US – Domino’s Pizza has posted a 2% rise in U.S. same-store sales in the third quarter on the back of steady demand for its pizza and chicken wings, helped by the company’s heavy discounts amid rising inflation.
The American multinational pizza restaurant chain has been doubling down on discounts and promotions, offering cheaper meals and “inflation relief” deals, which helped attract consumers looking for more pocket-friendly offers.
In August, Domino’s offered a 50% discount on pizzas ordered online as part of its “boost week” promotion and in September had another 20% discount on its online orders.
Overall, the Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Pacific Veggie Pizza, and Memphis BBQ Chicken Pizza delivered a total revenue that rose 7% to $1.07 billion, edging past estimates.
The Michigan-based company’s shares rose about 7% in premarket trade, a profit of US$2.79 per share in the quarter that ended Sept. 11, missing expectations of US$2.97 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Domino’s international segment’s same-store sales fell to 1.8%, compared with an 8.8% jump reported last year, which was however roughly in line with analysts’ expectations.
The drop in sales is attributed to decades-high inflation that has forced Domino’s and several other restaurants to raise prices of some menu items as labor and raw material costs for commodities such as wheat, dairy, and fuel soared.
The price increase by the multinational pizza chain failed to protect its profit margins, while also taking a hit from a strengthening U.S. dollar.
Domino’s launches new plant-based pizza range
Meanwhile, Domino’s Australia and New Zealand has launched a new plant-based pizza range with Impossible Beef, the market-leading animal-free product from California-based Impossible Foods.
The chain noted that the Impossible Beef is both nutritionally friendly and friendly to the environment. Each serving of Impossible Beef uses 69 percent less water, 95 percent less land, and 88 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to beef from cows produced in Australia.
The offering is also gluten-free, halal, and kosher-certified, contains 25 percent less saturated fat than Australian minced beef from cows, and delivers 18.8 grams of protein per each 113-gram serving.
To encourage its customers to consider their environmental impact, Domino’s is working with Wavemaker to carbon-offset its digital media buying by implementing first-of-its-kind technology.
The Impossible Beef range is available across popular Domino’s offerings, including Impossible Supreme, Impossible Godfather, Impossible Firebreather, and Impossible Cheeseburger.
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