Earning a healthy crust

A new franchised pizza chain is focusing on healthy gourmet pizzas and is kicking goals with the help of the Heart Foundation’s tick of approval.

SCEPTICS MIGHT SCOFF at the concept of a ‘healthy pizza’ but that is exactly how the pizza chain, Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars, is promoting itself – and in fact the scoffing down is being done by its fast growing customer base.

Costa Anastasiadis has taken a bite out of the large takeaway
pizza market by focussing on healthy ingredients to attract
customers to his franchised chain Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars.At the time of writing, Crust had established 18 stores across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, but there are plenty more on the drawing board. The first pizza store opened in Sydney in 2001 and the growth has been gathering momentum ever since, in its home base in Melbourne, and now also in Brisbane.

The milestone achievement of winning the Heart Foundation Tick of Approval has pleased the energetic managing director, Costa Anastasiadis, 29, who was a Victorian finalist in the latest Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The onetime professional footballer launched Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars at the age of 22 with a $70,000 budget, in a bid to plug the hole in the pizza market, taking them “from a cheap and nasty (fast food) to an enjoyable healthier dining experience”.

“Many people are health conscious and aware of obesity problems; the trend is toward consumer awareness. So we use premium meats, fresh vegetables and gourmet cheeses, on a pizza base that has been perfected and maintains its quality when home-delivered.”

Costa and his business partner and cousin, Michael Logos, created the pizza outlets using “fresh, clean lines that are not unlike a continental deli. I had a rich ethnic upbringing and don’t like food being prepared behind closed doors, instead preferring to make it a visual feast,” he said.

Health conscious with his sporting background, Costa’s decision to pursue the Heart Foundation Tick of Approval involved a lot of effort and has earned Crust the honour of becoming the first takeaway pizza company to earn the tick – for six of its pizzas.

“Over five years we had been using a gluten-free base which interested coeliacs, then my business partner and cousin Michael mentioned the Heart Foundation tick of approval. They were very enthusiastic but negotiations took nearly twelve months,” Costa explained. “We came up with a range of products all of which underwent extensive lab testing to meet the very stringent, high levels. It was a case of constantly refining and sourcing appropriate tomato paste, vegetable oils, flour, fibre – basically all ingredients and portion sizes.”

Crust’s internal auditor maintains the continuous process of nutritional checks and balances throughout the chain. “A lot rides on that tick. Each day, each franchisee has to complete 12 forms recording food and fridge temperatures and lots more.”

Having grown the business to an annual turnover of around $10 million, Costa lists his experience in hospitality and his drive as primary strengths. “I had a good grounding in my parents’ pub among good cooks and chefs, staff and people management and marketing.

“At home the dinner table conversation invariably included turnover, profits, rents, wages and the like.”

He jokes about being someone of Greek heritage who is developing pizzas in Australia to take to the world. It’s very much a family business, his brother who majored in commerce and finance is Financial Controller and other relatives run Crust pizza outlets.

Early challenges included gaining the respect of suppliers and heavy investment in the supply chain to ensure best quality ingredients and standards. By the time he’d developed four family-owned stores, Costa used the Annandale store in Sydney as the basis for his franchise expansion plans. Franchising has become the springboard for rapid expansion: within months Crust had doubled in size and opened a store in Melbourne.