Off-premises pizza ended 2024 with $40 billion in sales across 12 brands, according to Franchise Times Top 400 data. Domino’s and Marco’s Pizza were the only two brands in the subcategory to increase sales.
The sit-down pizza segment had a tougher go, with sales decreasing 0.7 percent to $3.8 billion and unit growth down 0.4 percent.
Despite being the third-largest restaurant category analyzed as part of the Franchise Times Top 400, off-premises pizza finished last year with a mere 0.9 percent sales increase to $40 billion.
Domino’s generated nearly half of the segment’s sales with $19.1 billion, a 4.6 percent increase from the year prior. The brand moved up one spot to No. 7 on the Top 400, an exclusive ranking of the largest franchise brands by systemwide sales.
Domino’s and No. 74 Marco’s Pizza, the latter up 0.5 percent to $1.1 billion and down four spots on the Top 400, were the only brands in the subcategory to increase sales.
Gerardo Flores, chief development officer at Marco’s, said the brand has gone back to the basics and taken a disciplined approach to fundamentals. Communication, he said, has been the biggest piece to tackle.
“We took the opportunity to put some fundamentals in place and some strategies around communication as it related to that,” Flores said. “We implemented an onboarding process that introduced our new prospects to the entire team … so it was a question of really closing those gaps within the communication cycle.”
Gerardo Flores, chief development officer at Marco's Pizza, said the brand has been focused on going back to the fundamentals and improving communication strategies.
The company has worked on building transparency with franchisees and educating them on updated operations, like reducing the construction cycle from roughly 18 weeks down to 12.
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Prioritizing convenience has also been front of mind as consumers reject dine-in options for delivery and carryout. As a result, Marco’s has pivoted away from dine-in seating as consumers are no longer “buying pizza and eating in our stores,” said Flores. “They’re taking it home and enjoying it in the comfort of their own.”
Two other off-premises concepts ranked within the top 25 kept their spots for the second consecutive year: No. 13 Pizza Hut and No. 21 Papa Johns. The pizza giants ended 2024 down 1.6 percent and 3.8 percent in sales, respectively.
Take-and-bake chain Papa Murphy’s fell out of the top 100 this year—down six spots to No. 103—with a 5 percent decrease in sales accompanied by a net unit loss of 117, a 10.1 percent dip.
This downward trend was seen across the board as the segment showed sales and unit growth struggles in 2024.
Though up seven spots to No. 279, Maryland-based Ledo Pizza dipped in sales with a 1.4 percent decrease to $138 million. Ledo implemented a “Back to the Future” initiative last year with the intent of doubling down on the brand’s “best practices of old.”
President and Chief Operating Officer Jamie Beall said Ledo, which added just one net unit in 2024, has no shame in pulling back on growth.
“We don’t focus on new stores unless the existing franchisee base is healthy and happy and moving in the right direction,” Beall said. “We will intentionally pull back on new store growth to double down on the existing stores and to help out any of the lower-hanging units that we can double down and reinvest in.”
Sit-down standouts prevail in tough segment
The sit-down pizza subcategory shared struggles with its off-premises counterpart, down 0.7 percent in sales to $3.8 billion.
Despite the downward trajectory, a handful of brands made individual strides in sales growth, led by No. 295 Pizza Inn. The brand, owned by parent company Rave Restaurant Group, grew sales 7.8 percent to $124 million and moved up 19 spots on this year’s list.
Rave CEO Brandon Solano said the brand has overcome segment struggles by tapping into potential on the digital side. Pizza Inn rolled out a new online ordering platform last year through Olo.
Though only about a tenth of Pizza Inn’s business, online sales increased by 75 percent after the platform launch. Solano sees this gain as “a big boost” and feels opportunistic in expanding carryout and third-party delivery options.
All this being said, Solano is adamant that the brand’s sit-down component isn’t going away anytime soon. Instead, the company has gone all in with a refresh to its in-store look.
Mountain Mike's CEO Jim Metevier believes the brand has successfully leveraged the community and existing partnerships with professional sports teams in California, where the company was founded.
“Our stores were not in good shape, so we developed a new image. … The stores that reimaged have seen on average a 7 percent increase in sales above the rest of our system that hasn’t reimaged. We’re feeling really good about that,” he said. “It’s a very good investment for our franchisees, so that’s been really important in terms of our growth.”
For Mountain Mike’s CEO Jim Metevier, brand success starts and ends with franchisees. Up 14 spots to No. 168, Mountain Mike’s was the only sit-down pizza concept to advance sales and unit growth, increasing 4.9 percent to $361 million while netting 20 units, a 7.2 percent jump.
“Without franchisees, there is no brand,” Metevier said. “We want to make sure we’re having a balancing act. We’re trying to drive top-line sales and traffic, but we’re not giving it away at the expense of the franchisees’ profitability.”
Building credibility with consumers has gone hand in hand with leveraging community connections. The brand, headquartered in Newport Beach, California, continues to benefit from partnerships with professional sports teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Angels.
“Our mission is to bring families, sports fans and communities together to dine, share and celebrate around pizza the way it ought to be. But how can you do that if you don’t have a place for people to gather?” Metevier said. “We really are focused on driving our dining so we can have community engagement.”