Starting a pizza shop is more than just serving great slices—it begins with a solid plan. This pizza business plan example will walk you through the essential steps to launch and grow a successful pizzeria. From setting clear goals and estimating costs to defining your target market and marketing strategy, a well-crafted business plan can make all the difference. Whether you’re opening your first pizza shop or expanding an existing concept, this guide offers practical insights and a real-world structure to help you get started with confidence.
An idea to open a pizzeria is just an idea until you put your plan on paper. If you’re ready to turn your dream of opening a pizza restaurant into a reality, here is an example of a pizza business plan to help you get started.
Use this outline to create a pizza business plan that will organize your thoughts and ideas, create a document to attract investors and financing, and get you on the road to opening your own pizzeria.
For additional help, check out Lavu’s free ebook How to Build a Restaurant Business Plan. Use the ebook and example pizza business plan to get ready to open your new business.
Example of a Pizza Business Plan
Not all business plans use the exact same format. You don’t have to follow this example pizza business plan to the letter, but it is a good idea to include these important sections and details in your document.
Executive Summary: A Quick Look at Your Pizza Business Plan
Start your pizza business plan with a brief yet descriptive summary of your business. Offer a quick look at why you are opening the business and what will make you different from others. Answer questions like:
- Why do you want to start a pizza business?
- What makes you the right person to open a pizza business?
- What will make your business stand out from others?
Company Overview
In the next section, dive deeper into the details of your restaurant.
- Brand & Concept: Describe your restaurant’s theme. What will inspire the brand, design elements, and atmosphere?
- Service Style: Explain how you will serve customers. Will your restaurant be fast casual or sit down? Will you offer delivery or only take out? Will you have servers or will customers order at a counter? Can customers use a self-serving kiosk or order from their phone?
- Restaurant Layout: Describe the location of your restaurant. How much space do you need? What elements must your restaurant have? How much seating do you need? What do you require in the kitchen?
- Target Customer: Explain who the restaurant is for. Is it designed to attract families or an over-21 crowd? Outline the details of your ideal customer.
- Sample Menu: Put together a listing of the food and drink options you want to offer at your pizzeria. What type of pizzas will you serve? What size? Will you offer options outside of pizza? For tips on creating your menu, download Lavu’s free guide: How to Create a Successful Restaurant Menu.
- Team and Management: Introduce your team, and share a brief bio about each member of your leadership team. Also, include a list of the positions you will need to fill at your restaurant.
Related: Optimize Your Pizza Delivery Service Today
Market Analysis
Once you describe your restaurant, add a section to your pizza business plan that compares your concept to your competition. Share research about your industry, customers, and market.
- Competition: List your competition and their positioning. Include information about competitors’ menu options, pricing, hours, and location.
- Positioning: Explain how your business position differs from your competition. Highlight what makes you unique and helps you stand out from competitor positioning.
Location: Share research about your area. How many potential customers live in your area? How many competing businesses are in your area? What are the trends in the area? Is rent and real estate going up or down? Is the area growing or shrinking?
Marketing Plan: Promotion Strategies That Work in a Pizza Business Plan
Next, include a section about how you can market your new business and drive in customers.
- Marketing Assets: List the marketing assets you need to promote your business. Consider what you need for your website, signage, menus, promotional postcards, etc.
- Advertising: Share information about the advertising channels you will leverage and the average cost associated with each platform.
- Public Relations: Outline a PR plan for your restaurant. List media outlets in your area along with stories to pitch to nearby news stations, print publications, blogs, and social media influencers.
- Community Involvement: Share details about how your restaurant will integrate into the local community. What charities will you support? What local events will you sponsor? How can you get more people in your community to recognize your business?
- Customer Database & Loyalty Program: Explain how you plan to re-engage customers once they visit your pizzeria. Outline a plan to create a customer database or loyalty program that will bring existing customers back again.
Operations Plan
In the next section of your pizza business plan, include details about how your restaurant will run. Share information about your operations.
- Hiring & Training: Outline plans for filling positions at your business and what you can do to train your team to excel in their roles.
- Tools & Software: Include a list of tools and software you will need to run your restaurant. A few essentials include a pizza point-of-sale (POS) system, online ordering platform, invoice management software, and inventory management system.
- Partners & Vendors: Consider what partners you need to run your restaurant. What vendors and suppliers will you use? What companies or partners are essential?
Related: Master Pizza Restaurant Inventory Management with These 5 Tools
Financial Plan
Finally, end your pizza business plan with a section that gets into the details of your finances. This section will be especially important if you are seeking financing or investment in your business.
- Start-up Costs: Outline the costs to start your restaurant. For help with determining all of your expenses, download Lavu’s free Restaurant Start-Up Costs Worksheet.
- Financing Options: Include a section about how you plan to finance your business. Are you self-funding? If so, how much are you investing? Will you seek outside investment? Are you relying on loans?
- Operating Expenses: Create projections on what it will cost to run your business. How much will it cost to keep your restaurant open each month?
- Sales Forecasts: Include projections for how much your restaurant will bring in each month. Based on your pricing and customers, how much revenue do you expect to generate? These financial projections will help you measure performance and reassure potential investors about your business’s earning potential.
Related: Restaurant Accounting Methods: The Essential Guide
Create a Plan to Launch Your Pizza Business
If you want to open a pizzeria, you can’t just dream about starting a pizza business. You need to put your plans on paper.
Use this outline of an example pizza business plan to get started. Build a document that organizes your ideas, directs your progress, and helps you land investors and financing.
For additional guidance while building your business plan, download Lavu’s free ebook: How to Build a Restaurant Business Plan. Or, reach out to Lavu to see how we can be a partner in your business launch and growth. Get a demo of our pizza POS system to see how we can provide the tools you need to build your business.
FAQs:
1. How can Lavu help in managing my pizza restaurant?
Lavu offers a restaurant POS solution built with pizzerias in mind. It helps manage orders, inventory, staff schedules, and customer data from one platform. Whether you’re launching your first shop or expanding, Lavu streamlines operations and gives you the analytics needed to update your pizza restaurant business plan with real-time insights and performance metrics.
2. What are the steps to open a pizzeria?
To open a pizzeria, you need a solid location, licenses, a business plan, supplier relationships, and a POS system. A pizza business plan example can guide your planning—from operations to finances. Lavu’s POS system is perfect for pizzerias, offering everything from kitchen display systems to online ordering, helping you run your shop smoothly from day one.
3. How can I market my new pizzeria?
Start by identifying your local audience and what sets your pizzeria apart. Use social media, food delivery platforms, and loyalty programs. Include a marketing section in your pizza business plan example that outlines digital promotions and local outreach. Tools like Lavu Loyalty help track customer behavior and automate promotions to boost retention.
4. How to start a pizza business with minimal investment?
To start a pizza business on a budget, consider starting with a small footprint like a pizza truck or takeout-only model. Limit your menu to core offerings, and use affordable digital tools like Lavu POS, which offers inventory tracking, real-time sales analytics, and integrations to help you control costs and scale efficiently as revenue grows.
