• by September 12, 2002

Advertising pizza is nothing new. Creating a pizza that advertises, however, is a different story. A pair of products that promise to do just that debut at the Northeast Pizza Expo in Atlantic City on October 2 and 3, 2002, during "National Pizza Month."

New York-based Gourmet Impression has developed two new hand-held tools that allow restaurants, caterers, and other food businesses to turn pizzas, calzones, and other food items into edible experiences and advertisements.

Using modular devices called the "Roller" and the "Stamper," companies can emboss their logo or advertising messages on food. Initial prototypes are designed for pizzas, calzones, bread sticks, cheeses, melons, white bread, pita breads, brownies, pies, and butter sticks, as well as baked potatoes.

The Stamper tool works like a rubber stamp. It is roughly 4" tall, with modules of varying lengths and widths. By pressing, it easily and quickly embosses a text message or an image into a food item. Everything from personalized "Happy Birthday" messages to advertisements and company logos can be embossed within seconds.

A unique feature of the Stamper is that it can be adjusted for the depth of the food being embossed; a deeper setting can be used for bread dough, for example, while a shallower setting can be used for cheese. The tool can cut out food at the same time it is embossing.

The Roller device features a wheel that is 6" in diameter and 3/4" wide, with a fender for gripping. Rolling the tool across many foods, including a pizza or around its crust imprints a customized message. The embossment depth can be altered to fit the food.

Using the Roller, Gourmet Impression envisions the creation of varying shaped crackers and breadsticks they call "Pizzals" (pronounced Peet-suls). The "Pizzals" would carry messages or advertisements and could be dipped in marinara, tomato sauces, or salsas, by customers.

The company is interested in licensing these tools for use in fast-food chains, restaurants, catering operations, home usages, and children's baking toys.