WARREN, Ohio – Pizza Joe’s and Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio will host area middle school students at the JA Innovation Challenge, an entrepreneurial competition that promotes creativity and teamwork.
More than 200 students from eight schools across Trumbull and Mahoning counties will converge Feb. 7 in the Classroom/Administration Building at Kent State University at Trumbull.
Through Junior Achievement’s programming modules, the students will be challenged to create a new and innovative pizza flavor for Pizza Joe’s. Guided by local business leaders, they will work together to solve a real-world business challenge while learning about product development, profitability and target marketing.
Winning groups from each classroom will have the opportunity to pitch their final product to Pizza Joe’s corporate team, including Joe Seminara, founder of the regional chain.
“This is not only an exciting day for the students but also for the adult mentors,” said Joanna Feathers, learning experience manager for Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio. “Aside from having a competitive drive and wanting to win, these kids put their full effort into each stage of the process and come away with such a feeling of pride and accomplishment. It’s fun to witness.”
Pizza Joe’s will test the winning team’s concoction after the event, and once a final product is agreed upon, it will be featured on the menu of the Pizza Joe’s closest to that school. A community day with the winning team will also be held, with a portion of the proceeds from the sales of the product going back to the winning school.