Panago is a privately held Canadian

pizza delivery Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria or pizza chain delivers a pizza to a customer. An order is typically made either by telephone, or over the internet, in which the customer can request pizza type and size, and other items to be ...

and takeout chain with approximately 200 locations across six

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. It was founded in 1986 by the Rooke Family. Panago is a

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

business with each location being franchisee-owned and operated. In 2015, Panago generated over 150 million dollars in sales.

History

The first three stores opened in 1986 in

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...

, and operated under the brand "Panagopoulos," which is the name the chain grew under, until it was rebranded as "Panago" in 2000. Panago has a strong presence in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, which has 96 locations followed by 68 locations in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Other stores in operation include eight in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, four in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, 22 in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and one in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. The Panago head office is in Abbotsford and there is a regional office in

Downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...

. Current expansion efforts are heavily focused in the province of Ontario. The first urban Toronto location opened at Bay and Gerrard in April 2007. According to the company, further expansion is planned for the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

. Panago currently has two customer contact centres located in Abbotsford and

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

, servicing calls from all stores.

Panago offers over 30 different pizza recipes on the menu. Customers may order by recipe or create their own. The company offers regular, thin, multigrain, gluten-smart crusts, eight sauces, seven types of cheese and over thirty toppings. Panago also serves salads, cheesy bread, four types of wings, boneless chicken bites,

Gardein Gardein (a ''portmanteau'' of garden and protein) is a line of Meat analogue, meat-free foods produced by Conagra Brands. In 2003, the company was founded by Yves Potvin, who remains the CEO of Gardein . In November 2014, Pinnacle Foods purchased ...

vegan "chick'n" tenders,

cookies A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nuts ...

, cinnamon breadsticks, New York cheesecake (although seasonal flavors of cheesecake are common), dips and

soft drinks A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a s ...

. In 2008, Panago removed added

MSG Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium Salt (chemistry), salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a fl ...

as well as artificial flavors and colors from all of its ingredients.Melatti, Trina (September/October 2009), "On the Go", ''Franchise Canada''. Retrieved 11 November 2009 This change met the approval of BC nutritionists as it allowed Panago's pizza to fit within the stricter guidelines for food in schools that were put forward by the BC government in September 2009. Partnered with a number of schools in the Vancouver region, Panago offers 18 different serving sizes for five pizza selections that meet the criteria and fall under the "Choose Most" category. Similarly, these school offerings served in the most popular serving size of one-tenth or one-eighth of a large pizza, also meet the requirements for Ontario's "Sell Most" category. This category is outlined in the nutritional policy from the province of Ontario and includes nutritional standards for food and beverages sold in schools. The ''School Food and Beverage Policy'' was announced in January 2010, took effect on September 1, 2011. Leading up to the full implementation, schools were encouraged to consider implementing the policy as soon as possible. Panago is a partner of the

Vancouver Aquarium The Vancouver Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, ocean literacy education, cli ...

and offers only

Ocean Wise The Vancouver Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, ocean literacy education, cli ...

certified seafood on the menu. Certification requires that all seafood is sourced from a sustainable fishery and harvested in an environmentally sound manner. By 2019, however, Panago had removed all seafood toppings from its menu. As a special order, Panago offers a gluten-smart pizza crust, which is sold in medium sizing. Its menu also lists gluten-free toppings. It offers an extensive vegetarian and vegan menu, including dairy free cheese, a

Beyond Meat Beyond Meat, Inc. is a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. History Founding Ethan Brown founded the company in ...

"sausage" crumble and Gardein plant-based "chick'n" tenders.

Innovation

Launched in 2000, Panago is known by many customers for popularizing dips and shakers which are offered with the purchase of every pizza. In 2003, it launched the largest deployment of wireless debit-at-the-door machines in Canada, allowing customers to pay for their delivered pizzas without cash or cheque. In 2008, Panago released a private label line of take-home products called Panago Cucina. This product line includes olives, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, pizza seasoning shakers, organic juice, and water. Panago has published online recipes that customers can use at home that incorporate ingredients from the product line. In 2008, Panago launched a reusable insulated pizza bag, designed to keep pizza hot for customers who pick up their pizza. Customers may also choose dairy-free

Daiya Daiya Foods Inc. is a Canada-based dairy-alternative food company located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The company was established in 2008 by Andre Kroecher and Greg Blake. Daiya's original (and likely its best known) products are cheese analogu ...

cheese as a topping, along with other

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

-friendly options. Panago uses sustainable packaging, most of which may be

recycled Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

via municipal recycling programs, or

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...

ed. All pizza boxes and wing boxes are made with FSC certified materials, and all single-use cutlery is biodegradable plastics made from plant starch.

Awards and recognition

In May 2009, Panago was the recipient of 12 Frankie Awards presented by the

Canadian Franchise Association Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

. Gold awards were given for store design, brochures, packaging and a December 2008 promotion. Panago works with the advertising and design firm Mercer Creative. In November 2010, an independent study, conducted by J. D. Power and Associates, found that Panago Pizza was ranked highest in the quick-service category in the Vancouver market. ("Quick service" was defined as places offering inexpensive food, ordered at a register or selected from a food bar and where meals are paid prior to being served to the customer.) The study included satisfaction rankings for restaurant chains using four factors that typically drive overall customer satisfaction. Listed in order of importance, these factors include price, service (including timeliness of order and wait staff courtesy and friendliness), meal (including quality/taste of food, meal presentation and portion size) and environment (including ambiance, cleanliness and convenience of location/hours).

Community involvement

Panago participates in community initiatives centered on amateur sport, children's literacy, volunteering and fundraising. Awards developed to recognize children for good sportsmanship and literacy are distributed by Panago locations. Each one is redeemable for a small pizza for children who earn them in the classroom or while playing sport. Panago also offers assistance with fundraising to amateur sport teams and not-for-profit organizations in addition to pizza donations in support of volunteering. Panago became an official sponsor of the ''

Steve Dangle Steven Glynn (born March 12, 1988), known professionally as Steve Dangle, is a Canadian sports analyst, author, librarian, and internet political and hockey personality. Early life and education Steven Glynn was born on March 12, 1988, in Toro ...

Podcast'' on 7 November 2013. In fall 2015, Panago was involved in anti-bullying week and partnered with Bullying.org. Panago is also a partner of Live Nation to include concert tickets in its contests.

Legal

In 2002, Panago Pizza was involved in an arbitration against a Delta, BC, resident, who had registered the domain panago.biz. The complaint requested transfer of the domain to the pizza chain but was dismissed.

References

External links

Official website

Franchise site
{{Vancouver Corporations Companies based in Burnaby Pizza chains of Canada