flavour that doesn’t overpower the other ingredients.

Mac n Cheese pizza is popular with the kids (and me!), while Achari Chicken is a hit with the adults. The chicken is paired with East Indian pickles for a tangy, spicy flavour. “We sell lots of Meat Lovers and Fully Loaded pizzas, Sanjay says, “but we also get lots of people trying the Achari Chicken because it’s unique and different.”

Another favorite with the kids is the Fruity Wow dessert pizza. Once the crust has been baked, it’s topped with a housemade vanilla icing, fruit (blueberries, strawberries, mango), and a drizzle of Nutella.


It’s not enough to be different – it also has to taste great. Wow Pizza makes all their pizza ingredients in-house. The dough is made fresh 3 times a day. The chicken is cooked and marinated in-house. They’ve developed their own recipes for 6 different sauces. “Each pizza has a unique flavour because they aren’t all smothered in the exact same tomato sauce,” Sanjay says. There are a couple of different crust options as well. The standard crust goes well when you want to focus attention on the ingredients. The wow crust adds additional flavour as a blend of parmesan and garlic is sprinkled around the edge of the crust. The toppings go right to the edge of the pizza so you don’t get any dry tasteless pieces of crust.

The menu is designed to please several different audiences. University students can run across the road and buy a low-cost slice of pizza and fries, while corporate customers can order in lasagna and salad. While all the core ingredients are housemade; additional items, such as fries and lasagna, are not.

The company will be introducing new products every six months and withdrawing the least popular. I sampled the Butter Chicken Fries (no chicken; this is just the name of the sauce) that will be introduced in July and they were so good. The fries were smothered in a very generous helping of sauce with chunks of jalapeno pepper, tomato, green pepper, and onions adding extra dashes of flavour, and lashings of mozzarella cheese melted on top.

People following a keto diet or who are celiac will be able to enjoy a keto crust made from almond flour later this month.


Innovative Marketing 
Sanjay is in charge of marketing and brand and has chosen a very organic approach. “We take pride in being a Saskatoon-based business,” Sanjay says. “Our focus is on connecting with a local audience and giving back to our community.”

Since its opening in November 2018, Wow Pizza has supported a number of local events and non-profit organizations, such as Wintershines, Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Wonderhub, and Meewasin Valley Authority by offering free pizza to the volunteers. “It builds goodwill, gets our brand known to local audiences, and provides an opportunity for people to actually taste the pizza.”

Systemic Approach 
Across the street from the university, Wow Pizza could have easily attracted a student audience with a small mom & pop operation. Instead, Sanjay set a larger goal of establishing a brand and a consistent, sustainable system that can be turned into a franchise operation. This has required developing consistent recipes and a sustainable supply chain so that products will taste the same from one location to another. They’re establishing training programs, business and accounting practices as if they were already a big business.

Sanjay has strategic partners focused on specific portfolios such as product development, accounting, and technology. They believe that quality and customer engagement are at the heart of their business. “We want people to love our product and love our brand,” Sanjay says.

Wow Pizza 
1402 College Drive
306.665.6666
Website
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