Sales Soar at Toppers Pizza Locations During Football Season

With 70-plus locations in 13 different states, it’s no surprise that Toppers Pizza is consistently bringing new customers through its doors.

The brand’s better pizza and innovative menu have developed an incredibly loyal fan following across the country. That’s how Toppers continues to steal business away from the big chains in the pizza industry—the brand’s top quality food, fun atmosphere and enhanced digital presence create a combination that’s impossible to beat. And now, Toppers Pizza is building on its already strong momentum by capitalizing on one of its busiest seasons of the year—football season.

Because football and pizza go hand-in-hand, Toppers doesn’t have to use any extreme measures to get more business throughout the fall. But because the brand offers consumers a different environment than other major chains, it’s uniquely positioned to experience an impressive sales spike on game days. In fact, Toppers stores located on college campuses near football stadiums typically see twice the amount of sales as they would on a normal Saturday.

“Football season isn’t just a fun time of year for us—it also boosts our bottom line tremendously,” said Mac Malchow, director of field marketing and franchise development associate for Toppers Pizza. “Our corporate and franchised stores are all designed to make the most of that opportunity. We make sure we’re open early for customers who want to order a pizza before the big game, and we keep our lights on for customers who want to grab a late night bite to eat on their way home.”

Toppers Pizza makes it simple for its customers to enjoy football games at home as well. In addition to offering longer hours, the brand also provides complimentary paper plates, napkins, crushed red pepper and parmesan packets, making it a one stop shop for people who host tailgate parties in order to entertain their friends and families.

Beyond catering to football fans, Toppers Pizza also weights its advertising to lean more heavily toward the fall. The brand works with its franchisees to plan yearly advertising budgets that take football season into account, leaving enough resources for local owners to use as they see fit throughout the colder months when consumers traditionally order more pizza. And beyond its traditional marketing efforts, Toppers also goes the extra mile to grab consumers’ attention during football season.

“One of the biggest things we do during football season that really sets us apart is making sure that our stores are staffed for the extra traffic. Game days are anywhere from 50 to 80 percent busier than usual, and we want to make sure our customers are still getting served quickly. We aren’t like the other guys who have hour delivery times,” said Adam Oldenburg, Corporate Operations Director for Toppers Pizza. “We also use football season as an opportunity to bring in new business. If there’s a bar or street that’s flooded with people celebrating a big win, we’ll swing by with some pizzas or coupons in order to build sales.”

This football season is expected to help fuel one of Toppers’ most successful years to date. So far in 2016, the brand has inked thee multi-unit franchise development deals that will add 41 new units to its ever-growing system. Toppers also saw sales increase 5.2 percent in the second quarter of the year alone.

“There’s no doubt that football season is pizza season. At the end of the day, kids heading back to college, parents getting into the routine of a new school year and the weather cooling down all come together to create a perfect storm for us,” said Malchow. “We’re excited to take advantage of that spike in foot traffic in order to close out the year on a record breaking note.”