Papa John’s Pizza: Better Ingredients, Better Pizza
January 29, 2022
Welcome to Papa John’s, the third-largest pizza delivery chain in the world. How is it different from its competitors, Pizza Hut and Domino’s? Well, Papa John’s claims to use only the freshest ingredients.
Papa John is in all the company’s commercials.
About Papa John’s…
In 1984, at the tender age of 22, “Papa” John Schnatter of Jeffersonville, Indiana, opened the first Papa John’s when he knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father’s tavern, Mick’s Lounge, and started making pizza. His pizzas were a huge hit and the following year he moved his pizza shop into an adjoining space and sold his 1971 Camaro Z28 to buy used pizza equipment. However, there was a happy ending to this story when, in 2009, Schnatter bought the Camaro back after offering a reward of $250,000 for the car.
In 1985, Schnatter invented dipping sauce especially for pizza. Dipping sauce has since become popular with all pizza shops.
The company went public in 1993 and a year later it had 500 stores. By 1997there were 1,500 Papa John’s locations.
Today, there are 5,400 Papa John’s locations in all 50 states and in 45 countries and territories.
Papa John’s celebrated the opening of its 4,000th location in New Hyde Park, New York, in 2012 by giving away 4,000 pizzas in New York City.
Although Papa John’s is primarily carryout and delivery orders, some restaurants do have dine-in space.
So, how does a Papa John’s franchise work?
Franchise owners pay a one-time franchise fee of US$25,000 per restaurant, then a royalty fee of 5% of net sales, plus a charge for advertising of 8% of net sales. Franchisees are required to have a net worth of at least $250,000 which is the approximate amount of the investment needed. Brand consistency is among franchisees is overseen by Corporate operations.
Papa John’s International is a publicly-traded company.
Gloria Sauvé
Communications and Marketing