The Hearth & Fire pizza brand is unique in that everything we do with this brand will be done with intention, care and craft. We will take the time that great pizza deserves. Our brand embodies the spirit of craftsmen and artisans, who bring passion to what they do, an eagerness to share their discoveries and who are always looking for ways to improve.
A barrier for many consumers when it comes to frozen pizza is that they do not feel like the quality or taste is up to par with their favorite local craft pizzeria. However, we think the frozen-pizza skeptics will be pleasantly surprised by Hearth & Fire pizza.
Using a proprietary dough and production process, our research and development team created a product that delivers a craft-quality pizza similar to what you’d find at popular pizza restaurants. The crust is only part of what makes these pizzas a slice above the rest though. We also created premium-topping combinations that feature ingredients like roasted shiitake, Portobello and cremini mushrooms, whole basil leaves, caramelized onions, mozzarella medallions and goat cheese.
Building a brand first, product second
While the pizza itself is impressive, our team was very intentional in not only creating a delicious pizza, but a premium brand that consumers could gravitate toward. Unlike previous brand launches, the Hearth & Fire pizza brand launch is unique in that we are putting a heavy emphasis on creating a digital ecosystem for all things craft pizza.
Prior to having pizzas available for sale, we also created a website for the Hearth & Fire brand that would resonate with consumers. The new website — www.hearthandfirepizza.com — is essentially a hub where consumers can both learn more about our products and draw inspiration for their own craft pizza. Additional capabilities highlighting the brand story, product information and where to shop will be live in the coming weeks.
We launched this website before even thinking about announcing or introducing our pizza so that search engines would recognize it when it was time to launch. We want to be the leaders in craft-quality pizza. When someone types in, “How to make craft pizza,” in Google, we will be at the top of the search list.
Delivering a premium product
With Hearth & Fire pizza, our most important ingredients are intention, care and craft. We’re part of a community of crafts people and artisans across the world who bring passion to what they do, an eagerness to share their discoveries and are always looking for ways to improve.
Developed by Artisans
- Shelly Heid, our senior director of product development, has more than 30 years of experience in pizza and bringing together artisans to create food that inspires connection and community.
- Roger Bentz, one of our principal food scientists, has been working with dough for more than 20 years, always pushing what’s possible to create the perfect crust.
- Corporate Executive Chef Erik Jones’ experience as a chef has taken him across the world searching for the best of food, learning traditional methods along with new innovations.
- Gaelle Denais Kruse, our principal process engineer, knows how to make pizza. Her focus is on ensuring every detail of our creation is faithfully reflected, even if every pizza isn’t made by hand.
Quality ingredients
Here are a few ingredients that make our Hearth & Fire pizzas special:
- Crust. Crust is critical. It takes hours of patience, followed by a burst of intense heat. Perfecting our crust was our first and most important goal.
- Sauce. This is what ties a pizza together, providing a foundation of flavor and necessary acidity. There were no shortcuts here, our sauce had to be perfect.
- Toppings. While everyone has their favorites, quality is universally appreciated. From shiitake mushrooms to whole leaves of basil to slices of mozzarella, we made no compromises.
Our process, our craft
The processes for making Hearth & Fire pizzas also had to be unique:
- Fermentation. Fermentation adds flavor and texture to the crust. We take special care in monitoring every minute of our minimum 20-hour ferment process.
- Fire. Fire turns dough into crust, with crunch and char. We treat our crusts to an open fire that burns at more than 1,000 degrees in a similar style to a traditional pizza oven.
- Packaging. We want our pizzas to arrive to you exactly how they’re meant to. We took an innovative vacuum sealed approach to our packaging to ensure our craft-quality is preserved.
Where to purchase
For this initial launch, we chose to partner with Kroger as our retailer of choice to distribute the pizzas. The new Hearth & Fire pizzas will initially be available at seven division Kroger stores in Denver, Chicago, Washington, Oregon, Phoenix, Cincinnati and Atlanta with additional distribution planned for 2023.
Additionally, consumers in select markets (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin) will soon be able to purchase the product through our website and have it delivered straight to their doors. Digital capabilities are forever transforming the way consumers can access products, and we need to be equipped to meet their demand on any platform necessary.
To learn more about the brand’s premium craft-quality pizza offerings visit www.hearthandfirepizza.com and follow the brand on social media.
