Papa John's Hopes an Expanded DoorDash Partnership Will Remedy Its Sales Slump

Papa John’s has offered delivery since its founding, yet the brand recently announced that it will nevertheless be expanding a 2018 partnership with third-party delivery service, DoorDash, according to an article on Skift Table .

From a foodservice industry perspective, the demand for third-party delivery has certainly arrived: “ With Taco Bell, McDonald’s Corp., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and others doubling down on delivery, pizza chains are starting to feel the heat,” the article said.

Papa John’s is facing the need to adapt amid significant trials: “the chain reported declining revenue and an 8.1 percent drop in North America comparable sales for its latest quarter amid bad public relations stemming from founder John Schnatter’s use of a racial slur last year and his lingering dispute with management. The results show that rivals may be eating into sales,” according to the article.

Numerous pizza chains are making significant changes and expanding delivery offerings, meaning times are changing for the pizza segment: “The competitors of the pizza chains were previously other pizza chains,” said KPMG managing director Andrew Nola, according to the article. Case in point: a Pizza Hut delivery robot is purportedly on the way .

Katie LaTour is a staff writer for 1851 Franchise and Estatenvy. She has experience in copywriting, editing and translation, and has written content for brands including Coca-Cola, Ivivva and Ray Ban's. She holds a Master of Arts in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University and a B.A. in English and Spanish from the University of Dayton. Presently, Katie is working on a poetry collection and building a platform for Chicago creative professionals to share best practices.