In the mid-1990s, Domino's had "hit the wall." Their revolutionary "30 Minute Guarantee" had been withdrawn due to legal exposure. Little Caesars was pounding away at low price points, Pizza Hut was expanding their own "Delco" delivery facilities, and Papa John's was expanding their quality position. Domino's sales were in free-fall. The founder, Tom Monaghan, was highly resistant to product line expansion, fearing it would compromise service times. The consumer research that I sponsored as Chief Marketing Officer, indicated that there was significant consumer demand for two new pizza formats: Thin Crust and Deep Dish. This was classic market segmentation. Cautiously testing these two new pizza styles for operational feasibility, we launched both within a two year period. Packaging and advertising gave each new style its own identity to avoid any consumer confusion. A third product, this one non-pizza, was an even bigger leap, but a bigger success. Buffalo Wings, long a staple in New York State, were beginning to show up in local pizza places. With an extensive and regionally deployed matrix of test markets, we proved that Buffalo Wings were a great add-on to a pizza, without any cannibalization. Domino's was "first to market" nationally and saw sales of Wings account for $400 million, representing over 20% of Domino's sales in the year following introduction.
Domino's Pizza