Committed to offering customers a healthier choice in takeaway food, Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars was one of the first pizza chains to voluntarily provide independently tested nutritional details on its top selling pizzas to customers both online and in store. Crust launched in 2001 with a single store in Annandale, Sydney, and has since grown to 18 stores across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The brief
The Australian fast food industry has become the whipping boy of the Australian media when it comes to rising levels of obesity. As a fast-growing franchise, Crust turned to Keep Left PR to guide the business through the media minefield as it launched a range of six takeaway pizzas which had earned the Heart Foundation Tick of Approval – first for the Australian pizza industry.

How we helped
With just 16 stores at the time of the launch, Crust was no McDonalds, but was prepared to face an onslaught of potentially negative media coverage as it followed in the footsteps of the fast food giants. Keep Left PR worked with Crust's management and the Heart Foundation to develop a campaign which presented the nutritional facts about the Australian pizza industry alongside independently tested nutritionals on Crust's existing range and its new Tick approved range.

Keep Left PR staggered the release of media information to ensure blanket coverage across all media on the launch date of 12 th February 2008, carried out extensive issues management preparation with the client, and arranged pizza drops to major metro radio stations on the day of the launch to generate on-air discussion. .