In the food industry these days, it is all about customization. Everyone wants to be able to create their own dish and personalize their options. This has always been easy to do with pizza, since customers each get to choose their preferred toppings. However, if you want your customers to truly feel like they're personalizing and customizing their meal, you may want to allow them to do so in other ways. Here are a few ideas on how customized pizza could work for your business.

1. Seasoned Crust

Pizza crust instantly becomes more appealing with it is sprinkled with some sort of seasoning. Maybe you already have a house seasoning you sprinkle on the crust. Consider coming up with three to five different seasonings, and then letting customers choose between them. Parmesan cheese is an easy one. You could also offer a garlic seasoning made with garlic powder and parsley. A spicy seasoning made from cayenne pepper and onion powder is another delicious choice.

2. Cheese Options

Usually a pizzeria will have one cheese blend they use on all the pies. Maybe you offer feta as an additional topping, too. Consider letting your customers choose their cheese instead. You don't have to offer anything too fancy, but simply letting them choose between mozzarella, provolone, and mild cheddar gives them more control over their pizza experience. 

3. Different Tomato Sauce

Offering different sauces like barbecue and white sauce is definitely a good approach. But you can take this idea even further by offering three different tomato sauces. One can be a classic, balanced tomato sauce without a lot of extra seasoning of any kind. Another can be a sweeter sauce, perhaps made with onions for more body and depth of flavor. The third can be either a spicy sauce or one made with lots of basil and oregano.

4. Shape Options

Instead of making either round or square pizzas, consider letting your customers choose their shape! It's easy to make ovals, hearts — and during football season, footballs. Since it will probably take your pizza makers longer to shape a heart pizza than a sheet or round pizza, you can charge a little extra for these shapes. Not every customer will appreciate this option, but some will have a lot of fun with it.

Pizza is a food that lends itself to the current customization trend. Scittino's Italian Market Place has found its balance with pizza and customization. If you let your customers have more of a say in how their pizza is made, they'll really thank you for it.