What's Happening?
The Chocolate Pizza Co., a sweets shop based in Marcellus, New York, was recently featured on ABC's evening news as part of their 'Made in America' series. The segment, which aired on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, highlighted the shop's unique offerings, including chocolate pizzas and peanut butter wings. Following the broadcast, the shop experienced an overwhelming surge in online orders, which temporarily crashed their website. Owner Ryan Novak, who founded the business in 2010, reported that the shop received 500 orders through Amazon within two hours of the segment airing. The website, which was processing hundreds of requests per second, was down for about an hour before being restored. The feature significantly boosted the shop's visibility
and sales, with orders far exceeding their typical holiday rush.
Why It's Important?
The national exposure from ABC News has had a significant impact on the Chocolate Pizza Co., demonstrating the power of media coverage in boosting small businesses. This surge in demand highlights the potential for small, local businesses to reach a wider audience and increase sales through strategic media features. The incident also underscores the importance of having robust online infrastructure to handle sudden increases in traffic, which can be a challenge for small businesses. The feature not only increased sales but also raised the profile of the Chocolate Pizza Co., potentially leading to long-term growth and expansion opportunities.
What's Next?
In response to the overwhelming demand, the Chocolate Pizza Co. has temporarily halted new online orders to manage their production capacity. The shop plans to resume online sales after January 5th, 2026. Meanwhile, local customers can still purchase products directly from the Marcellus shop and other local retailers. The company will likely evaluate its production and online infrastructure to better handle future surges in demand. This experience may also encourage other small businesses to seek similar media opportunities to boost their visibility and sales.
