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Papa John’swww.papajohns.comAnnual revenue: $1.34 billionHQ: Louisville, Ky.Employees: 100,000Specialty: Pizza delivery/ takeout,franchisingTony Thompson, president andCOO: “The focus on quality hasbeen consistent throughout our30 years’ history. We are almostreligious about it. We don’t com-promise on our brand standards.”

company profile

Pizza PowerUsing only the best ingredients for 30 years, Papa John’s is embracing high-profile branding opportunities leveraging the newest technology. By Jeff Borgardt

or Papa John’s, it’s allabout the quality. Offeringfresh and tasty ingredientsdistinguishes it from othersin a crowded pizza market,

the company says. “We have betteringredients, better pizza. That really iswhat we are all about,” says TonyThompson, president and COO.Papa John’s slogan, “Better

Ingredients. Better Pizza.” describes its“all-natural sauce, freshly cut vegeta-bles and premium meats and cheeses,”the company says.

Dough, cheese and toppingsPapa John’s success begins with itsingredients. Papa John’s pizza is pre-pared using fresh, unfrozen dough,which is placed in store coolers longenough for it to proof and rise. Onceready, it is hand-tossed. The proprietary dough does not use

“dough-conditioners” such as sodiumstearoyl lactylate or mono- and diglyc-erides. The high-protein dough madewith unbleached wheat flour and fil-tered water gives the pizza dough itsbalance of flavor and chewy crust. Thethin crust has a pencil-thin edge.

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Founder John Schnatter gave away free pizzas to anyone who owned a Camaro when he was reunited with this own.

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Papa John’s “better ingredients” alsoinclude the pizza sauce, made from freshCalifornia tomatoes. Six hours after thetomatoes are picked, the sauce is producedand minimally heated to retain flavor. It isshipped in #10 steel cans instead of plasticpouches. The sauce is not manufactured

and doesn’t include high-fructose cornsyrup, artificial colors or artificial flavors.Instead, it’s simply tomatoes, virgin oliveoil, sunflower oil, spices, and a touch of saltand sugar.The pizza cheese is made from 100 per-

cent real mozzarella and high-quality skim

milk. All cheeses have minimal preserva-tives to maintain freshness and to ensureconsistency and quality across manyrestaurants. Italian sausage is 100 percentpork without fillers and green peppers areshipped several times per week for fresh-ness. Peppers are not frozen or vacuumpacked and are sliced daily.Its onions, beef, mushrooms, pepper-

oni, chicken, Canadian bacon, blackolives and peppers are also selected tomeet top-quality standards. Papa John’salso uses more expensive pizza boxeswith a white-on-white structure to protectthe pizza flavor from cardboard. Pizzacomes with garlic dipping sauce and apepperoncini for added value.

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In November, Papa John’s inked apartnership deal to be the officialpizza of the New York Yankees. Aspart of the deal, Papa John’s will bethe exclusive branded pizza sold inYankee Stadium, display stadiumsignage and will have the ability touse the Yankees marks in market-ing and advertising.“We are excited to be the official

pizza of the New York Yankees,”says Tim O’Hern, Papa John’s seniorvice president and chief develop-ment officer. “The Yankees are oneof the premier teams in baseballand we’re thrilled with the opportu-nity to serve our better-qualitypizza to their loyal fans.”In addition to having a presence

at Yankees’ games, Papa John’s willbe available to fans at other stadi-um events beginning on Dec. 28at the New Era Pinstripe Bowl,New York’s only college footballbowl game.“We are greatly pleased to

expand our partnership with PapaJohn’s, hoping that its pizza beingfeatured at Yankee Stadium will fur-ther strengthen both brands glob-ally,” says Michael J. Tusiani, NewYork Yankees senior vice president,corporate sales and sponsorships.

PAPA JOHN’S HITS AHOME RUN ASOFFICIAL PIZZA OFNEW YORK YANKEES

Papa John’s

Thanks to all of this attention to quali-ty ingredients, Papa John’s “presents abetter pizza to consumers, and theyknow the difference,” Thompson says.“The focus on quality has been consis-tent throughout our 30 years’ history. Weare almost religious about it. We don’tcompromise on our brand standards.”

Three Decades of Pizza Pie Papa John’s is the No. 3 global pizzadelivery chain, according to PizzaToday. As of last year, there were 4,163Papa John’s restaurants in operation,consisting of 696 company-owned and3,467 franchised restaurants operatingin all 50 states and in 35 countries andterritories. There are 48 restaurants inBeijing and north China alone. “Papa” John Schnatter founded the

company in 1984 and serves as itsspokesman. The chairman and CEOhas become something of a celebrity

thanks in large part to his energeticTV spots. Schnatter founded Papa John’s in

1984 after selling his prized 1972

Camaro for $1,600 to help save hisfather’s tavern. He then purchased usedpizza equipment, knocked out a broomcloset in the back of the tavern and

food & drink • winter 2013 • www.fooddrink-magazine.com 23

Papa John’s is the No. 3 global pizza delivery chain with 4,163 restaurants in operation in all 50 states and 35 coun-tries and territories. There are more than 1,000 Papa John’s locations in international markets.

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began selling pizzas to the tavern’s cus-tomers. His pizzas proved so popularthat one year later he was able to moveinto an adjoining space.In 2009, after years of wondering

whatever happened to his belovedCamaro, Schnatter decided he wantedto buy it back but couldn’t find it. So hedrove across America in a replica ofthe Camaro, searching for the original.He finally located the owner nearLouisville and he purchased the autofor $250,000. The original Camaro wasthen placed on display at companyheadquarters and Schnatter celebratedthe reunion by giving away free pizzasto anyone who owns a Camaro.

Tuna, Calamari and VealPapa John’s current expansion plansare primarily outside of the UnitedStates and Canada. There is generally

less competition and marketingrequired in many overseas markets butthe overall pizza segment of the marketcould well be smaller. The product isalso tailored to local tastes. In Egypt,for example, Papa John’s pizza top-pings include tuna, calamari andsmoked veal, and deliveries are madeon scooters for faster delivery times inheavy traffic. Papa John’s has more than 1,000

international stores in 35 nations.“Russia is a really great market for us,”Thompson says. The United Kingdom is the country

outside North America with the mostPapa John’s. This is a “very, very heavi-ly competitive and penetrated area,”Thompson says. Papa John’s openedstores in the UK without televisionadvertising support, “just basic guerillatactics growing the market with product

quality,” and the company now hasmore than 200 stores there.The Asia/Pacific market is also an

area of focus for the future, Thompsonsays. Latin America does extremelywell, and Papa John’s has seen “reallynice, healthy growth” in the MiddleEast, he adds.When Papa John’s first began its big

international push four years ago “wewere not as sophisticated,” Thompsonadmits. “We made our mistakes andlearned from them.” Perhaps Papa

John’s opened too many new storesoverseas a bit too quickly,he says, but it “learned a lotearly on, shored things up,focused on quality and now

the international team isdoing well across the board.” In some ways, Papa John’s

international expansion is similarto its business when it first beganexpanding domestically. It is takingon its two larger and more establishedcompetitors, Pizza Hut and Dominos.These are “big businesses with 30-yearhead-starts,” says Steven Ritchie, sen-ior vice president, global operationsand global operations support andtraining. It will use the same strategiesit did to grow after its 1984 founding inAmerica, Ritchie says.

Super Bowl BrandingPapa John’s marketing strategy focuseson professional sports with an emphasison football in the United States.Although most restaurant’s marketingefforts reach out to mothers and families,it has found professional sports partner-ships to be a slam-dunk.The company sponsored a college

football bowl game from 2006 to 2010known as the Papajohns.com Bowlgame in Birmingham, Ala. In 2010, itinked a deal to become the officialpizza of the National Football League.Star quarterback Peyton Manningserves as a spokesman and also owns25 franchise locations in Colorado. In addition to football, Papa John’s

Papa John’s marketing strategy focuses on professional sports with an emphasis on football in the United States. It isthe official pizza of the National Football League and star quarterback Peyton Manning is a spokesman.

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also is The Official Pizza Sponsor of theFootball League in the United Kingdom. Italso partners on a team basis in mostmajor sports markets. “Sports and pizza seem to go extremely

well together,” Thompson says. “It has arelevancy consumers react to.”

As pizza is a “social type of product,made for gatherings,” and sports matchestend to be associated with these gatherings,Papa John’s marketing considers it a naturalfit. Furthermore, from a TV advertisingstandpoint, sporting events circumventDVRs and TiVos for added ad value.

High Technology “How consumers order pizza today is vast-ly different than it was 10 to 15 years ago,”Thompson says. “Technology is a key partto how we reach consumers.”Papa John’s was the first pizza compa-

ny to roll out online ordering, which rev-olutionized the industry and added effi-ciency to its operations. It uses anadvanced dynamic resource controlinfrastructure, linking retail outlets tooperations to provide real-time data tonational headquarters. This allows for theallocation of deliverymen and pizzaingredients to areas experiencing surgesin pizza demand. The company’s 10 domestic commis-

saries, or quality control centers, employthe latest innovative technology for pro-duction, logistics and communications withvendors. Papa John’s is also the only pizzacompany in its category to offer a rewardsprogram – Papa Rewards – which providesfrequent customers with discounts and hasbeen active utilizing text messaging andsocial media.Being “in the front of the pack” techno-

logically has helped Papa John’s in manyways, Thompson says, by reaching out tocustomers and suppliers for better rela-tionships to help them emotionally link tothe brand.

In the CommunityPapa John’s is dedicated to communityinvolvement. “Papa John’s is all about peo-ple,” Thompson says. “We certainly wantto give back.”He notes Papa John’s has been engaged

with disaster relief efforts and assists theSalvation Army.



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Papa John’s

“Pizza is a people business and[community involvement] is an impor-tant part of engaging with our cus-tomers,” Thompson says.Since 1996, Papa John’s and John and

Annette Schnatter have donated morethan $20 million to the hometownUniversity of Louisville. This includes a$5 million gift in 1996 to fund construc-tion of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.In 1998, an additional $5 million was

donated to fund construction ofCardinal Park with soccer, track andsoftball facilities. In 2007, theSchnatters and Papa John’s pledged anadditional $10 million to help fund theexpansion of Papa John’s CardinalStadium, which was completed in 2010.“It is very people-based here,”

Ritchie says. “We believe it is not amonetary transaction. It is about rela-tions and anything we give comes backthree-fold.”

food & drink • winter 2013 • www.fooddrink-magazine.com 27

VENTURA FOODS is a leading manufacturer and marketer of shortenings, oils, dressings, sauces, may-onnaises, margarines, culinary bases and pan coatings for the foodservice industry. We help our cus-tomers delight their customers with the depth and breadth of the products we provide. For more infor-mation, visit www.venturafoods.com or call 877-Ventura.

Believing that its success begins with its ingredients, Papa John’s uses only fresh, unfrozen dough that is hand-tossed, and its sauce is made only from tomatoes, virgin olive oil, sunflower oil, spices, salt and sugar.

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retail r papa john’s pizza power - fooddrink … pizza hut and dominos. ... papa john’s...

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