Pizza Patrón has been serving up its handmade pizza with Latin flavors “like a boss” since 1986, but how does the successful San Antonio-based chain keep things fresh and continue to appeal to the ever-changing needs of today’s consumers?
With 90 restaurants in four states throughout the Southwest and aggressive growth plans in place, Pizza Patrón recently fine-tuned its menu and rebranded to expand its ability to share its unique flavor profile with a broader community.
Latin-inspired Flavor for All
For more than 30 years, Pizza Patrón and its tastes of Latino culture have fueled a growing craving among pizza lovers nationwide. With ingredients like smoky chorizo, spicy ranch and other bold, Latin-inspired flavors, Pizza Patrón is proud to leverage its heritage as a major point of differentiation from its competition.
Two of Pizza Patrón’s popular signature pizzas, the De Carnes and the Mexica.
“Pizza Patrón has always been a Latino-based brand with a very dedicated following, but we want to be the Latin-inspired pizza for all,” said Chef Andy Wittman, corporate chef with Pizza Patrón, adding that the brand’s rich heritage makes it uniquely suited to deliver on this premise. “There is an expectation with a brand like Pizza Patrón. We offer a level of authenticity which the big pizza players cannot.”
Staying Fresh
Pizza Patrón’s recent rebranding efforts including updating its logo to give its icon a more youthful, modern look and refreshing its website to reflect the brand’s vibrant, urban culture and enable easier, online ordering. The new branding extends to the restaurants’ storefronts as well, with a new ‘look and feel’ being rolled out that is contemporary and hip.
Beyond recognizing the important role of branding to help a restaurant stay relevant with customers—old and new—Pizza Patrón remains committed to ensuring its menu of pizza, wings, churros and breadsticks is delivering on the quality and taste its customers have come to expect.
Wittman, who has extensive experience in the pizza industry, joined Pizza Patrón about two years ago and has worked to redesign the dough, protein toppings and cheese formulation.
“We are very focused on quality and want to give our guests the best possible product that is consistent every time they visit,” said Wittman. “Consistency is key in our business.”
He adds that it all starts with the dough, which is made fresh every day, and credits General Mills Foodservice for working closely with his team to identify the best flour to make a quality crust with consistent results. General Mills Foodservice supplies Pizza Patrón with a custom-pack flour, packaged in smaller 25-pound bags, which are easier for staff to handle.
“In my mind it is the best flour,” said Wittman. He adds that he appreciates the partnership and collaboration over the years with his General Mills sales rep, Tom Santos, including when Pizza Patrón made the transition to unbleached/unbromated flour as part of the chain’s commitment to use clean-label ingredients.
Working with Pizza Patrón for the past decade, Santos has witnessed the public’s growing appetite for the brand’s unique style of pizza.
“It is exciting to see how a legendary brand like Pizza Patron has evolved yet remains rooted in its heritage and Latin-inspired flavors,” said Santos. “It shows that no matter how long you have been around, you should never be afraid to rebrand.”