Lee Reed, senior operations director at Papa Johns /Papa Johns
Papa Johns highlight fresh ingredients in its store design
One of the many changes is losing the possessive apostrophe in its name.
Freshness is the main theme for Papa Johns' new store design, which was first initially teased in the UK at its Potters Bar store last year beginning with its logo.
In a quick interview, Lee Reed, senior operations director, and Amit Pancholi, UK director of business development at Papa Johns, told QSR Media that the whole new store design, which has now been fully launched, aims to transform the brand’s image and to carry Papa Johns values and mission forward, which is vital to evolving customer perception and to continue to strengthen their relationships with customers.
Papa Johns removed the word "pizza" from the logo and the green border around "Papa Johns" and lost the possessive apostrophe, resulting in a fresh modern feel in its refreshed branding. The brand's ingredients inspired the colour palette for advertising and messaging, including green for basil, red for Papa Johns signature tomato sauce, and white for dough.
Design highlights
Amit explained that every element in the new store design reflects the brand’s values.
An example is the Ingredients Wall which represents Papa Johns crafted products and premium ingredients.
“Our Ingredients Wall is a feature wall that represents Papa Johns' crafted products and premium ingredients inspired by the Tangy Tomato (red), Fresh Basil (green), Fluffy Dough (off-white), and Punchy Garlic (light purple) to provide bold pops and playful accents. The LED Sauce Lighting installed in the ceiling represents how the sauce is added to our pizza, which is great fun! Whilst our people also become the stars of the show, demonstrating how they create our great pizza,” Amit said.
Another feature is the Show Kitchen Window, where customers can watch the pizzas being made in the kitchen, giving a welcoming restaurant environment for guests.
“Furthermore, part of our décor elements is made from recycled materials. We are also working towards building an even more sustainable supply chain by consolidating a one-store-shop through our network of Papa Johns International vendors and suppliers so franchisees across our network can be confident they can source as sustainably as possible,” Amit added.
Expansion and implementation
Papa Johns currently has over 500 stores in the UK, so any new rollouts will take time. They plan to implement the new design in any new store openings whilst introducing it to existing stores as they remodel.
Expansion-wise, new store designs, both locally and internationally, are expected to pick up. According to Lee, with the new image, perceptions have already changed, not only from franchisees who rapidly trusted Papa Johns vision and loved the new design, but also to the whole industry including our valued customers.
He expects the momentum will continue to attract operators who are ready to bring the Papa Johns experience to more international markets.
“As a brand, we keep evolving and enhancing what we do: to create a better pizza. The refreshed branding is designed for increased customer engagement. Now, our guests can watch their pizzas being made and eat in or take away. We’re building a strong brand to keep our customers coming back for more, through our commitment to quality in our product and the whole customer journey, including the experience of our newly designed stores,” Lee said.
