News

Russian pizza chain invades Mississippi

The first American franchise of the Russian chain Dodo Pizza opened in Oxford, Mississippi.

March 18, 2016

The first American franchise of the Russian chain Dodo Pizza opened in Oxford, Mississippi, March 11, according to a company press release. Dodo Pizza does not use telephone ordering. All orders are placed online.

Transparency is value No. 1 at Oxford's newest pizzeria, the release stated. Real-time video of the pizza-making process is focused through a kitchen-situated webcam. The images capture the entire operating day as Dodo pizzas evolve in clear sight of website watchers, from dough to seven varieties of finished pies. The pizzeria, which was founded in 2011 in Russia, now operates 89 stores in eight countries, including the U.S., Romania and Lithuania.

Russian entrepreneur and founder Fedor Ovchinnikov believes the same commitment to digital efficiency and video openness will translate into American profits.

"We are undoubtedly the first pizzeria in America to operate using no phones; our business is completely take-out and delivery, generated by online ordering," Ovchinnikov said. "Although we make our pizzas with high-quality ingredients at competitive prices with American chains, our niche is a limited menu of seven non-customizable classic pizzas. They're delivered fast and reliably through our own Cloud-based IT system."

Ovchinnikov added that Dodo is proud to embrace transparency.

"(With a webcam in every kitchen) we show our customers that we have nothing to hide from them, and we show our employees that we don't hide anything from our customers," he said.        

Along with live-streaming, Dodo's business plan blends additional American-style guerilla marketing tactics, the release stated. Focus groups have taste-tested dough recipes. Before the grand opening, staff received training while delivering free pizzas to local groups. Events and reviews were promoted on the Dodo website and Facebook page. The guiding principle, says Dodo Product and Marketing Director Alena Tikhova, is to maximize word-of-mouth and loyalty while minimizing traditional advertising expenses.

"Our decision to depend exclusively on our website works to our customers' benefit in two ways," Tikhova said. "No phones mean we must offer an easily accessible, simple-to-order-online website. Relying on our website instead of phones means our staff can concentrate fully on creating and delivering high-quality pizzas without delays."

"Our web-based IT system is owned by and unique to our Dodo brand," Ovchinnikov said. "All our franchisees use this product we call Dodo IS to coordinate their operations and seamlessly report back to our headquarters in Sykyvkar, Russia."