Pizza’s Latest Plant-Based Trend Welcomes CBD

Hot as a pizza coming straight from the oven, the CBD trend is on fire across America. But, this CBD is a different type of edible. Pizza makers across the country are adding cannabidiol, commonly referred to as CBD or CBD oil into their crusts, sauces and toppings, but the benefits you may be thinking of don’t include a high.

Harvard Health Publishing defines CBD as the second most prevalent of the active ingredients of the cannabis plant, and although CBD is derived from the hemp plant, it is different than THC, perhaps the more well-known derivative. It does not produce any sort of psychoactive qualities, but studies have shown there could be health benefits, which is a huge reason pizzerias are hopping on the CBD trend train.

Restaurateurs are taking notice of growing CBD demand. In fact, Forbes correctly predicted in January that CBD would be one of the top food trends, and contributor Richard Kestenbaum spoke about pizza in particular: “CBD pizza is a way for pizzerias to capture health-conscious consumers and generate buzz around their menu.”

PMQ’s 2019 Pizza Power Report showed three main themes: quality ingredients, technology and the youth culture. Consumers are demanding fresh, healthy ingredients on their pizzas — and the industry is thriving. A technomic study showed that 83% of consumers eat pizza at least once monthly. A separate Forbes study found that CBD consumer sales should hit a whopping $16 billion by 2025, and since pizza is so beloved across multiple demographics and generations (pizza restaurant sales hit over $45 billion in 2018), CBD combined with more plant-based food consumer demand seems like a natural fit. 

Pizza Need reminds us that due to regulations, there are some tips to keep in mind when adding CBD to your menu: 

1. Stay away from making written claims around the benefits of CBD.
2. Source from a reputable supplier to make sure that the concentration and quality of the CBD matches your customers’ expectations.
3. Consider consulting with legal council around adding any THC-containing oil to menu items.

With that, the LloydPans team found some innovative CBD pizza ideas from restaurateurs across the country. So, if you’re in these areas and want to try something new on your pizza, try some of these out:

• Spinelli’s Pizzeria — Tempe, Arizona. Debuting in February 2019, Spinelli’s Pizza customers can add CBD oil to their pizzas. 
• Pizza City — Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Here, the secret is in the sauce. The marinara sauce is infused with CBD oil. 
• The Pizza Plant — Los Angeles, California. The Half-Baked is a 13-topping vegan pizza, including hemp seeds. Half-Baked comes with a half-ounce container of CBD-infused olive oil. 

Want to try incorporating CBD into your pizza menu? First, you need a great set of pizza pans or pizza disks.We also offer a wide array of dough prep tools, cutters, pizza racks and more.