Picnic Works Partnerships with a Larger Domino’s Franchisee is more than Interesting

 

Domino’s the chain restaurant that delivered fast fresh food first, with a ½ hour guarantee back in the day has its largest franchisee of Domino's stores outside of the USA testing technology in stores that will help it save both time and labor cost according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru®, at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated, “if anyone can help drive new electricity into a brand it is Picnic Works and Domino’s Pizza.”  

In case you have not heard, Picnic Works, a Seattle-based innovator of food automation technology, has officially announced a new partnership with industry-leading Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd, the largest franchisee of Domino's stores outside of the USA, to explore how restaurant automation can enhance customer and employee experiences around the globe. Both companies are coming together in Berlin, Germany as part of an innovation demonstration of the Picnic Pizza Station in a Domino's store.

Pretty cool ha? So, the two companies are trialing the Picnic automated pizza assembly system in a functioning Domino's store in Germany; the Picnic Pizza Station can assemble the most popular pizzas by applying sauce, cheese, freshly sliced pepperoni and other ingredients.

This trial demonstration's goal is to understand how automated pizza assembly can assist Domino's employees in producing fresh, consistent pizza as efficiently as possible. This program is part of an initiative between Picnic and Domino's that started in 2021 that has included research, product testing and multi-national planning.

Don Meij, Group CEO & Managing Director of Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd, "Our mission is to deliver customers hot, fresh meals, safely, at an affordable price, and we want to explore how we can empower team members by giving them the best tools and resources to make their jobs more efficient and rewarding,".

Meij continued, "Over the next decade we intend to more than double the number of stores Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd and our franchisees operate, which means we will need an additional 100,000 team members working across Europe and the Asia-Pacific – the key question will be 'how do we make their roles as rewarding as possible so they can deliver the best possible service for our customers?'"

"Our team has been working with Picnic to understand and fine-tune how assistive technology can be used to make their jobs easier without compromising on the quality, consistency, or taste that our customers know and love." 

This just might be the right approach, as the foundation for this multi-year partnership began with shared goal setting, planning, customer research, global opportunity investigation, and ingredient testing from a combination of top strategists, technicians, and food scientists from both companies. With the Picnic Pizza Station installed in the Berlin restaurant, the partnership moves to a new phase of collaboration to help both Picnic and Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd assess, define and refine potential food automation solutions for the future.

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Clayton Wood, CEO of Picnic, stated, "As a global leader in pizza with more than 3,400 stores in 10 markets, and the recent announcement it intends to acquire three more markets, Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd has long been a pioneer in restaurant innovation," …. "After many months of laying the groundwork for a robust and fruitful partnership, we're thrilled to continue applying our award-winning food automation experience to help Domino's further explore the benefits of automation."

The collaborative research conducted to date by both companies in Germany showed that consistent quality was the most important attribute when ordering pizza. More than 85 per cent of German respondents noted that they are curious to see the robotic equipment in action.

Understanding the team helps drive success, so Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd leaders from Europe, Asia and Australia have visited Picnic headquarters in Seattle numerous times to plan and test ingredients from Domino's worldwide kitchens. A global team of innovation experts, country managers, and executives have worked together to choose the Berlin demonstration location.

Then the in-store demonstration phase began by installing a Picnic Pizza Station in the busy Domino's Tiergarten store, training employees and maximizing system operations. Through daily check-ins and real-time online performance monitoring, both companies will assess the impact of assistive technology and the results of the trial.

Now when you consider that the Picnic Pizza Station is autonomous and completely customizable for each order – after loading the dough, the Picnic station takes care of applying the sauce, cheese, freshly cut meat, and additional toppings. The finished pizzas are then loaded into the store's ovens for cooking. Each hour, the Picnic station can assemble up to 100 pizzas with one operator. Not bad!

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869