Hot Stuff Foods has reached last year’s franchise openings in half the time as a result of its “Quality, Service and Freshness” (QSF) initiative, said Hot Stuff CEO John Fontana.
Hot Stuff’s total focus on QSF has helped make the company the largest and highest-rated pizza franchiser in the convenience store industry, Fontana said.
“For over a decade Hot Stuff Foods opened more franchises and received more independent accolades than any other pizza franchise serving the convenience and petroleum industry,” Fontana said. “For a couple of years the company experimented with a few items that, although certainly convenient, did not measure up to the standards our franchisees and their customers expected. We have removed those items from our menu and are focusing on what brought us to the table in the first place – quality, service and freshness, i.e., QSF.
“The response from the retailer community has been excellent and our development team has already achieved the total number of units sold in 2007, and it’s only July,” Fontana said.
The company said its QSF initiative includes the following components:
Quality: Hot Stuff Foods is the largest and most experienced fully integrated Quick Serve Franchise in the convenience store industry. Quality assurance is tightly controlled and internally monitored from beginning to end – from the manufacturing of the product to distribution to every single Hot Stuff location.
Service: In addition to Hot Stuff’s initial comprehensive training program for all foodservice managers, Hot Stuff Foods provides ongoing support and the most extensive follow-up in the industry. Every franchise unit receives a service visit every 21 days from corporate operations. During these service visits, franchisees receive a five-dimensional consultation on product preparation, service standards, inventory control and inspection, cleanliness and sanitation, and effective marketing.
Freshness: Each Hot Stuff pizza and gourmet breads are prepared fresh on-site. This “fresh never frozen” commitment on Hot Stuff’s core menu separates Hot Stuff franchisees from their competitors selling frozen pies and pizza crusts. Hot Stuff said a freshly prepared and baked pie gives every franchisee a competitive edge by providing pizzeria quality and freshness.
“Our fresh made pizza,” Fontana said, “has never lost a competitive cutting and we are committed to maintaining our industry leading standards for quality, service and freshness.”
Hot Stuff Foods franchises or licenses its branded food concepts, which includes Hot Stuff Foods, SmashHits Deli and Hot Stuff Food On the Go in more than 1,400 locations throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. The company also offers Lettieri’s Food To Go through distributors throughout the U.S.
