For pizza men, pizza fans and pizza eaters from around the world March is an exciting time because the International Pizza Exposition takes place at this time every year. It is a gathering of pizza men, manufacturers, designers, chefs, entrepreneurs, promoters, experts, novices and a host of others dedicated to making pizza. If you are remotely interested in pizza there is something for you here. As a young entrepreneur you can attend seminars with experts from their fields on things like dough making, employee training, food cost, growth and expansion, profits, digital marketing, branding, pizza making and "So you to want own a pizzeria" with big Dave Ostrander. On top of this you will get to meet some of the top names in the Industry like when Papa John, Big Dave from Wendy's and the Founder of Pizza Hut congratulated the World's Best Pizza Winners-Goodfella's Brick Oven Pizza of Staten Island New York when they won their first contest. Goodfella's in turn became a force in the Pizza World after winning the title of World's Best Pizza a whopping three times with subsequent expansion of their concept across the country. Exposure and experience is why all entrepreneurs should attend and compete in contests from local up to international because as the saying goes "You have to be in it to win it" and the press you can receive for winning is truly priceless. Beyond the contest is an overview of pizza trends such as brick ovens, fast casual, take and bake and others to be seen this year. One of the Hot trends catching fire and made prominent by the New York Brick Oven Company is their Revolving Brick Oven which is becoming a staple in the industry for ease of use, training and consistent baking. Another trend is the fast casual market with concepts like Spin Neapolitan, Revolve and Pizzeria Uno putting their hat in the ring. On top of this you get to see the latest in pizza boxes and maybe run into a real pizza aficionado like Scott Wiener who runs the Pizza Tours of New York and has the worlds largest pizza box collection. All in all this a an overwhelmingly fun time for pizza lovers and is highly recommended for all levels of pizza makers and pizza fans. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Marc Cosentino Co-founder of Goodfella's Pizza