Food & Beverage
Domino's, Papa John's get in on nation's love of chicken
Chicken has taken the QSR category by storm. Now two of the world's top pizza brands are making strong plays for a little poultry passion from patrons.
August 24, 2020
From every rendition of a chicken sandwich to every heat level of hot chicken, this bird has captured America's fascination, and two of the biggest pizza players are getting in on the action.
Michigan-based Domino's Pizza is launching a chicken taco pizza, while Kentucky-based Papa John's has created a grilled buffalo chicken papadia, according to company news releases.
Domino's chicken taco pizza comes with taco seasoning, grilled chicken, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and American, provolone and cheddar cheeses.
"We're excited to add even more options to (the) line up of delicious specialty pizzas," Art D'Elia, Domino's executive vice president-CMO, said in the release. "Now friends and family who are craving a taco or cheeseburger on pizza night won't be disappointed. Domino's new taco and cheeseburger pizzas are sure to satisfy everyone."
The pies come with a television ad campaign, starting Aug. 31, that revolves around the many problems Domino's said customers have relayed via social media about traditional QSR taco and cheeseburger delivery orders gone wrong. The brand also launched a social media contest where players can win free chicken taco pizzas to go with the launch.
Papa John's, on the other hand, is adding a chicken option to its papadia, a pizza fold-over sandwich in which the brand promotes as an "easier-to-eat alternative" to chicken wings, according to a release. The LTO is available until Oct. 25 for $6 and includes grilled chicken and onions, cheese, buttermilk-ranch and buffalo sauce.
To add some heat to the chicken, Papa John's is offering jalapeno popper rolls with ranch dipping sauce for $5 for six poppers.
"We know buffalo sauce and wings are popular among our guests, but with the Grilled Buffalo Chicken Papadia, we take it to the next level by packing the flavor into our fresh, never-frozen dough for easier eating on-the-go," Paul Fabre, senior vice president of product innovation said in the release. "No wet wipes needed here — just the complementary flavors of bold buffalo sauce and mellow ranch paired with cheesy goodness."
Earlier this year, Papa John's launched the papadia as a lunch sandwich alternative in four varieties. It's inspired by the Northern Italian folded flatbread sandwich, called a piadina.
Inset photo of papadia: Provided
