Pizza Today is proud to launch the second annual Pizza Today Pizza Industry Excellence (PIE) Awards. The PIE Awards celebrate exceptional work within the pizza industry, highlighting the excellence of entrepreneurship, business acumen, and stellar service of pizzerias of all sizes.
Award Categories
• Young Entrepreneur of the Year — Open to pizzeria owners under age 30. Growth, sales volume, employee engagement initiatives, and leadership will be taken into consideration.
• Community Involvement Award — Looking for exemplary stewards of the local community. How often as well as how you give back will be taken into consideration.
• Best Pizzeria Social Media — Judges will evaluate the most effective and consistent uses of social media platforms and how pizzerias utilize these tools to grow business.
• Best Pizza Box Design — Submit a stunning and artistic box that pops and functions as branding/marketing/advertising for your business.
• Most Interesting Menu — Judges will consider innovation, uniqueness, ease of execution and profitability.
• Coolest Delivery Vehicle — Send photos or video of your pizza delivery vehicle, along with details about how it is received by members of your community.
• Best Beverage Program — This category recognizes pizzerias known for having innovative beer, wine, liquor or cocktail menus. Send a copy of your beverage menu.
• Pizza Company of the Year by Region (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Mountain West, Pacific Northwest, West Coast) — Growth, sales volume, employee and community engagement initiatives, and leadership in the local market all will be taken into consideration.
Deadlines
Regular Submission Deadline: Oct. 23, 2025
Extended Submission Deadline: Oct. 31, 2025
Who May Enter
This Contest is open to submissions from businesses incorporated and based in the continental US only. Employees of the Sponsor and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling) or persons living in the same households of such individuals, whether or not related, are not eligible to enter or win a prize. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age as of the date of entry. CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
Entry Requirements
The entry will include:
A. Photo or Video Requirements
- At least two color images of each product or service must be submitted with each entry. Up to five photos are permitted. Each photo should be of professional quality and must be 300 DPI in resolution (under 5 MB). Upload .JPG, .PNG, .GIF or .PDF files only. No images with watermarks, logos, or trademarks will be accepted. Multiple angles and technical information/specification sheets are encouraged.
- Supplementary videos can be submitted with each entry and is highly encouraged. Video can be used to explain details and functions of the product or service. Videos may not exceed 3 minutes in length; any videos exceeding 3 minutes will not be viewed by judges or jury, nor considered as part of the entry. Upload video compressed as MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and H.264 only, such as a .mp4 or .mov file. DivX, ProRes, or WMV files will not be accepted.
Recommended output formats for common video editors:
1. Corel Video Studio: select MPEG-4 HD or iPhone H.264 640x480
2. Final Cut Pro: select H.264
3. Final Cut Pro Express: export using QuickTime conversion. Export as QuickTime movie.
4. iMovie: Share > Export movie: pick large size (and HD if applicable).
5. Sony Vegas Pro: select Main Concept AVC/AAC
6. Adobe Premiere Pro: select H.264
· Each submitted photograph, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material taken/owned by the Contest entrant. By submitting a photo, entrant represents, acknowledges and warrants that he or she owns the exclusive rights and/or has obtained all necessary third-party consents to submit such photograph and t, and that the photograph does not infringe any copyright or violate any other intellectual property rights. The entrant agrees to indemnify Sponsor and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives from any and all third party claims arising from the entry and use of the photograph in connection with the competition.
B. Description
· A brief description of your entry (no more than 300 words) and why you feel it stands out in the industry.
C. Other
· Products and services must have been unveiled to the market within the 2022 calendar year. Product prototypes and beta services will be accepted if scheduled to be released within the calendar year.
- All questions on the Entry Form must be answered to the fullest extent, providing judges the ability to better understand the product or service and its innovative characteristics. Failure to complete the required fields may result in disqualification.
- Entrants may submit an entry form for multiple products or services in as many categories as they choose, or multiple entries in one category; however, the same product or service may not be entered into more than one category. One completed Entry Form and entry fee must be submitted per product or service.
- A valid email address must be provided with each Entry.
- Entrants will be notified by email once their submission is received.
Entry fees:
· Early Bird Submission: $29 per submission
· Regular Submission: $49 per submission
Judging Information and Criteria
The Pizza Today Pizza Industry Excellence Awards will evaluate the submissions as follows:
· Business Categories will be judged by revenue growth, innovation, leadership, and industry impact
· Marketing Categories will be judged by originality, effectiveness, engagement, and innovation
· Community Categories will be judged by originality, adaptability, leadership, and impact
· Experience Categories will be judged by accessibility, originality, implementation, and usability
· After the entry period officially closes on Friday, Oct. 23, 2025, at 5 p.m. PST, a panel of expert judges comprised of Pizza Today staff as well as leading industry professionals will review all fully completed submissions.
· Judges will evaluate all submitted products and services based on the Awards Criteria and using a points-based voting system.
· The panel reserves the right to make no award in a given category, to honor a project in a different category than the one entered, or to create a new category. The decision of the panel is final on all matters relating to the PIE Awards.
Recognition
Winners will be announced on or before Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, online at pizzatoday.com and on Pizza Today’s social media accounts.
Awards will be mailed to winners at the address used in the submission. There is no monetary prize.
Note: All winners will be required to provide quality digital photos of the nominated business, owners of the business, and any relevant additional product photography as requested by Pizza Today. By submitting photography, the entrant is granting Emerald the right to publish it. Any photographer’s fees/usage rights are the responsibility of the submitter. All winners agree to provide digital photos to Pizza Today without fee for possible use at Pizza Today’s discretion for our website, print magazine, social media, and for future Awards promotional purposes.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
By entering your submission, entrant (a) represents and warrants that he or she owns the exclusive rights and/or has obtained all necessary third-party consents to submit such images for consideration, (b) grants Sponsor and its designees, licensees or affiliates a fully paid, worldwide license to use, distribute, display, reproduce, publish, republish and create derivative works of the entry in any format, platform or media now or hereafter known, including but not limited to, print or digital publication and waives all claims for remuneration for such entries and (c) agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Sponsor and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives from any third-party claims arising from the entry and use of any such images submitted in connection with the competition. Any photographer’s fees/usage rights are the responsibility of the submitter. In addition, if the entrant wins an award, he or she also agrees to allow the Sponsor to use the entrant’s name/business name in connection with any use of his or her submission.
Each entrant acknowledges and agrees to be bound by these official rules and that the information collected pursuant to these Official Sweepstakes Rules shall be subject to the Sponsor's privacy policy as stated at https://www.emeraldx.com/privacy-policy /.
This Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Certain restrictions may apply. Entries are void if the Sponsor determines the entry to not be an original, or if the entries are illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error or obtained through fraud or theft.
Questions?
If you need further assistance with your entry, please email awards@emeraldx.com.
RIGHT TO CANCEL OR SUSPEND CONTEST
If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned due to causes beyond the control of Sponsor that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the entry process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. If Sponsor elects to cancel or terminate the Contest, Sponsor will not retain any rights in the submitted photographs and will return the entry fees.