NEW YORK (CNN) 鈥� Adding a stuffed crust to a pizza chain鈥檚 menu doesn鈥檛 seem like a big deal. But for Domino鈥檚 Pizza, it鈥檚 more than three decades in the making.
The option was introduced in 1995 by Pizza Hut 鈥� launching 鈥� and became an immediate hit for the pizza chain. However, by Domino鈥檚 own admission, the company鈥檚 former leadership believed that stuffed crust was just going to be a fad and would create operational problems, such as slowing down the kitchen鈥檚 speed.
鈥淭hat never really felt on brand for us,鈥� said Kate Trumbull, Domino鈥檚 chief marketing officer. 鈥淲e know the importance of really keeping operations as smooth and as efficient as possible. It just it wasn鈥檛 right at that time for us.鈥�
That鈥檚 changing Monday. Domino鈥檚 is adding a parmesan cheese stuffed crust to US menus, marking the first time it鈥檚 ever sold the item that has become a staple on its rivals鈥� boards. The new crust is being sold for $9.99 with one topping.
Domino鈥檚 hesitance to add the item comes with the increase in time it takes to make a stuffed pizza: It involves an intricate process of laying out the string cheese, folding the dough to prevent cheese from oozing out and extra time in baking the pie. That has been solved thanks to new equipment, that speeds up the process and makes it easy for employees to assemble.
Trumbull told CNN that it鈥檚 鈥渂een one of the longest development efforts in our company鈥檚 history,鈥� which encompassed 12 weeks of training for its roughly 7,000 US locations.
But stuffed crust was the 鈥渙nly major gap in (Domino鈥檚) menu versus national competitors,鈥� she said. The company鈥檚 research showed that it loses 13 million (mostly younger) customers to other chains looking for stuffed crust and amounts to a sizable chunk of lost revenue.
For Pizza Hut, the launch of stuffed crust immediately set records, generating $300 million in sales in its first year, and it remains on the menu today. Competitors followed, including in 2020 when Papa John鈥檚 on cheesy dough and helped the chain boost sales nearly 30% during the quarter it launched.
Adding a stuffed crust is aimed at boosting Domino鈥檚 bottom line: Sales rose in the most recent quarter a meager 0.4% 鈥� coming in below analysts鈥� expectations 鈥� prompting the company鈥檚 finance chief to explain on the earnings call last week that the chain was 鈥渋mpacted by continued macro and competitive pressures that put pressure on our low-income customers.鈥�
Domino鈥檚 was the only publicly traded pizza chain to report a same-store sales growth with Pizza Hut and Papa John鈥檚 both reporting a decline in sales. All three chains are being affected by consumers cutting back on their spending and increasingly when they do order.
Domino鈥檚 isn鈥檛 predicting a better year: 鈥淎s we look ahead to 2025, we believe the combination of pressured consumer spending and a value-driven (quick service restaurant) marketplace will continue,鈥� said Domino鈥檚 CEO Russell Weiner on the call.
However, the new stuffed crust might soften the blow as analysts at TD Cowen are forecasting a meaningful lift in sales because of the addition.
