Domino’s (finally) joins the stuffed crust pizza craze to snag a bigger slice of the delivery market
Domino’s Pizza is offering stuffed crust for the first time to win back younger customers.
Domino’s shares jumped as much as 2.5% in premarket trading after the popular chain said it would begin offering stuffed crust pizza for the first time, though the rally lost heat after market open.
Domino’s customers can order the chain’s first Parmesan Stuffed Crust pizza today, which is included in the company’s $9.99 carryout deal.
Stuffed crust was first pioneered 30 years ago by rival Pizza Hut (owned by Yum! Brands), and the cheesy trend was quickly adopted by competitors like Papa John’s and Little Caesars. For Pizza Hut, the launch of stuffed crust immediately set records, generating $300 million in sales in its first year, and has remained on the menu since then.
While Domino’s is still the world’s largest pizza chain, with 21,300 locations, the company has lost some market share as more ‘za lovers splurge on stuffed crust. Domino’s company research found that the chain loses 13 million (mostly younger) customers to rivals looking for stuffed crust — taking a slice out of its revenue. In their most recent earnings report, Domino’s reported sales rose just 0.4%, coming in below Wall Street’s estimates.
Domino’s shares are up around 9% over the past year.
