Mighty Pizza Oven General Discussion

[MightyPizzaOven]

I agree with Craig's last post at  http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,20353.80.html...

I love pizza and anything related to it... Many years ago, I attempted  to make pizza dough and it was a failure, it was sticky, I just didn't know what to expect. , this was way before information became easily available on the internet.

Back in 2004, we got a food processor as a wedding present,  it included a dough blade, a recipe book and video. I have been using that recipe since than till I joined this forum.. The video really helped me seeing what to expect..

All these years, I used rough measurements, the results were better than I ever eaten at any major pizza chains... Over the years I start inquiring different tools to improve and simplify my pizza making experience...

All along,  I have been looking for an affordable gas powered pizza oven, I just didn't want  WFO, I just wanted something that I can turn on and off, movable, affordable, doesn't occupy big section of my backyard.

Anyway, I got layed off few years back, so I had plenty of time to experiment with fire bricks in my home oven and my grill. It was just not practical. my experiments stopped after I got rehired few month later, untill last December, I started thinking of building an oven that I can lift to load and remove my pies on my gas grill.

With my home MPO prototype, my pies were even better than the one I done in my home oven...still using food processor recipe book and rough measuring technique...

I guess what I am trying to say, even with rough measurment you still can make pretty good pizza...better than pizza chains.

Inititially I like to reach:

- Individuals who always wanted to make pizza and never knew how
- Individuals who thinks it is too complicated and too much work.
- Individuals who have been using pizza stones in indoor ovens and want to improve and not invest too much

My goal to show them how fun, satisfying, easy and simple to make their pizza and why  MPO. .... All my instructions need to cater to that market and  need to be simple straight forward. I don't want to scare them awyay. I want the majority to say " That's easy, I can do that"... Video is critical... I am already planning for one before Kickstarter...

In regards to MPO pricing,  originally, I wanted to include Pizza Stone turning device, Pizza Cutter, Wood peel and Metal peel. These tools enhance MPO experience. I took all these accessories out to lower MPO cost and will be offered as optional recommended accessories.

Plus:
- Deleted the thermometer, for other reasons than lowering MPO cost.
- Changed the chimney from 5" to 2.5" high and secured chimney cover to the chimney
- Deleted front window / cover
- Lowered the front handle and made it spring handle.
- Added additional rails, which allow 4 different setting for the top stone and addition storage space while MPO not in use.

With Kickstarter, I am hoping to raise enough money for marketing, minimum order requirement for MPO/ Pizza Stones / Pizza cutters / Wood peels / Metal Peels and a molds for all MPO components. MPO prototypes has been hand made.

If this works, and take off... I will add other models and accessories to my product line.

I had many dreams before, I hope this one become a reality and become my full time job.

This forum has been great, all these discussions are helping me to refine my qoals, and expand my Pizza knowledge.

[AimlessRyan]

Inititially I like to reach:

- Individuals who always wanted to make pizza and never knew how
- Individuals who thinks it is too complicated and too much work.
- Individuals who have been using pizza stones in indoor ovens and want to improve and not invest too much

The first group IS NOT your target market. If you try to make them your target market, you're just gonna end up wasting a bunch of mental energy and money that could be used much more effectively in different ways. They're not gonna buy it.

You want to dangle the MPO in front of these people if you can; try to keep it in their consciousness for a year or five years down the road. But you don't want to spend a bunch of energy trying to get them to buy it today, because they're not going to.

So how do you keep it in their consciousness without using up all your money and energy? I don't know because it takes money and energy to keep them thinking about it. And if you waste all your money marketing to people who aren't in the market, all you've done is wasted all your money.

You have to put these people on the back burner. This product has a niche market, and you need to figure out who fits into that niche, then put all your money and effort into reaching those people. When you find success with them, you can work on broadening your market to include people who always wanted to make pizza but never knew how.

The second group... I'm not really sure about them. I'll be thinking about that.

The third group IS your target market.

You need to target me and people like me, which you're doing already, even if you don't realize it. Go look at the thread where this discussion started, and you'll see that there are at least a few people who might be interested in buying this thing. And it cost you nothing to get them interested. Additionally, they're rooting for you. And I'm only talking about people who have commented. Who knows how many lurkers may be following these discussions, thinking, "Man, I can't wait to get one of these things."?

Right now they don't see you as a salesman, either. Rather, they see you as one of us, because you are one of us. You are some guy who is trying to make something that these people might have thought of making themselves but just didn't have whatever it takes to go through with it.

The Ryan of 15 years ago is not interested. The Ryan of two months ago probably is not interested. However, the Ryan of today may be interested. So there's a lead for ya. This lead is worthy of your time and energy. Just don't waste it on the Ryan of 15 years ago because he's not gonna buy it.

[MightyPizzaOven]

Good points Ryan... I agree the third group should be my 1st priority...

[MightyPizzaOven]

If fedex is on time I sould have sample of all my accessories. I will be testing them this weekend...

[AimlessRyan]

So I guess one thing I had a little trouble making clear in my previous post is that I think you should market to us first, to better enable you to eventually market to the "foodies" who feel like they need to have every gadget made, or to people who always wanted to make pizza but didn't know where to start. You want this thing in the hands of the people who make up this community, even if you have to give some away, because we are the snowball.

If you get some of these things to the most visible and respected members of pizzamaking.com, the MPO will end up in countless pictures and posts of people who make the best pizza on the planet. When pizzamaking.com members start baking and documenting amazing pizzas that they made in an MPO, the word will spread. Once the word spreads, you will reach the people you're hoping to reach. And if you do it right, the overwhelming message could be, "Oh my god! Everyone must have an MPO."

That's one hell of an endorsement, and it's worth so much more than it would cost.

[Jet_deck]

Bert, I don't know if you had anyone sign up to cook with you, but I just had an idea.  Go find a park, and take all your stuff.  You should have no problem finding people to cook on it, their will be tons of kids wanting to eat it also.  Being a big bbq weekend, you could cook hundreds of pizza on it.

[AimlessRyan]

That's gonna take a lotta cups of flour!

[MightyPizzaOven]

Here is few pictures of the pizza turning devices options... With MPO you can easily rotate your pizza with a metal peel.

This device makee pizza rotating job much easier at a price... It will be arround $40 to $50 retail...

I am not going to included it in my initial MPO launch, it has high minimum order requirement.

[MightyPizzaOven]

Gene, nobody showed any interest...

Ryan, that is not a bad idea, it is just very expensive at this stage, maybe once I mass produce them which is dependent on success of MPO on kicksarter.

[MightyPizzaOven]

Go find a park, and take all your stuff.  You should have no problem finding people to cook on it, their will be tons of kids wanting to eat it also.  Being a big bbq weekend, you could cook hundreds of pizza on it.

I have been looking for an event that allow the use of propane grills, high traffic and might be news worthy.

For such event, I am looking for some low cost pizza topping ideas to serve.. may be just olive oil and galirc.

[Jet_deck]

What if you just whipped out the grill in dowtown houston?  What about outside a sporting event?  Houston Motorsports Park.  Find one of those gals you see at the car shows to hold your MPO sign.
Maybe a local shelter?

[TXCraig1]

I have been looking for an event that allow the use of propane grills, high traffic and might be news worthy.

For such event, I am looking for some low cost pizza topping ideas to serve.. may be just olive oil and galirc.

I think you need to do cheese pies. You don't need to put a lot of cheese on a pie, but you need cheese.

[MightyPizzaOven]

as long as I can reserve (rent) space and confirm propane grill usage is allowed. Definitely need to hire some help...require  preplanning, It will be worth it...

[MightyPizzaOven]

I think you need to do cheese pies. You don't need to put a lot of cheese on a pie, but you need cheese.

Craig, with sauce or without sauce?

[TXCraig1]

Craig, with sauce or without sauce?

Sauce and cheese - classic pizza.

[TXCraig1]

Check out this video. This is what I mean when I say you don't need a lot of cheese (you don't have to slice it like this). I've had this pizza, and it is awesome.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7BEwJeocY" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7BEwJeocY</a>

[MightyPizzaOven]

Wow... They sure earn there  name. Is that parmesan  cheese and  shaved mozzarella? , it looked like white potato chips. I love to see the end result.

[jeffereynelson]

maybe I missed the other post where you had pictures and stuff, but I'd be interested in seeing it. Can you link or post pics here?

Also on a side note, after noticing your english, I'm curious as to what country you moved here from?

[jeffereynelson]

just kidding, I found it, I didn't look very hard.

[rcbaughn]

She's a one person assembly line, lol. I wish I could stretch and sauce that good and fast. It always takes me a while to get my sauce spread right.