Little Caesars CEO David Scrivano on 'Impossible' meat pizza

You know, I think so. I'm impossible supreme. I think it's a great pizza. People love a supreme pizza, and they like something new every once in a while.

You know what we've seen is a trend. It's kind of a long-term trend, but it's really kind of hit a tipping point in the last year or so where so many people are meat eaters but they're trying plant-based alternatives to either help their diet or they just want a different flavor.

You know, I think it's here to stay. I'm really excited about it. I mean, this piece is a great product, and it's for meat-eaters. I'm a meat-eater and I love this pizza, but it also can be for plant-based people who use a plant-based diet.

Well, you know, Little Caesars just celebrated our 60th anniversary. We're a 60-year-old company. Impossible Foods is a much shorter-term company; they started in 2011. So of course, with demand so high, they might have some supply challenges, but we feel comfortable. We've talked with them and we think that they're going to meet that supply need and will meet the demand.

You know, I think the most likely consumer is a meat-eating consumer. You know, right now we have a Five Meat Feast on air nationally promoted. We think some of those consumers will love to improve their diet a little bit, a little bit lower cholesterol, better fat, etc., and they're going to try that product in addition to their normal meat plates. But we'll also attract those who are plant-based.

You know, I think certainly Millennials and younger consumers are an important demographic for us, but I think it's meat eaters in general. And I think there's an evolution of thought in diet that people want to eat healthier regardless of age. So I think a focus will certainly be on a younger generation, but it really is to convert those who eat meat regularly to try something different.

It is a spectacular taste. I've tried it many times. We've tried many iterations. In fact, Impossible has tested over 50 different varieties of sausage and they finally met what we're looking for and what we believe is the perfect sausage. So it tastes just like our product. In consumer taste panels, many can't even tell the difference. And then it's combined with some other ingredients: caramelized onions, green peppers, and mushrooms, along with our mozzarella and Muenster blend cheese. So it's not vegan, but it is a great-tasting plant-based pizza.

Well, you know, the Impossible meat is really unique. It's got an ingredient called heme, which separates it from other plant-based products and it allows for that flavor and texture of meat to really come through.

Well, you know, we've been selling it for one day. We just started yesterday. We planned this test market for 30 to 60 days, and we'll get a really good feel at that point. And one other reason it's important for us in tests is you can order through our mobile app and through our Pizza Portal, which we just introduced late last year. So it's more convenient for the customers, and we're going to see how well this adapts to our Pizza Portal as well. And finally, supply constraints notwithstanding, our margins are higher on this than your traditional sausage, for example. The ingredients are a little more because it's unique, but overall the product sells for $12, so it's a reasonable margin for us in line with our other products, and we think it'll make sense for consumers that want to try it.

Oh, the chain is doing spectacular. We had another great year in '18 and '19 so far. We're growing. We just opened two new countries last year, and we'll open three more this year. So we're in 24 countries around the world, and we continue to grow each and every year. We're privately held, so that is very good for us. We like that. But our consumers love us. Of course, we're the third-largest pizza chain in the world.

You know, we really focus on our own performance. You know, independents are really where we've taken some share from. And of course, some of the other big players are doing a good job as well. So you know, we've competed for many years. I've been in the business 31 years myself, and I love it. It's highly competitive, but it's a lot of fun.