Domino’s has been making large, round pizzas for 65 years, delivering pies to groups of diners with toppings of their choice. But when those diners can’t agree on pepperoni vs. sausage or mushrooms vs. olives, those traditional pizzas fall short.
“Consumers were telling us that they love family pizza night, with everyone gathering around the table and spending time together. But what they don’t love is compromise,” said Lindsay Hettling, vice president of marketing for Domino’s. “When you have to order a pizza to be shared, that means somebody loses out.”
So the culinary team got to work developing a personal-size pizza that could fit a group situation — with each diner customizing their own — or as a solo eating occasion for lunch on the go, a light supper, or late-night snack.
The Domino takes shape
Although Detroit-style rectangular pizzas are trending outside of Detroit now, Domino’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, are very close to their birthplace. “It's kind of funny that we are a Detroit-adjacent brand without a solution in that category,” said Hettling, “but we also wanted to introduce something that was completely new to our menu and differentiated from our other offerings. We felt that the perfect way to deliver a totally different eating experience was in this different package.”
During the R&D process, the team did try a more traditional round pizza in a smaller size, but it didn’t feel as unique and differentiated from the rest of Domino’s pies, Hettling said. In the end, the rectangular format won out both internally and in consumer preference. “And of course, we loved how it really was an echo of our own logo and trademark,” she added.
To create a traditional Detroit-style crust, Domino’s uses its rich, buttery dough, already developed for the brand’s Handmade Pan Pizza. But two additions set it apart. The dough is crusted with Parmesan cheese that when baked in a rectangular pan, results in the characteristic crispy, golden edges of Detroit-style pizza. And after the pizza is finished, it’s drizzled with Domino’s signature garlic blend seasoning.
The chain did not have to bring in additional ingredients to create the Domino; the Parmesan cheese and garlic blend were already in-house and the sauces and toppings are all cross utilized from other pizzas on the menu. The Domino is topped with two layers of cheese — pizza cheese and provolone — plus the customer’s choice of sauce, and up to three toppings.
Pizza cheese and provolone are layered on the Domino, plus a choice of up to three toppings.
“One of the things that we hold as a really important development tenet at Domino's is making sure we are as operationally simple as we can be,” said Hettling. “We don't like to introduce a lot of complexity unless we absolutely have to. The good thing about the Domino is that we use existing ingredients to make it.”
Equipped for success
What Domino’s didn’t have in its more than 7,200 U.S. locations were rectangular personal-size pizza pans. The menu developers worked closely with the operations innovation team to make a special pan for the Domino that would deliver that crispy Detroit-style edge. “We also needed to make sure we got the right rise out of the crust, so there was a great deal of engineering that went into the creation of that pan,” said Hettling. “The Domino is the only item the pan is currently used for.”
Domino’s worked with supplier partners in its network to scale up production of the pan. The locations are now all well stocked with enough Domino-size pans to meet demand, she added. Baking time and temperature of the single-serve pizza follows the standard specified for all of the brand’s products.
Before the nationwide launch, the Domino was put through centralized location testing or CLT, a protocol the chain uses to validate all its menu items. It was tested in three cities with hundreds of customers. Russell Weiner, outgoing CEO of Domino’s, said in a late-July earnings call that the product is “unlike anything we’ve ever offered before … it’s one of the best-tasting products we have ever tested.”
But since the Domino is a unique pizza, it did require some franchisee training, and franchisees, in turn, trained the pizza making teams at each store. “We did put a little extra effort into training to make sure they were going to make the best product possible,” said Hettling.
The back story
The rectangular pizza has been an inside secret at Domino’s way before it was considered for the menu. The company’s pizza chefs are always tinkering in the kitchen, working on ideas that may not make it right away because of timing, Hettling explained.
“One of our chefs, Roxanne Andrus, had been playing with a square or rectangular form for about four years, and ‘the two-slice pan pizza’ became one of the items team members would request for lunch when they visited the kitchen. She had been working on perfecting it, trying to find the right baking equipment for years, but it wasn’t until we uncovered an insight around the consumer — when they told us they were looking for a different solution for pizza night — that the two things came together and it became a real possibility to put on our national marketing calendar,” she said.
Domino’s didn’t have a pizza box that would fit Andrus’s original rectangular pie, but with operational simplicity a core tenet, the chain didn’t want to introduce an extra piece of packaging. So the team developed the Domino’s pizza proportions to fit into an existing box. It’s a 13-inch “tile box” that is utilized across other menu items. The tile refers to Domino’s logo.
The two-slice Domino is generally priced at $7.99 on its own, but Domino’s is also promoting it as part of the brand’s longtime Mix and Match Deal. Customers can choose any two or more menu items, including a two-topping Domino, for $6.99 each.
The marketing centers around the flexibility of the Domino, highlighting all the places it can go and occasions it fits.