Slice of Italy Tour: Sbarro Dishes Out More Than 35,000 Free Slices to Introduce its New Pizza Recipe Nationwide

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sbarro rolled out the launch of its new pizza recipe in style as two antique 1940's pizza trucks toured the nation, serving more than 35,000 free slices to hungry consumers. Timed to October – National Pizza Month – the "Slice of Italy Tour" coincided with the introduction of Sbarro's new Neapolitan-style pizza recipe across more than 500 U.S. eateries.

The new pizza recipe marks a return to the company's Italian roots. The Neapolitan-style recipe features all-natural ingredients, including dough made from scratch daily, vine ripened whole peeled tomatoes and freshly shredded whole milk mozzarella.

"We're incredibly proud of our new pizza recipe and we wanted to give consumers everywhere a chance to taste it first-hand.  From coast-to-coast, the response has been overwhelmingly positive," said Jim Greco, CEO of Sbarro.  "This launch is part of a larger strategy to take Sbarro back to its roots and to revisit the qualities that made us a leader – delicious Italian food made from quality ingredients and served in a warm and welcoming environment."

At the start of October, Sbarro conducted a shut-down across all U.S. locations to energize and train team members.  Sbarro team members received enhanced training on how to prepare the new pizza as well as a re-certification in the company's heritage, values and culture of hospitality.

Supporting its Local Communities

As part of the "Slice of Italy Tour," Sbarro identified local food banks in every city visited, raising funds at each tour stop.  Over the course of the tour, more than $6,000 was raised with 100% of the funds to be donated to the food banks. The effort follows in Sbarro's longstanding commitment to combat the hunger epidemic in its local communities. 

"Since Sbarro first opened as an Italian Salumeria in Brooklyn in 1956, supporting our local communities has been a part of our DNA.  With the 'Slice of Italy Tour,' we saw an opportunity to not only give consumers a chance to try our new pizza, but also to use the tour as a platform to showcase local food banks and help them combat the hunger crisis," said Tony Missano, President of Sbarro.  "This reflects Sbarro's commitment to do our small part to help make every community where we do business a better place."

Sbarro Boosts Social Media Presence

To augment the "Slice of Italy Tour," Sbarro launched a 360-degree marketing campaign that included experiential, in-store, public relations and social media.  As part of the effort, Sbarro significantly enhanced its social media presence, adding 100,000 fans to its newly launched Facebook page.

"This tour and the introduction of the new Neapolitan-style pizza recipe marks the start of an exciting new chapter in Sbarro's storied history.  In just several weeks, the team has broken new territory on a number of fronts and this is just a first taste of what's to come as we continue to unlock Sbarro's potential," said Greco.

About Sbarro

Since it first opened its doors as an Italian Salumeria in 1956, Sbarro has been a leader in driving the growth of the Italian restaurant category.  Today, Sbarro team members bring a taste of the true Italian spirit to guests every day at its more than 1,000 eateries across 40 countries.  An award-winning franchise organization, Sbarro features a menu of popular Italian food including pizza, pasta dishes and other hot and cold Italian entrees, salads, drinks and desserts.  Sbarro is headquartered in Melville, NY. For more information, visit www.sbarro.com.

SOURCE Sbarro