We all love pizza. In fact, it turns out that Americans love it so much that pizza chains boast wait times rivaling airport lines, and a whopping 13 percent of Americans indulge in pizza daily.
But it’s not usually vegan pizza that they indulge in, which is why vegan cheese brand Daiya Foods has come up with a scheme—the pizza pyramid scheme—that the brand believes is the golden ticket to enticing people to incorporate plant-based pizzas into their daily routines.
Traditional pyramid schemes often evoke cringe-worthy memories of “Hey girlie” direct messages, but when executed ethically, this peer-to-peer recruitment strategy can be remarkably effective.
With its pizza pyramid scheme, Daiya hopes to capitalize on the trust people place in their friends and family when exploring new experiences, crafting a unique campaign that encourages consumers, even if they aren’t vegan themselves, to relish their plant-based pizzas.
Daiya Foods
“We know that people adore pizza at home. However, introducing individuals to plant-based foods can be a challenge, primarily due to taste skepticism. A devoted meat and dairy eater may never consider adding plant-based options to their diet,” Melanie Domer, Chief Marketing Officer of Daiya, said in a statement.
“That’s what we aim to change. Pyramid schemes have traditionally been used to introduce people to new products. So, why not make that product plant-based pizza?,” Domer explains.
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Influencing vegan pizza
Influential figures in the world of food, comedy, and recipe creation, Joseph Calcavecchia (@the_roamingfoodie), Joey Dardano (@joeydardano), and Cari Garcia (@fatgirlhedonist), are kicking off the recruitment process by each enlisting three friends into the scheme.
This trio, in turn, will recruit their own three friends, and the delicious cycle continues until everyone enjoys a Daiya frozen vegan pizza in the comfort of their homes.
Daiya Foods
Across social media platforms, these influencers will launch their own pyramid schemes and start the recruitment process. Fans of these influencers can email into the scheme to start their own pyramids as well.
Daiya says there are no queues or waiting periods—just contact Daiya and receive coupons for two free pizzas, along with a unique recruitment code to bring three of your nearest and dearest into the scheme.
Making vegan pizza a holiday
Daiya understands that America’s affinity for pizza knows no bounds, with a staggering three billion pizzas sold annually. So beloved is this dish that it has its very own dedicated holiday, sparking fervent debates over whether pineapple belongs on pizza and if thin crust is best.
“We’ve designed our Daiya Pizza Pyramid Scheme to make the experience of trying delicious plant-based foods easier and more enjoyable than ever,” Domer said.
“By relying on peer-to-peer recommendations, we offer pizza lovers a risk-free way to taste our pizza, even if they aren’t exclusively plant-based themselves. We’re confident they’ll love it,” Domer adds.
Daiya’s Pizza Pyramid Scheme offers consumers the chance to sample a variety of plant-based and gluten-free pizzas, including Meatless Pepperoni, Cheeze Lover’s, Fire-Roasted Vegetables, Supreme, and BBQ Plant-based Chick’n Style flavors.
The Daiya Pizza Pyramid Scheme will remain in effect until the slices run out.
A vegan cheese pioneer
Founded in 2008, Daiya was the first brand to present the world with a dairy-free cheese that melted just like its animal counterpart. Daiya’s vegan cheese offerings began with blocks, shreds, slices, sticks, cream cheese style spreads, and cheese sauces.
Since then, the brand has explored various innovations, including reformulating its vegan cheese to include chickpeas and oats and expanding into cheese-forward foods like boxed mac and cheese, frozen pizza, and frozen vegan cheesecake.
Daiya Foods
Last year, the Canadian brand launched a new-to-market four-cheese blend in two varieties (Italian and Mexican) which included Asiago and Asadero cheeses that were unique to the dairy-free cheese industry, along with a Feta Style Block, Grilling Cheeze Blocks, flatbreads in three flavors, and a new Cheddar Jalapeño flavor of its mac and cheese.
This month, the brand added to its lineup with the launch of dairy-free crumbles in goat and feta varieties.
Daiya is also working to improve its vegan cheese further by allocating a substantial financial investment towards exploring natural fermentation methods.
Daiya Foods
The company’s engineers have silently been fine-tuning the process at a specialized fermentation lab located within Daiya’s expansive 400,000-square-foot facility in British Columbia. Utilizing contemporary technology and traditional cheesemaking practices, Daiya is crafting innovative vegan cheeses that consumers will experience in the near future.
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Nicole Axworthy is the News Editor at VegNews and author of the cookbook DIY Vegan.
