Papa Johns (PZZA) gets extra hot.
The pizza chain officially unveiled its hottest pizza yet – the new Dragon Flame Pizza – in honor of upcoming Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.
The flavorful concoction, hand-stirred in Papa Johns’ signature pizza sauce, is topped with sriracha dry spice, smoked pulled chicken, Italian sausage, fresh green peppers, melty cheese and Fresno chilies. The final cake is dusted with red chilli and garlic crunch.
To celebrate the new menu, Papa Johns will be hosting a one-day pop-up event at King’s Landing Park in Apopka, Florida (just outside of Orlando). The event begins August 21 at 11:00 am ET.
Dragon Flame Pizza from Papa Johns (courtesy of Papa Johns)
Papa Johns has relied on new product innovations amid sky-high inflation and a general slowdown in sales.
The brand recently unveiled its much-talked-about “Papa Bowls” – a crustless bowl of pizza ingredients that includes cheese, sauce, veggies and meat.
Papa Johns sales in North America struggled most recently, growing nearly 1% compared to the 5% the company reported in the second quarter of 2021. The results also represented a notable dip compared to the second quarter of 2020, when domestic sales rose 28%. .
“Like companies across our industry and the global economy, we are witnessing high inflation a year ago combined with ongoing economic stimulus,” Rob Lynch, Papa Johns President and CEO, said in a press release, adding that the brand “expects that these headwinds will continue into the second half of 2022.”
To offset higher food and labor costs, Papa Johns has increased menu prices systemwide by about 7% to 8% since the beginning of the year.
The chain has also relied heavily on its rewards program and other types of promotions to appeal to more budget-conscious consumers.
“Unlike most of the QSR industry, where ticketing growth over the past few years has been primarily driven by pricing, Papa Johns’ ticketing growth has been driven primarily by new premium products and add-ons,” Lynch said during the conference call.
The story goes on
“This has given us more leeway to strategically increase prices in this inflationary environment… Overall, I feel that we are in a good position today and well positioned to sustainably grow tickets and transactions through innovation and at the same time to use our pricing power to manage margins over the long term,” the executive continued.
Papa Johns’ shares are down 30% year-to-date.
Alexandra is Senior Entertainment and Food Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193 and email her at [email protected]
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