Domino’s battles for slice of fried chicken market as revenue jumps
Domino’s has scored a World Cup boost from its bet on fried chicken, as the recovering pizza delivery chain looks to draw in new customers.
The FTSE 250 pizza chain said the World Cup and its new ‘Chick’n’dip’ range drove a six per cent jump in revenue to £825m in the six months to June, though pre-tax profit was flat at £41m.
The group notched 4.9 per cent like-for-like sales growth, exceeding the three per cent forecast by stock brokers Peel Hunt.
Chief executive Nicola Frampton doubled down on the firm’s fried chicken expansion: “Our growth platforms – chicken, loyalty, aggregators and supply chain productivity – are gaining traction and support our confidence in delivering sustainable long-term growth.”
New boss doubles down on chicken
Domino’s Pizza surged to rapid growth in 1980s Britain but later faced increased competition from pizza innovators like Franco Manca and Rudy’s, and more recently from fried chicken chains.
Frampton, who had served as interim boss before being handed a permanent contract in March, said the performance of Domino’s new chicken range “gives us confidence in our ability to grow chicken alongside our core offer”.
Andrew Rennie, Domino’s previous chief executive, quit the pizza chain in November last year. Days before his departure, Rennie had declared that there was not “massive growth” left in the UK’s pizza market.
Rennie’s pursuit of fried chicken proved controversial with investors, who were concerned that he was straying from the firm’s core business. The group had been pursuing US chicken chain Wingstop before it was snapped up by US investment firm Sixth Street in 2024.
The pizza chain’s ‘Chick’n’dip’ range, and its thin-base Italianos range, are attracting more customers who “perceive both products as healthier propositions,” it told shareholders.
Chicken now accounts for about nine per cent of total Domino’s sales, compared to 7.5 per cent when it launched the new range.
England fans drive sales
Domino’s Pizza already has 14m UK customers but Frampton said the chain is investing in marketing to snap up more consumers.
“In the first half, campaigns around the Tyson Fury fight and the World Cup recruited new customers while also increasing frequency among existing customers,” the firm said.
Domino’s took 45,000 extra orders during England’s round-of-32 tie against the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it the pizza chain’s busiest game of the tournament.
The London-listed firm is the franchisee for the brand in the UK and Ireland, but the bulk of its sprawling store estate is run by franchise partners.
The group opened 11 stores in the six months to June and now operates 1,400 across the UK.
Shares in Domino’s have shed more than half of their value in the last five years.