While Leprino still produces whey protein as a by-product of making cheese for its clients, Ascent is filtered straight from raw milk to protect key proteins and vitamins that help aid muscle recovery. Probably the answer is yes, and it'll come at some point," he says. Footnotes for Pizza Hut condiment: Blue Cheese Dressing. In the 1970s, Wisconsin and New York were producing most of the country's milk, but California's nascent dairy industry often priced milk lower. "I would tell people,'Lester is the man that made me rich,'" Leprino says. "It's hard for me to believe I agreed to this," the 79-year-old billionaire says. Leprino is also rolling out the company's first direct-to-consumer product, a whey protein powder called Ascent, which will have a dedicated wing at the Greeley facility. Moreover, we do not select every advertiser or advertisement that appears on the web site-many of the Mozzarella cheese also contains vitamin A and is an excellent source of calcium. ), but Leprino Foods is one of the few dairy giants that have never had a recall. More than a half-century later, Leprino Foods remains the largest U.S. exporter of lactose, a by-product of sweet whey, and retains a large market share in Japan. "That really means a lot to him. There isn't a single image of Leprino on his company's website. This... [+] 1978 company portrait is the only known image of Leprino Foods’ founder (right). The storage warehouse at Leprino Foods newest plant in Greeley, Colorado. As Jerry Graf, a former cheese buyer for Pizza Hut, notes, "Jim was always one step ahead of the game.". His laser focus on large pizza chains has allowed him to control as much as 85% of the market for pizza cheese and somehow sell simultaneously to a set of customers — Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's and Little Caesars — that try to cut each others' throat in every way that doesn't involve where they buy their milk products. Leprino's scale begat better prices, which begat more scale. Yet Leprino executives continue to press. 1978 company portrait is the only known image of Leprino Foods’ founder (right). After hearing that shredding 5-pound cheese blocks in the franchises was time-consuming and inconsistent, Leprino Foods started selling frozen, presliced blocks. Pizza Hut uses a lot of cheese. Real cheese only at Little Caesars. Meanwhile, Little Caesars, with more than 3,000 stores, was growing 25% a year with its deal of "Two great pizzas, one low price." My reporting has brought me to In-N-Out Burger's secret test kitchen, had me trekking through drought-ridden farms in California's Central Valley and even sent me to a chocolate factory designed like a castle in Northern France. DELIVERY & CARRYOUT LOCATIONS ARE OPEN! advertisements are served by third party advertising companies. With a patent in place, Leprino made himself indispensable. The most popular cheeses used in the preparation of pizza … When Papa John's insisted it wanted cheese without fillers —eschewing a new Leprino product that contained some — the big cheese didn't take it well. Mike Leprino Sr. stands in front of the original truck he used to deliver fresh mozzarella to local... [+] Denver customers. On the manufacturing side, Kielsmeier cut down the cheese's aging period from 14 days to just four hours, which multiplied the company's production capabilities while cutting costs significantly. America's fifth-largest pizza chain, the take-and-bake Papa Murphy's, remains in his sights. If smaller pizza and less doughy crust is more of your style, then this lighter … Leprino was able to grow with them all by putting them in silos, granting each company its own specs and then troubleshooting as necessary. View our full menu, nutritional information, store locations, and more. Brush the crusts … Related: Pizza Hut - Pizza Review from Winston, Georgia. One thing many pizza lovers don’t like about the classic … In 1958, after larger chain grocery stores had forced the Leprino market to close, the Leprino Foods cheese empire started with $615. Most chains of Pizza Hut use the brand Leprino Foods for their mozzarella cheese. "I've got everybody keeping one in their pocket," Leprino says. And for now he'll continue to ensure that Leprino cheese is on as many American pizzas as possible — as well as Asian and European ones (Leprino has a joint venture with the U.K.'s Glanbia Cheese). All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Like other pizza restaurants, Pizza Hut primarily uses mozzarella cheese on its pizzas. Frozen pizzas, introduced after soldiers returned home from WWII craving slices, were also gaining popularity. As delivery-focused Domino's expanded, Leprino's head cheese maker, Lester Kielsmeier, manipulated the product so that it retained its fresh-out-of-the-oven look and taste longer. The chain states that it uses part-skim mozzarella cheese on the majority of its pizzas. "My job is to hold them responsible for doing what they said they're going to do. used as a substitute for professional medical advice, Leprino had the foresight to engage in some arbitrage, locking California dairy farmers into multi-decade contracts at rates that were often above-market locally but below-market nationally. Ricotta cheese is typically blended with mozzarella, fontina, gruyere, or gorgonzola cheese to make a creamy base. The first key was something called "Quality Locked Cheese"--shredded and individually frozen portions--which Leprino introduced in 1986. A blend of Muenster and Mozzarella. Some of its specialty pizzas … I cover all things food and drink as a staff writer at Forbes, from billionaires and ag tech startups to CPG entrepreneurs and wine. "I remember the first day that we had this set up," says Mike Arnold, who is overseeing Ascent's launch. He speaks with former president Wes Allen (left). Dominating the market has its advantages: He's able to invest in technology that no run-of-the-mill dairy farmer ever could, resulting in more than 50 patents —and an estimated 7% net margin, which dwarfs the dairy-industry average. The Pizza Hut Name, Logos And Related Marks Are Trademarks Of Pizza Hut… Privacy Policy Over the next two decades, Leprino Foods also signed sweetheart deals with co-ops that eventually became the Dairy Farmers of America, securing a lasting milk supply with the country's largest dairy co-op; the company also purchased and renovated some of the older dairy plants, cutting off the options for competitors who wanted to process milk. Thin and Crispy Crust. Leprino Foods' ribbon cheese, which is made at its Greeley, Colorado plant. Pizza Hut uses skim milk Mozzarella cheese for both the pizza topping and the cheese in the stuffed crust. "I support what's going on, but I don't try to lead it," he adds. diagnosis or treatment. "My success is a fairy tale," he says. The timing couldn't have been better. 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The scientists there soon realized that this method allowed them to add flavors such as salted caramel and jalapeño. A quarter cup serving of shredded part-skim mozzarella has 90 calories and 6 grams of total fat. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is hot and bubbly and the crust is golden brown. "We treat every customer like our only customer," says Mike Durkin, a former Pepsi executive who came on six years ago to run day-to-day operations as president of Leprino Foods. I head up the 30 Under 30 Food and. Its Italian sausage is all natural and sourced from U.S. farmers, and its meatballs are free of any artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Order pizza online from a store near you. Just as his timing ahead of America's pizza boom proved lucky, so did his location in the center of the country. "We don't discuss Papa John's business with Domino's — or anybody else's." Domino's agreed to an exclusive relationship in 1996--the contract was just one page. That same year, the first Pizza Hut opened, in Wichita, Kansas. Some of its specialty pizzas contain Parmesan romano cheese. "I thought, This is a good market to go after, so I did." If anyone knows,what kind/brand of cheese do the chains use,such as PJ's,Dominos and Pizza hut? The company announced Tuesday that its “Original Pan Pizza” is being completely remade, including a new cheese blend, sauce … In a pizza that needs little explanation, the newest Pizza Hut mash-up combines two of the most beloved foods of all-time – grilled cheese and pizza. Leprino Foods' production rose sixteenfold, to 2 million pounds of cheese a week. For the first time, pizza-makers could simply layer a few slices onto each pie. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. Copyright © Pizza cheese encompasses several varieties and types of cheeses and dairy products that are designed and manufactured for use specifically on pizza.These include processed and modified cheese such as mozzarella-like processed cheeses and mozzarella variants.The term can also refer to any type of cheese suitable for use on pizza. But the franchise-friendly process quickly became the industry standard, both for consistency and scalability. For example, the Wisconsin 6 Cheese pizza comes with mozzarella, feta, provolone, cheddar, Parmesan, and Asiago baked to perfection on a -Parmesan or Asiago crust. Pizza Hut, the originator of the stuffed crust pizza, has just unveiled a Grilled Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza. Pizza Hut: Pizza Hut Ingredient Statement, The Milkwood: Silicone–Based Chemical in Pizza Hut’s Cheese-Polydimethylsiloxane, The Milkwood: Leprino Foods: No Polydimethylsiloxane in Pizza Cheese, Livestrong Daily Plate: Mozzarella Cheese, Part-Skim, Shredded, PARTNER & LICENSEE OF THE LIVESTRONG FOUNDATION. Meanwhile, Leprino will pursue new markets. Leprino has somehow eluded photographers for decades: A Google search picks up photos of fellow Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz and cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the LIVESTRONG.COM While Kielsmeier made the cheese, Leprino fixated on efficiency. And that scale also led to cost-saving breakthroughs that Leprino's fragmented competitors could neither catch up with technologically nor fight in patent court. "Would we want more? She is also a licensed mental health counselor, registered nutritionist and yoga teacher. Ascent's space sits atop the original cheese factory's loading dock and warehouse. This pizza does not contain an abundance of cheese as we tend to use in America, as you want all three colors to shine through. In North America, Pizza Hut has notably sold: pan pizza, baked in a pan with a crispy edge; stuffed crust pizza, with the outermost edge wrapped around a cylinder of mozzarella cheese; "hand-tossed", more … That means that three percent of the total cheese in production in the world is bought by Pizza Hut. It should not be "They've got to believe in you. "It didn't perform well for our pizza, which is cooked in a home oven," Graham says. Ricotta is the typical base cheese used for white sauce pizzas. American consumption of cheese increased by nearly 30% in 10 years because the dairy industry is spending big bucks to promote pizza … We offer Real cheese. The general public probably sticks to the more … On the cheese side, Leprino hustled to satisfy Pizza Hut, which went public in 1972 with around 1,000 stores and, at its peak in the 1990s, accounted for 90% of Leprino's sales. Whole milk mozzarella can be difficult to find and usually is not available at your local grocery store, so many people use part-skim mozzarella cheese, just like Pizza Hut. He quickly realized he was dumping half his raw ingredients into the river in the form of whey, the calcium-rich liquid left over after curds are strained. Send tips to csorvino@forbes.com. Price has long been Leprino's biggest advantage, and a large one since cheese accounts for about 40% of a pizza's cost. Fast food companies are adding more sustainable options to their … No starches or fillers. ". Visit today! 2021 Leprino Foods does not list the ingredients of its lite mozzarella cheese, but Pizza Hut reports that the cheese consists of pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, modified food starch, whey protein concentrate, nonfat milk and sodium propionate. Another year went by, and Domino's began delivering pizza, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. ", He wasn't always so hands-off. We stopped buying pizza from Pizza Hut a year ago when they started charging for crushed red peppers and parmesan. "The company was growing so fast they were missing this important message.". Each "~" indicates a missing or incomplete value. Pizza Hut franchises would sometimes wait too long to thaw the presliced mozzarella and reported that their cheese would crumble, so Leprino Foods responded with its first major breakthrough: a preservative mist. "It was more of a handshake than it was anything else," recalls Michael Soignet, a former vice president of supply chain at Domino's. Terms of Use It evaporated." While acknowledging his "genius," numerous industry executives paint Leprino, in his younger days, as an "aggressive" leader who wasn't above visiting individual franchise owners to pitch his technologically advanced cheese. One pizza entrepreneur puts it this way about the man who owns 100% of this mozzarella giant: "Jim Leprino is a very powerful man.". A new, fractured market, primed to be dominated. Yes, a cheese pizza really does contain one-and-a-half pounds of "aged, buttery cheeses (an 80 percent—20 percent blend of low-fat, part-skim-milk mozzarella and provolone) and 10-month … Cheeses to avoid on pizza: processed cheese or oily cheeses such as Velveeta, American cheese and Cheddar or pre-shredded cheese. The Grilled Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza features extra … … James and her colleagues analyzed the properties of seven different types of cheeses -- … First, thin wisps of low-moisture mozzarella, then a diced alternative, followed by an "artisanal" version, cut short and wide. I love pizza! the pizza hut in my town is still a sit down, dine in establishment. Accustomed to high altitude, he settled in Denver; without much of an education or the ability to read and write English, he began farming. After graduating high school in 1956, he started working with his father full-time and shared a revelation: "Pizzerias in this part of the country were buying 5,000 pounds of cheese a week," he recalls. The little-known Leprino (he declined to be photographed for this article) rates as one of America's all-time monopolists. Pizza Hut's cheese supplier has addressed past concerns over the cheese's ingredients. The chain states that it uses part-skim mozzarella cheese on the majority of its pizzas. This silicone ingredient is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in food. I also cover beauty and personal care. I dont care for their pizzas much,but I always curious to know what they used,what brand or … Comes with your choice of Marinara or Ranch dipping sauce. Part-skim mozzarella usually does not have any cholesterol but does have approximately 210 milligrams of sodium. The Spinach & Feta pizza comes with mozzarella, feta, Parmesan, and Asiago. Leprino's succession plan is simple: He'll split ownership between his two daughters, Terry, 57, and Gina, 55, who have been on the board for years but won't take day-to-day roles. Cheesy Stuffed Garlic Knots are finally back on Pizza Hut's menu, and they're part of the chain's iconic $5 Lineup.. 'S all-time monopolists, either `` it did n't have time for college consume in the original factory. 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