Domino’s Pizza
Canada
Merging Global Branding with Local Appeal Domino’s Pizza Canada President Michael Curran discusses growth, revamping, and inspiring a global brand with a local Canadian identity Written by: Sasha Orman
Produced by: Sean Bakke 3
DOMINO’S PIZZA CANADA
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omino’s is a global leader in delivery and takeout pizza—but within its overarching structure are dozens of franchises striving to tailor the brand to the needs of their local neighborhoods. Domino’s Pizza Canada is one such franchise. Based in Windsor, Ontario, Domino’s Pizza Canada works hard every day to interpret the Domino’s brand in a way that represents true and authentic Canadian culture. Canadian Pride, Canadian Products Domino’s Pizza Canada may be a part of the Michigan-based 4
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Domino’s Pizza family, but it is also its own franchise entity—and it’s one that is fiercely proud of its roots and dedicated to the concept of being a Canadian operation. A major part of this includes sourcing Canadian products from Canadian vendors wherever possible. Most recently the franchise entered into a partnership with the exclusive right to use the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s iconic Blue Cow logo, signifying that Domino’s Pizza Canada uses only 100 percent Canadian cheese and dairy products from only Canadian dairy farmers. “We’re the only pizza company, and I believe the only fast food
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company able to use the Blue Cow logo,” says Michael Curran, President of Domino’s Pizza Canada. “We looked at this a couple of years ago. Some of our competitors were importing cheese from the US, and it could have reduced our costs of cheese products substantially in our stores—but we decided that we would fully support our Canadian dairy farmers. We made a commitment up front to always use 100 percent Canadian dairy cheese in our products.” While at this time Domino’s Pizza Canada is able to certify 100 percent Canadian-sourced
products when it comes to cheese and dairy, Domino’s is constantly improving and looking for ways to integrate more Canadian suppliers and vendors into its supply chain. It’s not a matter of cost savings or economics—it’s a matter of quality, consumer trust, and Canadian pride. Presently, 85 percent of Domino products are sourced in Canada. “I think as a Canadian company, we and our consumers—as well as our suppliers which are part of our consumer base—certainly believe that Canadian products are as good or better than anything we can source from anywhere around the world,” Curran explains. w w w. d o m i n o s . c a
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“We pride ourselves on our integrity and quality.�
Sun-brite Foods Inc. has been manufacturing Domino’s pizza sauces for more than 2 decades. Sun-Brite is the largest tomato processor in Canada. We process a wide variety of tomato products in a variety of can sizes, pouches, aseptic bulk tomatoes, premium pizza sauces, pasta sauces, and a variety of tomato concentrates. Our tomatoes are Canadian grown and packed within 24 hours of being harvested, at our Leamington, Ontario facility. Sun-Brite is the owner of two major brands in Canada, Unico and Primo. Primo is the largest Canadian owned brand in Canada of pasta. Our pasta is 100% Canadian durum. We mill and manufacture our pasta in our 150,000 sqft state of the art Toronto facility. Unico is the #1 brand for Mediterranean food products in Canada. Our product collection consists of premium olive oils, vinegars, marinades, olives, tomatoes and sauces, dried and canned beans, rice, pasta and many more specialty products. All distributed from our 200,000 sqft Vaughan facility. 1532 C o unt y R d. 34 | K in g s v ille , O n ta r io N0 p 2 G0 5 1 9.326.9033 | fa x 5 1 9 . 3 2 6 . 8 7 0 0 | S u n - b r ite . c o m
DOMINO’S PIZZA CANADA “Canadian dairy products have proven to be an outstanding product to use. Certainly our consumers understand that, if we are only using Canadian dairy products, they are the best product possible in the marketplace.” An Updated Look No matter how established and iconic your brand is, it’s important to stay fresh and relevant. With that concept in mind, Domino’s Pizza Canada—along with Domino’s franchisees spanning more than 12,000 restaurant locations across 78 countries worldwide—is in the
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midst of reimaging its stores. The aim of the rejuvenation process is to create a more modern atmosphere that will better engage today’s consumers and enhance the consumer experience. “We’ve upgraded our locations and opened up our kitchen so consumers can see the product being made,” says Curran, explaining a key feature of the franchise’s location upgrades that the brand refers to as Pizza Theatre. “In many of our stores now there is an ability to sit and consume our Domino’s pizza products, not simply just carry out or delivery—which
SUPPLIER PROFILE SUN – BRITE FOODS INC., PRIMO FOODS INC., UNICO INC. Sun - Brite Foods Inc. has been manufacturing Domino’s pizza sauce for more than 2 decades. Sun-Brite is the largest tomato processor in Canada. We process a wide variety of tomato products in a variety of can sizes, pouches, and aseptic bulk tomatoes, premium pizza sauces, pasta sauces, and a variety of tomato concentrates. Our tomatoes are Canadian grown and packed within 24 hours of being harvested, at our Leamington, Ontario facility. Sun-Brite is the owner of two major brands in Canada, Unico and Primo. Primo is the largest Canadian owned brand in Canada of pasta. Our pasta is 100% Canadian durum. We mill and manufacture our pasta in our 150,000sqft Toronto facility. Unico is the #1 brand for Mediterranean food products in Canada. Our product collection consists of premium olive oils, vinegars, marinades, olives, tomatoes and sauces, dried and canned beans, rice, pasta and many more specialty products. All distributed from our 200,000sqft Vaughan facility. Website: www.sun-brite.com www.primofoods.com www.unico.ca
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Food Service and Retail Available !
Processors of Fresh Vegetables
High quality, healthy, easy to use fresh food. Pride Pak Canada Ltd. was established in 1984 to service Canada’s growing trend for high quality, healthy, easy to use fresh food. We now proudly operate as Canada’s largest fresh fruit and vegetable processor from a state-of-the-art facility in Mississauga. In 2006 we opened our second facility Pride Pak Nfld. Ltd., which processes fresh fruit and vegetables for the Province of Newfoundland.
PROUD MEMBERS OF
6768 Financial Drive
Mississauga, ON, L5N 7J6 CANADA
Phone 1-905-828-8280
Fax 1-905-828-8201
www.pridepak.com
DOMINO’S PIZZA CANADA had historically been the operating model for Domino’s.” By the end of this year, Curran states that Domino’s Pizza Canada will have about 60 percent of its stores reimaged to fit the new Pizza Theatre concept and model. Already the concept is showing signs of success, prompting positive reactions from both consumers and team members. “Our team members first and foremost really enjoy working in our new concept stores,” notes
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Curran. “They feel excited about the new work environment. Our franchisees are excited and we’ve had phenomenal feedback from our customers as well.” Driving Growth Throughout Canada Domino’s Pizza Canada is not a franchise content to stay remain static. This applies to its restaurant design, its consumer engagement, and also to its store growth and expansion. The franchise currently
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DOMINO’S PIZZA CANADA
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has nearly 400 locations across every province in Canada and two territories—but within those provinces and territories there is plenty of room to grow, especially in Quebec. “We have a presence in Quebec, but that is an area within the country where we would like to focus on expanding our presence—we think that it’s an under-serviced market,” says Curran. “Over the next few years we would like to expand our presence into more of the cities in Quebec. Presently, we’re in Montreal, Quebec City and some of the suburban areas, but we would like to expand into other parts of Quebec within the next couple of years.” A native of Quebec, Curran understands that there are key points to successful growth in such regions, and these are points that Domino’s Pizza Canada is taking to heart in order to meet its end goal of becoming the pizza of choice for Quebec consumers. “Quebec’s a phenomenal market with incredible opportunities—but one of the issues that can be a challenge, and that most companies don’t spend enough time focusing on, is that if you are going to operate in Quebec you need to operate as a Quebec company,” he explains. “You need to have an independent operating base and localize your product.” But what does effective independent localization mean? At the heart of it all it’s about not taking your consumer base as a monolithic whole—to make an impact, a progressive brand
Michael Curran, President, Domino’s Pizza of Canada Ltd.
Jeff Kacmarek, Vice President of Marketing & New Product Development, Domino’s Pizza of Canada Ltd.
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DOMINO’S PIZZA CANADA
needs to look at the needs of individual regions and integrate those needs into a strategy that makes sense to the brand overall. “It’s a brand first and foremost—a promise of consistency,” says Curran, explaining that any 12
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localization still has to take place within what makes sense for Domino’s as a unified chain. “Then there is the localization consumers look for, where there’s an interest from consumers that make economic sense both from the
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consumer and the store operator. So parts of the country might have different product lines that you wouldn’t find across the country—in Quebec we have French fries because that’s something consumers like, but we don’t have that in the rest of Canada.” Through this type of smart localization within context, Domino’s Pizza Canada is able to maintain its brand integrity while meeting the unique needs of every region into which it expands. What’s Next for Domino’s Pizza Canada Moving into the future, Domino’s Pizza Canada is focusing on introducing exciting new products like the recent Parma Bites, as well as building new locations and finding growth opportunities as they come. “We don’t have a specific goal or mandate to open a certain number of stores, because my personal belief is that if we do a good job and our franchisees do a good job, the opportunities will be there,” says Curran. “The stores that are open are the result of consumers telling us they like our product, and so far that’s been a comfortable growth strategy.” But no matter what the future holds, the franchise’s first and foremost focus is on the people who keep it running every day, and it’s that support that sets Domino’s Pizza Canada apart. “Everything we do is what’s in the best interests of our customers and team members who work in our stores,” says Curran. “Within that environment, everything else takes care of itself.”
Company Information INDUSTRY
Pizza QSR and delivery HEADQUARTERS
Windsor, Ontario, Canada FOUNDED
1960 EMPLOYEES
20,000 REVENUE
Not Disclosed PRODUCTS/ SERVICES
Pizza QSR and delivery
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DOMINO’S PIZZA CANADA P.O. Box 21010 Windsor, Ontario, Canada, N8N 4S1 Tel.1-866-903-1151 www.dominos.ca