Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie has said there is not “massive growth” left in the UK pizza market. Its expansion into fried chicken could have a “big impact” on the chain’s future, he added.
Speaking with the Financial Times, Rennie said: “We recognise that people’s diets are slightly changing. When you look globally, chicken is the fastest-growing protein. So [launching a chicken range] seemed pretty obvious to me.”
In September, Domino’s launched its ‘Chick ’N’ Dip’ brand in 187 stores across the north west of England and Northern Ireland, with plans to roll it out across the country. It includes three chicken tenders for £4.50 and eight chicken wings or ’boneless bits’ for £7.50.
Chick ‘N’ Dip will be fulfilled by Domino’s existing infrastructure, meaning it needed “minimal capital investment”, the company said at the time. Rennie also hopes the chicken range will motivate consumers to order more often.
“Chicken is already bigger than pizza [in the UK]. We don’t need to get that much of the chicken market [for it] to actually have a big impact on [us],” he explained.
According to KFC, the UK fried chicken market is currently estimated to be worth £3.1bn, which is expected to grow further as consumer demand for fried chicken continues to outstrip all other QSR categories.
Rennie also does not believe chicken’s “incredible” growth will slow. “As things like beef get more expensive, chicken becomes even better value. And as more health experts talk about the need for more protein, I think it’s going to grow as well.”
The launch of the Chick ‘N’ Dip brand came as Domino’s looked to battle “weaker consumer sentiment across the QSR sector”.
In the third quarter, the pizza giant posted a 2.1% increase in total sales to £382.7m but total orders were down 1.5% – impacted by higher pricing, particularly in delivery, which experienced a 3.4% drop in orders.
Rennie noted that he was ”really pleased with the initial results from the introduction of our exciting Chick’N’Dip brand”, adding it had received ”positive initial customer reaction” since its launch in September.
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