Pizza Wars

Positioning Wars Contd...

For the first 4 years in India, Domino's concentrated on its 'Delivery' act. For its delivery promise to work, Domino's followed a 11-minute schedule: one minute for taking down the order, one minute for Pizza-making, six minutes oven-time, and three minutes for packing, sealing and exit. Pizza Hut, on the other hand, laid more emphasis on its "restaurant dining experience." It positioned itself as a family restaurant and also concentrated on wooing kids. Its delivery service was not time-bound. A company official said, "The Pizza making process takes about 20 minutes and since we don't usually deliver to places which are beyond the reachable-in-half-an-hour distance, customers can expect home delivery within 45 minutes." Moreover, analysts felt that Pizza was something that just was not meant to be delivered. Said Vivek Sure, Projects Manager, Pizza PizzaExpress, "If you don't eat pizza fresh, it turns cold and soggy." However, Domino's seemed to have overcome this problem through its delivery pack called 'Domino's Heatwave.'⁵

Localizing The Menu

Since its entry into India, Domino's introduced nine new toppings for Pizzas to cater to the local tastes.⁶ Different flavors were introduced in different parts of India. Advani said, "The Indian palate is very definitive – people are extremely finicky and choosy, not too willing to experiment. Food tastes vary from region to region.

To capture the market, we had to localize flavors." Thus, Deluxe Chicken with Mustard Sauce' and Sardines were confined to the East, Mutton Ghongura and Chicken Chettinad to the South and Chicken Pudina to Mumbai. Butter chicken, Makhani Paneer and the Chatpata Chana Masala were confined to the North.

Very soon, Pizza Hut followed Domino's and offered customized Spicy Paneer and Chicken Tikka toppings. Apart from this, it also opened a 100% vegetarian restaurant at Ahmedabad, a one-of-its-kind worldwide.

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5] It was a hot bag introduced in 1998 that kept pizzas oven-hot till customer's doorstep.

6] Chatpata Chana Masala, Makhni Paneer, Butter Chicken, Chicken Chettinad, Chicken Pudina, and Mutton Ghongura,
Deluxe Chicken with Mustard Sauce and Sardines.

Case Details

Case Code : MKTG012
Themes: Marketing Mix
Case Length : 8 Pages
Period : 1996-2001
Organization : Domino's Pizza Hut
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Available
Countries : India
Industry : Food, Beverages & Tobacco

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