Jubilant FoodWorks is intensifying its investments in the rebranding of Domino’s, aiming to boost pizza consumption and increase the category’s market share across various occasions. The company has initiated a comprehensive 360-degree rebranding campaign with the goal of enhancing the brand’s visibility, particularly among Generation Z and young millennials.
As part of the initiative, there is a brand relaunch campaign featuring the tagline “It Happens Only with Pizza,” along with updated packaging and renovated store infrastructure, constituting a thorough overhaul of the brand. The brand is actively engaged in the “re-imaging” of approximately 100 stores, with the goal of completing this process by the end of the fiscal year 2024.
Sameer Khetarpal, MD & CEO of Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, said, “Our key priority is to triple down on investments behind brand Domino’s. The Indian food services market is pegged at about $51 billion, but the share of the pizza segment is only about $1 billion. Our job as the leading player is to ensure that the category share gets expanded. Out of 1,000 meal occasions in a year, pizza is consumed only thrice in the country. A 360-degree communication, including stores and delivery boxes, brings the experience in an integrated manner, allowing Domino’s to gain share of occasions.”
Addressing an inquiry about current demand trends, Khetarpal highlighted that there has been an improvement in ticket sizes. “We should see slightly higher growth in the next one or two quarters when the pressures of inflation get corrected and employees get their salary increments in the April-May timeframe. Also, with the elections, money is also expected to flow into the economy,” he added.
“This Diwali was bigger than last Diwali and the World Cup final was bigger than Diwali. So consumers are coming out and spending when there are occasions. Our ticket sizes have begun to improve. While I see short-term pressures continuing, when consumers go out they spend in spades. Delivery is growing and is positive for us and brings in tailwinds for Domino’s,” he added.
In addressing the challenges posed by inflationary pressures, Khetarpal mentioned that the company has been prioritizing internal efficiencies to gain leverage and enhance margins. “Inflation was more benign than what it was 18 months ago but we are not in a deflationary environment. We expect our basket of input costs including cheese, oil, vegetables, paper and labour to increase at the pace of 4-7 per cent per annum,” he added.
The quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry in the country is currently facing difficulties due to inflationary pressures. Additionally, certain participants have highlighted increasing competition from local establishments.
“India is one of the outlier markets where pizza is a bigger category than other segments such as burgers or chicken. I believe Pizza is more centre of the plate than any other cuisine. We believe competition is good for our business as it has been democratising pizza as an ocassion and only helps us get into new markets while gaining share,” he added.
The company’s aim is to achieve a medium-term goal of having 3,000 Domino’s outlets. Presently, it oversees 1,888 outlets under the brand in India.