Nov. 7, 2024
As we near the end of my 100-day onboarding journey, I feel incredibly impacted by all the people I have met throughout the Papa Johns system. I have learned so much about our restaurants, teams, franchisees, shareholders, and partners. I’m grateful for the candid conversations around where our strengths lie as well as our opportunities for becoming a better Papa Johns.
An important stop for me on my onboarding journey was the UK, our second largest market outside of North America, and home of our Restaurant Support Center in Milton Keynes. I visited the UK in October with a few members of the Executive Leadership Team and returned inspired by the fighter mentality the team there has.
The UK is a market where we’ve had to overcome some significant challenges. With the right leadership and a resilient team, we have been able to leverage that fighter brand mentality to punch above our weight class in that market.
I visited the Supply Chain team at the Milton Keynes Quality Control Center. It was great to see how they’ve maximized resources and improved processes to boost productivity. They’ve also optimized our partnership with our distribution partner to better serve this market. Their dedication and commitment to supporting our restaurants and brand is unmatched.
I also had a chance to spend some time in the restaurants. Our franchisees, their operators, and their GMs showed us their incredible passion for our business and serving their communities. I loved seeing the pride they have, being energized by the opportunities they see ahead for our business, and hearing from them on what’s working well and what we can do even better.
Despite all the heavy lifting over the last 12-18 months to transform this market, the franchisees I spoke with are excited about the prospects for their business in the future. I appreciated the opportunity to get to know them all a little better and hear their stories on how they got into the business.
A great example is Barny Bains, who has been a Papa Johns franchisee for more than 11 years. He expressed to me the importance of having a positive impact on the communities we serve. Barny has been working with the NishkamSWAT organization for the past six years, where he and his family deliver free pizzas each week as part of their outreach to feed the unhoused population in their neighborhood. [MC1] I am proud to know that we work with business owners who are always willing to do the right thing and take care of their people and communities. It was great meeting you Barny!
At the Milton Keynes Restaurant Support Center, Managing Director Chris Phylactou and his leadership team hosted a mixer for all team members. Everyone I spoke to was excited to be part of our special brand and felt they were contributing to the transformation underway in the UK market.
The office was buzzing with energy as Chris, Ravi and I addressed the team. During this time, I heard about how the operations team is focused on operational excellence and being more consistent across the market with every customer experience. Also, how the marketing team is finding scrappy ways to activate our brand in the market. I loved their recent Call of Duty promotion, where the team created an interactive puzzle across the country to find vaults which gifted the participant with game codes and free pizza. Very creative!
We then headed to the test kitchen, where we tried over 15 pizzas and learned about the impressive dough research they are working on. This innovation is set to keep our dough fresher for longer and easier for operators to manage while adhering to our six-ingredient original dough recipe. A huge win! I left stuffed – but full of anticipation – because I know customers will recognize these innovations as only being made possible by Papa Johns.
All in all, an incredible week that made me appreciate all the hard work that has been done to set up this business for long-term success. I left the market excited about the team, our franchise partners, our operators, and the plans in place to drive accelerated growth into 2025 and beyond. Join me next time on Todd’s Take!
