TL;DR
Happy Joe's had a successful first quarter of 2023, with menu innovations, area agreements, and awards. The brand is preparing for expansion to Missouri, a partnership with Dr Pepper, and international expansion to India.
The iconic Midwestern pizza brand had a busy Q1 filled with menu innovations that included a Jalapeño Popper Pizza and a heart-shaped pizza, signed an area agreement plan for DFW with its first minority franchisee group, hosted a successful car giveaway featuring a 2022 Ford Explorer to one lucky fan and was awarded many accolades, further cementing itself as a leader in the pizza industry.
In addition, Happy Joe’s wrapped up its viral Christmas social media exchange which involved gifting an overnight shipment filled with pizza and Taco Sauce to a fan in New York who Tweeted out their family’s extremely detailed to-do list for the holiday season. The hilarious Tweet caught national attention and was highlighted in the media on shows including The Today Show and Inside Edition.
“Here at Happy Joe’s, we do everything we can to bring smiles to our guests,” Happy Joe’s President and CEO Tom Sacco said. “Whether that’s creating new pizzas or signing on new franchisees, we truly are passionate about finding new ways to better the community. We’re so thankful for our loyal fans who continue to support us along the way, and we can’t wait to show them what we have in store for 2023!”
In accordance with all its success, Happy Joe’s was awarded many honors at the International Pizza Expo & Conference during the Top 100 Movers & Shakers Award Ceremony. These awards included second in the “Top 15 Menu Innovation Category” for its Birthday Cake Dessert Pizza and an eighth ranking for Sacco in the Top 25 Executive Category that honors the most innovative and successful leaders in the pizza industry. The other award the pizza brand received in Q1 was NRN’s “Power Players 2023” given to 26-year-veteran General Manager Stephanie Bailey.
Following a busy first quarter, Happy Joe’s has big plans for the rest of 2023 including the openings of its first location in Branson, MO, the Panhandle of Florida, the Lone Star State of Texas, and the announcement of its next international expansion plan later this year to India. Happy Joe’s has also been working on a partnership with Dr Pepper to create a Dr Pepper BBQ sauce that is aimed to be released by July.
Founded in 1972 by Joe Whitty in Davenport, Iowa, Happy Joe’s dream was to create a restaurant concept that focused on serving America’s two favorite foods – pizza and ice cream – in a family-friendly, celebratory environment. Owned and operated by Dynamic Restaurant Holdings Inc., Happy Joe’s has been named aFastCasual “Top 200” concept, Franchise Times “Top 400” business, and Nation’s Restaurant News “Top 500” restaurant.
The family-centric pizza brand has eight company and 34 franchise locations throughout the Midwest with more in the pipeline. To learn more, visit HappyJoes.com or follow Happy Joe’s on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
In this story
This story was originally published in Franchising.com on April 12, 2023. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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