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Borrowing Chain Restaurant Efficiencies Without Sacrificing Artisanal Quality
Written by PMQ Pizza
Published: October 14, 2025
Think Big but Act on Authenticity
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” said Oscar Wilde. When competing against larger chains, independent pizzerias are smart to imitate efficiencies larger operators implement. The quick-service restaurant sector reached about $316 billion in 2024, up 7.1% from 2023, which highlights the efficiency and growth potential of chain models, according to Bank of America’s 2024 State of the Industry Report.
Here are a few big-picture ideas to help maximize resources and improve bottom lines while maintaining the artisanal character that makes each independent pizzeria special.
Streamline Kitchen Workflow
Some 33% of restaurants look to streamline kitchen operations as a means to affect operational efficiency, according to GoodSource Solutions’ 2024 report. Digital kitchen display systems and task management software streamline order processing, supply automated timers for cooking and preparation and assign and track kitchen duties. Larger chains are keen on time management for preparation goals and shorter wait times, conducting thorough prep work during slower periods to ensure smooth operations during peak hours, which includes pre-portioning ingredients and pre-cooking certain items. With Hillshire Farm® brand fully-cooked protein pizza toppings, that work is already complete at the start of every day.
Independent operators need an understanding of how products move in the kitchen and how adjusting workflow leads to items being put to task more efficiently. “How do you build your lines out? Some operators have it figured out, some don’t. Big operators are going to repeat the same motion over and over again. They’re probably going to have a couple of different employees working. They can train less skilled labor to do the same task over and over again. You don’t move people on a line, you move products,” says Chef Brooks Cameron, Corporate Executive Chef at Tyson Foods.
The kitchen layout is another consideration. Independent pizzerias can position equipment and ingredients to minimize unnecessary movement, such as organizing refrigerators and storage areas logically, with foot traffic and accessibility in mind.
“Hillshire Farm products deliver on back-of-house food safety. It’s always a plus if you’re not handling a raw product. It just leads to more labor or more cleaning and needing more space. That’s another thing operators run into a lot of times. How much space do they actually have to store and make the things they want to make? A pizza shop that’s only 1,600 square feet won’t have the time or space to pre-cook, portion or slice toppings for pizza,” Chef Brooks says.
Similarly, larger restaurant chains have a fairly good-sized dedicated freezer section, which smaller outfits might lack. “[Slacking out products] is just the nature of the business,” Chef Brooks says. “Most people take the products from a freezer and move them into a refrigerated deli top to work out of for the extended service. Sometimes, if you have anything left over, that product will get repurposed or be used the next day. There are plenty of operators that will create a pizza prep top they’re going to work out of and build their pizzas, then cover it, put in the low boy or out back for the next day.”
Making the menu work harder toward efficiency, portion control and less prep, is a stalwart of larger chains, as they meet their margins by using that saved time to work on more expensive menu parts.
Inventory and Distribution
Every operator functions on the basic economic principle of supply and demand to create a long-term inventory program. For independents, clear guidelines for compliance, storage, expired or spoiled ingredients and stocking/rotating protocols reduce any confusion around procedures and create brand consistency.
“Large chains or contract foodservice operators have their own internal recipe and inventory management. All of your big operators are going to have something almost proprietary. There are a lot of platforms out there that offer similar services. Many of these solutions are available as standalone or integrated packages suitable for independent pizzerias,” Chef Brooks says.
Independents can get equivalent distribution gains by joining a group purchasing organization to leverage better pricing on ingredients and supplies. They can also certainly build strong relationships with suppliers like Tyson Foodservice for consistent quality and potential volume-based discounts. Portioned, pre-made products are the easiest tool to help create menu efficiencies and are easy to incorporate into any automated ordering lineup.
“They might not know they can ask for a volume allowance or a pricing deviation. Or what the volume is that they might need to be at. The main thing around thinking bigger is you have more weight programs as far as coming to a partner. A lot of times with smaller operators, you’ll find they work with smaller distributors or smaller suppliers that will give them the customization they want. It’s not always a good thing, because sometimes customization can lead to inconsistencies,” Chef Brooks says.
Leveraging Platforms
Two platforms to spring off of are social media and tech software. Large chains are defined by metrics, and pizzerias can borrow these technology-driven data solutions. Start with the areas that will have the most immediate impact on operations and gradually expand the tech integration to affect important customer data analytics. These results inform menu decisions, operational improvements and efficiency strategies by predicting staffing, scheduling, inventory needs or automated reordering, to name a few.
Larger chains work hard to maintain a strong social media presence and grow brand recognition campaigns that independent pizzerias can most definitely emulate in terms of brand reach and local community engagement strategy. From marketing automation such as email, newsletters and social media to customer relationship management software, popular food delivery apps and loyalty program management systems, independents have the power to use brand recognition to boost their authentic appeal.
The Brand to Help Back-Of-House Efficiency
Hillshire Farm® brand offers a wide range of protein toppings and flavors, including pepperoni, sausage, bacon, chorizo and ham, with a myriad of choices in style—large chunk, regular chunk, crumbled, sliced, diced, quartered, cupped, halved, fully cooked, par-cooked, all-natural, spicy or Italian. The possibilities are as free ranging as the operator’s imagination. Learn more about the opportunity these products provide.
