Bubba Pizza is banking on delivery becoming the restaurant chain’s main income source.  

CEO Damian Hopper tells Inside Franchise Business “We’ve fast-tracked delivery – it was slowly going to be more prominent, but the pandemic has fast-tracked it.

“McDonald’s is delivering on Menulog and Uber Eats now so there are direct competitors to pizza. Dominos was known for delivery tracking app, but now every business has access. It puts you on a level playing field with them. We can all be on third party delivery and competing.”

Damian believes there is value in not only working with third party delivery but setting up an in-house delivery system which gives franchisees more control over the process.

“It’s worth doing both, to have your own delivery because if Uber goes to 40 per cent commission or wages go up, we need to have a few choices. It’s changing so rapidly.”

Damian says brand and product is more important than ever and differentiating the brand is crucial.

“Product and brand have to do the talking – you can’t do it anymore. You have to stand out because everyone lands on aggregator sites. You need to have a strong brand, a product that travels well so customers return, or come back to your website,” he suggests.

“What we’re trying to do is tap into what pizza means, trying to understand the customer’s needs and play on that in a friendly and playful manner through marketing and branding.”

A quirky initiative right in the depths of the pandemic was for Bubba Pizza to use face-to-face digital communication in deliveries to bring families together, with family or friends able to order for loved ones and through a video call accompany the driver on the pizza delivery. 

“We don’t have the big tech budgets, we’re channelling the heart of pizza, getting together with family and friends. It was too cold for a barbecue, no-one wants to cook, [ordering a pizza means] no rubbish, no cleaning up, everyone can have what they want. It’s a focus on bringing families together to have good times.”

Check out the full fast-food artilce featuring other brands’ take on delivery in the latest edition of Inside Franchise Business magazine, Nov-Jan 2021. You can download the magazine for free here.

Find out more about Bubba Pizza here.