Latest news with #PapaJohns'
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Papa Johns makes major menu change to win back customers
Over the past few months, consumers across the country have scaled back their spending on fast food, which has significantly impacted Papa Johns' sales. In Papa Johns' (PZZA) first-quarter earnings report for 2025, it revealed that its U.S. comparable sales declined by 3% year-over-year. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter During an earnings call on May 8, Papa Johns CEO Todd Penegor said that the wallet of the consumer remains "challenged" and highlighted that increased competition is also impacting sales. Related: Papa Johns struggles to recover from concerning customer behavior "As we look at consumer confidence, it does remain challenged amid the economic and market volatility," said Penegor. "We're all talking about it. We all see it. We've seen intensification on competitive pressures in the promotional cycles. We've also seen some challenges on the lower-income cohorts." Consumers are specifically pulling away from having their food delivered and are instead opting to pick up their orders in stores to save money. In response to this trend, Papa Johns partnered with Google Cloud in April to "enhance" the ordering and delivery experience for its customers. "We know we can do delivery better," said Penegor. "And leveraging our new partnership with Google, we will improve driver dispatch and routing, increase the accuracy of our delivery time estimates, and provide better driver tracking." Image source: Bloomberg/Getty Images As Papa Johns fights to reverse alarming customer behavior, it has decided to shake up its menu in order to win back customers. The pizza chain decided that Shaq-a-Roni pizza, launched in 2020 for a limited time, will now become a permanent menu item, selling for $15.99 nationwide. The pizza is inspired by basketball player Shaquille O'Neal and became a fan-favorite five years ago due to its extra-large size. "At Papa Johns, we're elevating the classics that have set us apart to deliver even more value to our customers," said Chief Marketing Officer Jenna Bromberg in a press release. Related: Pizza Hut struggles to reverse troubling consumer trend In addition to making Shaq-a-Roni pizza a permanent menu item, Papa Johns recently introduced Cheddar Crust pizza to its menu, which starts at $11.99 and contains a baked blend of cheddar cheese and garlic seasoning on its crust. To pair with the pizza, the company also launched Cheddar Cheesticks, made from dough that is covered in garlic sauce and topped with seasoned cheddar cheese. They sell for $10.50 and are served with Papa Johns' original pizza dipping sauce. Both new menu items are available for a limited time. The menu changes from Papa Johns come after its competitors have also added new menu items to boost low sales. In March, Domino's Pizza added a Parmesan Stuffed Crust pizza to its menu after it reported weak sales during the fourth quarter of 2024. More Food + Dining: Domino's Pizza unveils generous deal amid alarming consumer trendSteak 'n Shake's beef tallow fries aren't as healthy as they appearThe Cheesecake Factory makes bittersweet changes to its menu In April, Pizza Hut also brought back Cheesy Bites Pizza, a fan-favorite menu item, for a limited time and introduced three new exclusive dipping sauces: Chipotle Ranch, Ultimate Ranch, and Pepperoni Ranch. The menu change occurred during a period when Pizza Hut's system sales in the U.S. decreased by 7% year-over-year. Many consumers have recently been avoiding fast-food restaurants due to their inflated prices, which have spiked by roughly 47% over the past decade. Data from Ipsos Consumer Tracker last year revealed that 34% of U.S. consumers have cut back on having dinner at fast-food restaurants. A total of 30% also said they have been avoiding getting dinner from takeout or delivery, while 45% said they are cooking dinner at home more. Related: Domino's Pizza suffers a startling loss as customers switch gears The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Hypebeast
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
Papa Johns and Mountain Dew Release Limited-Edition "Cini Dirty Soda" Kit
Summary Papa JohnsandMountain Dewhave teamed up for one of the summer's most unexpected beverage mashups: the 'Cini Dirty Soda.' Inspired by the viral dirty soda trend, the new concoction combines Mountain Dew's signature citrus zing with the spicy-sour punch of Papa Johns' famous pepperoncini for a tangy twist on the soda craze. Released as a DIY kit, the limited-edition drop includes everything fans need to recreate the fizzy, peppery blend at home. Each insulated kit bag comes stocked with all the ingredients, and quantities are limited. Kits are available exclusively online, while Papa Rewards members can enter for a chance to win one for free. Dirty sodas — fizzy drinks mixed with syrups, juices, or cream — surged in popularity last year, and now, Papa Johns and Mountain Dew are putting their bold spin on the trend, delivering a drink that blurs the line between pizza pairing and guilty pleasure. While not available for purchase in stores, fans will have a chance to win the Cini Dirty Soada Kit for a limited time via Papa Johns'official site.
Miami Herald
08-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Popular pizza chain closed dozens of restaurants globally
Business Popular pizza chain closed dozens of restaurants globally With the U.S. being a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities, it's almost impossible for this country not to give dishes from other parts of the globe an American spin and make them its own. Although associated with Italy, pizza is among the most popular dishes in the U.S., making it an American staple for many decades. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter This explains why the U.S. has millions of pizza joints and chains and is the birthplace of well-known names such as Pizza Hut (YUM) , Domino's (DPZ) , and Papa Johns. Although Papa Johns (PZZA) is still considered a pizza giant worldwide, it has experienced concerning declines over the last few months. Related: McDonald's menu adds experimental new items fans will love Papa Johns' total revenues were down 3.6% in 2024 compared to the year prior, with domestic company-owned, North America franchise, and North American restaurants all suffering declines. Its international sector suffered the same fate, with comparable sales decreasing nearly 1% in 2024. The company attributed these global losses to acquiring 118 formerly franchised restaurants in the UK in 2023. It closed and franchised all but 13 of them, which impacted its earnings for fiscal 2023 and 2024. Papa Johns closes multiple locations. Image source: Shutterstock Although Papa Johns' global business looks to be in jeopardy, the UK is taking the biggest hit. Papa Johns makes mass restaurant closures across the UK Papa Johns International has closed over 40 restaurants across the UK over the last year due to underperformance, which caused hundreds of employees to lose their jobs. Although a tough decision, the pizza chain lost almost £20 million before making this move, as it had exhausted all other options. The company claimed this was a strategic move to reinvest the money from the closures into improving the remaining locations. Still, this significant shift left some pizza-loving fans wondering if this was the beginning of the end for the beloved chain. Related: Another fast-food burger chain is quietly closing locations Papa Johns turnover increased by 0.79% to nearly £96 million in 2023 compared to the previous year, as stated in its latest accounts filing. However, it still had a pre-tax loss of almost £20 million. The last time the pizza chain saw positive results in both numbers was 2021, when it reported a turnover of £102.3 million and a pre-tax profit of £8.1 million. Papa Johns makes a surprising revelation, but a wrinkle emerges Although many feared the end of Papa Johns in the UK, a surprising revelation made some loyal fans optimistic about the pizza chain's future. The company's Managing Director, Chris Phylactou, confirmed in City AM's Boardroom Uncovered podcast that Papa John's is profitable again and on track to report its earnings for the first time since 2021. He also stated that the pizza chain expects to make a profit in 2025. More Food News: However, the joy didn't last long. This month, it was revealed that 13 Papa Johns restaurants across the South West UK have temporarily closed, leaving a lingering cloud of uncertainty about the chain's future. "While the stores are temporarily closed, we are working to secure new ownership and reopen as soon as possible. Our priority is delivering quality pizza and a great experience for our customers, while supporting our teams through this transition," said a Papa Johns UK spokesperson. No official confirmation has been given about whether layoffs will occur or have resulted from these closures. Still, the company intends to reopen these locations once a new franchisee has been found. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc. This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 7:33 PM.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Papa Johns will use Google AI for analytics, marketing
This story was originally published on Restaurant Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Restaurant Dive newsletter. Papa Johns announced Thursday a partnership with Google Cloud to use Google data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence chatbots in its ordering and delivery processes. Papa Johns expects the partnership to increase ticket size, frequency and customer satisfaction scores while reducing the cost of customer service. The pizza chain has created an 'innovation team,' called PJX, to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the partnership. Papa Johns' PJX team will pursue at least five key projects as the tech arms race heats up among QSR heavyweights. The most interesting of those strategic priorities is the deployment of a Google Cloud-based point-of-sale system, which Papa Johns said will set the stage for AI-driven dispatching, delivery route optimization and automation of unspecified restaurant processes. PJX will try to anticipate customer needs and use Google BigQuery, Vertex AI and Gemini to 'proactively suggest orders through push notifications or email, based on learned customer preferences and anticipated needs,' the company said. The pizza brand will also feed its internal data into Google's generative AI tools to improve personalization of its web and app experiences by 'presenting unique discount codes or advertisements based on previous orders, customer preferences, location and more,' in real time. Additionally, Papa Johns said the partnership would help it predict ordering behaviors and generate AI-powered marketing campaigns. Papa Johns will turn over much of its customer experience management to AI bots. The pizza chain plans to integrate AI-voice ordering into its app and 'build an AI-powered chatbot that can handle common customer inquiries, seamlessly escalating complex issues to live agents.' Whether the use of chatbots will actually improve consumer experiences is open to question. AI chatbots have a documented tendency to invent inaccurate information. The computational demands of AI have driven up greenhouse gas emissions at Google, Microsoft and other tech giants. Bloomberg has reported the energy intensity of AI data centers is endangering corporate climate commitments. According to Papa Johns' 2024 Corporate Responsibility Report, the pizza brand is committed to sustainably managing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental concerns. Papa Johns did not immediately respond to a request for comment on AI's accuracy and emissions problems, or on whether generative AI represented a qualitative improvement on other forms of data analytics. Same-store sales at the pizza brand have been uneven in recent years, ranging from positive 3% in Q3 2023 to negative 6% in Q3 2024. To combat this, CEO Todd Penegor, who joined the brand from Wendy's in mid-2024, is pushing the brand to focus on its core pizzas and to improve its market density through development. If the AI partnership is successful at raising tickets and transactions, or if it lowers the cost of customer service for the brand, it could help Papa Johns focus on its core strategies. Papa Johns is one of many restaurant companies looking to cash in on the AI boom. Yum Brands recently signed a deal with Nvidia, a major AI developer, to build more analytics and AI tools. Wendy's is speeding up the deployment of drive-thru voice AI. And Hi Auto, a QSR-focused voice AI tech firm, recently announced a $15 million funding round to help it develop and deploy its AI tools. Recommended Reading Why Todd Penegor wants Papa Johns to make more pizzas Sign in to access your portfolio
