Barstool Sports Extends Brand With Pizza

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is already known for his One Bite Pizza Reviews series on YouTube, and now his sports and lifestyle media brand is branching out beyond podcasts, TV and sports forging deeper into the world of food. Barstool is teaming up with Happi Foodi to launch the One Bite Frozen Pizza. The pizza will be available in Wal-Mart stores across the U.S., according to Inside Audio Marketing.

“I’m taking over the frozen game,” said Portnoy in a video about the product launch. His review of their product delivered a 10 out of 10 rating.

Barstool Sports is also teaming up with Virtual Dining Concepts to join the food delivery business. Barstool Bites will be a delivery-only restaurant, offering a lineup of items including chicken wings, sliders, 14-inch subs, buckets of popcorn and fries. In other words, food someone might consume while watching a game.

Barstool Bites will be available in 300 cities nationwide. Virtual Dining Concepts relies on so-called “ghost kitchens” that use local restaurants to pack and deliver food using third-party apps like DoorDash and Grubhub for various brands.

Barstool Bites may also be expanding into physical restaurants and Barstool food trucks. “We’re going to experiment with giving our fans the ability to order the types of food we eat when we’re sitting on our couch watching football on Saturdays and Sundays,” CEO Erika Nardini told Bloomberg.

The delivery-only restaurant model has taken off during the pandemic. NPD Group says from June 2020 to June 2021, delivery-only restaurant orders increased by two-thirds. That compares to a 39% decline for in-restaurant dining. Bloomberg notes the industry is already crowded since they allow entrepreneurs to launch a restaurant without the large investment a physical location requires.

Food ventures are the latest in brand extensions for Barstool. It has also signed a multiyear branding rights deal with the Arizona Bowl. The move means the Dec. 31 game will air on Barstool platforms, not broadcast television. Barstool is also expanding its Barstool Golf Classic brand.