Despite concerns of a recession, the pizza franchise industry shows no signs of slowing down. High customer demand in 2022 brought great success to our franchise partners at Donatos Pizza, and current year projections demonstrate that now is the best time to start your franchise partnership. We’ve built a straightforward recipe for our franchise partners’ success with three key values as our ingredients: abundance, premium, and purpose.
Abundance
For Donatos franchise partners, business has been booming and abundant. Donatos has enjoyed strong sales growth for several decades, most recently with average same-store sales growth from $1.12M in 2018 to $1.29M in 2021*. Through innovative promotion and sales strategies, Donatos has generated an AUV that is 87% higher than the pizza chain average*. As a result of high customer demand, almost 60% of our restaurants have had over $1M in net sales volume per year, making Donatos one of the strongest financial performers in the pizza segment. Additionally, Donatos entered six new key states in 2022, including Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. “Big things are on the horizon,” said Kevin King, President of Donatos. “As we head into 2023, we are really excited about the team that we have in place to continue our growth.”
With an abundance of recent industry success and a promising future ahead, there’s never been a better time or reason for you to start your franchisee journey with Donatos.
Premium
In the nearly 60 years since Donatos’ inception, it’s safe to say we’ve reached the peak of pizza perfection. Donatos has developed a reliable, winning formula that explicitly spells out how much of each ingredient to use by weight and specific bake times when serving premium pizzas loaded Edge to Edge® with abundant toppings on our golden, crispy thin crust. As a franchise partner, you never have to worry about the high quality of your food. This makes production consistent, which lowers food costs and gives customers excellent service. Our eye-catching restaurant designs and top-quality taste have proven that customers are the best brand advocates, as evidenced by the high demand for Donatos. “I am thankful for our amazing customers who love Donatos premium pizzas and our dedicated associates who fulfill the Donatos Promise ‘to serve the best pizza and make your day a little better’ every day at our restaurants,” says Jeff Baldwin, Vice President of Development & Franchising for Donatos.
With a measured track record of premium strategies and operational optimization in place, there’s no guesswork for entrepreneurs looking to start their franchising journey.
Purpose
When you become a Donatos franchise partner, you’re going into business for yourself, but not by yourself. At Donatos, we value the promotion of goodwill through our products, services, principles and people. Our values aren’t just words; we live out their purpose with actionable support for all of our franchise partners while making an impact in their communities. Franchise partners have access to a robust support system that takes on a myriad of forms, including budget development, marketing support, business consultation, operational feedback, and much more.
Donatos takes on goodwill initiatives by partnering with organizations like Habitat for Humanity to support our communities. In this year’s fundraising efforts, customers can engage with franchisee partners in supporting local communities by rounding up their bill totals to go towards helping others. Our purpose-driven way of operating has never been stronger, and you can trust that becoming a Donatos franchise partner in 2023 means joining a supportive family that serves not only great pizza, but also your business and the communities that surround it.
If you’re looking to start a franchise with Donatos, there’s never been a better time. We have tremendous proven and expected growth, high-quality products and services, and values that are driven by a clear sense of purpose—all of which set franchise partners up with a recipe for success.