Order Pizza, a new iPhone application from OrderMapper Inc., lets consumers order from nearby pizzerias using their iPhone.

The application shows consumers nearby pizzerias or lets them search for their favorite restaurant. Consumers can place an order from within the application without creating an account.

“People of all ages love pizza and often choose it as a meal option when they are busy or want something fast,” said Jim Bricker, founder/CEO of OrderMapper, Seattle. “With iPhones and iPod touches becoming more prevalent, the mobile ordering industry is expanding rapidly and people are adjusting to making purchases on their phones.

“We saw a chance to make ordering pizza easier and more convenient by launching an app that extends on-the-go ordering opportunities for all pizzerias, large and small,” he said.

Mr. Bricker said the company has plans to expand the application to include more ordering options. The company is mulling adding Chinese food to the application.

OrderMapper is a developer of mobile ordering applications. Order Pizza is the company’s first application.

Pizza and mobile
Once a customer hits the order button in the application, the order is converted into a phone call using a service called Twilio.

Twilio walks the restaurant through the order with automated voice options and touch tone settings to confirm the order.

After the order is placed consumers get a push notification back letting them know the order was placed successfully.

Mr. Bricker said it is a high-quality and easy-to-use system and his company has seen a 95 percent success rate on orders so far.

“Before the Order Pizza app launched, people were limited to ordering pizza on their phones from only a few large chains,” Mr. Bricker said. “There is an enormous market out there as demonstrated by Pizza Hut, who saw a huge success with $1 million in sales of their mobile ordering app in only three months.

“The Order Pizza app opens up mobile ordering opportunities for the smaller mom and pop shops that were getting cut out of the picture,” he said.

Mr. Bricker said his company’s application is more convenient for customers because they only have to download one application to order from multiple pizzerias instead of downloading a separate application for each restaurant.

The application is not ad-supported. Mr. Bricker said the application acts as lead generation.

OrderMapper is following up with pizzerias who receive orders through the application and offering them premium placement, custom menus and custom applications.

Mr. Bricker said the application is available for all pizzerias who take phone orders.

“The app initially pulls up a list of recommended nearby pizzerias, including chains like Dominoes and Little Caesars,” he said. “In order to allow for greater flexibility, customers can also type in the phone number of their favorite smaller shop if they have a neighborhood favorite not already in the database.”