Gluten-free pizza now available

DURHAM -- One well-known pizza chain is making life a little more convenient for people looking for a quick meal but have a digestive disease.

Pizza Pizza stores throughout Durham Region have started selling gluten-free pizza crusts so those with Celiac disease can enjoy the fast-food favourite. Those afflicted with Celiac are not able to digest gluten.

"We met a lot of kids who have Celiac disease," said Pat Finelli, vice-president of marketing for Pizza Pizza. "Every kid loves pizza and they were losing opportunities where their parents wanted to order pizza and they couldn't or kids could order pizza and their mom and dad couldn't."

The company tested the product at 50 stores in the Greater Toronto Area and it was a big success, he said. There was great response from hockey and baseball teams who have players with Celiac, Mr. Finelli said.

In four weeks the 50 test locations sold more than 2,000 gluten-free pizzas, he said. And those sales were achieved with little marketing and advertising about the new offering.

Because of the success the company decided to roll out the product chain-wide at 350 locations.

The gluten-free crust is made by another company. So far the crusts only come in medium, but Mr. Finelli said that if there is a demand for more selection the company will look at adding other sizes.

The gluten-free pizza costs $3.25 more than a regular medium pizza because of the additional cost of the potato and rice-based crust.

Staff in all locations have been trained to make sure the gluten-free product does not come in contact with anything that contains gluten.

"Staff has been trained to make sure the crust doesn't touch flower and they know what gluten-free toppings are available in-store," Mr. Finelli said.

Even for people who are not Celiac the crust is a good option because it's a lighter crust that's easier for everyone to digest, he said.