Domino’s Pizza Hits Thailand
Added by Tracey Lawson

Domino’s Pizza hits Thailand In the ever shifting landscape that is pizza delivery, Domino’s is making a big move. Fico Coffee, a subsidiary to Evolution Capital just announced an exclusive franchise deal with Domino’s to bring Domino’s Pizza to Thailand.

The Thai deal will also allow Fico to increase its primary investment strategy by opening new locations of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise. The announcement by Fico comes on the heels of Domino’s US announcement of Specialty Chicken to their menu. The new item has yet to get the public review but some food critics have shown to be less than pleased.

For Fico, their entrance into the fast food market in Thailand is part of the implementation of a $6-8 million company expansion plan. The inclusion of Domino’s Pizza in the expansion plan gives Fico potentially unlimited growth in Thailand for the foreseeable future as the initial Domino’s deal is an exclusive one.

As for the Specialty Pizza, it’s described as a pizza with a fried chicken crust. Consumers can par take in a variety of four flavors; Classic Hot Buffalo, Sweet BBQ Bacon, Crispy Bacon and Tomato with Spicy Jalapeno-Pineapple. The move by Domino’s is viewed as an interesting strategy for an industry at times hard pressed to be innovative. When competing against the tide of so-called healthier gluten-free, low-fat, low-calorie, protein or vegetable rich options elsewhere, what some view as just another junk food option may not garner the attention sought by Domino chefs.

Like Domino’s Pizza, Subway has recently introduced a menu option which is called the Flatizza. The new item which is essentially a flatbread pizza is positioned by Subway under its existing marketing strategy, “eat fresh.” Consumers are also being increasingly drawn to options like real fruit and whole grain snacks from companies such as Brookside or Kashi. While others like El Pollo Loco and Subway flood the television airwaves with a steady and constant barrage of commercials, chains like Taco Bell are partnering with top chefs to create healthy and tasty selections like the Cantina Salad for patrons.

Financial, consumer and business, interests are going to have to wait to see if Specialty Chicken or Domino’s Pizza’s presence in Thailand will translate into profits for Domino’s and Fico. Pizza is not new to Thai consumers. For a number of years Pizza fans have enjoyed Chang Mai and Paradise Pizza restaurants which both feature New York style pies. Pizza Hut has an existing presence in Thailand as well, setting the stage for the addition of Domino’s as a pizza delivery option.

The presence of Pizza Oven Thailand, a local manufacturer known for their wood fired pizza ovens is also a sure sign that there are plenty of palettes primed for the introduction of new options for their pizza cravings.

Business is the bottom line and the bottom line is all about business. For Fico this means taking a chance on a new market for themselves where others have an existing and proven track record. While business for Domino’s is about how to stay relevant rather than cliché with regard to delivery fast food. For other franchise organizations, they receive the benefit of observing someone else diving in and testing new waters first.

Many eyes will be watching the stats on Specialty Chicken sales domestically and the growth of Domino’s Pizza franchises in Thailand in hopes of predicting or better yet creating the next big thing.

Source: http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/dominos-pizza-hits-thailand/

--Guardian Liberty Voice 2014-04-20

If my memory serves me correctly there was some years back a presence of Domino's Pizza here in Thailand. Personally I always found their products somewhat superior to their then competitors.

Indeed welcome news the return of Domino's Pizza.

Thought there have been like five of them in BKK for a few months now.

I'm building my own oven, but I am not going to deliver, In fact I am keeping it all to myself.

Another bad pizza even worse the other two

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Yes there have been a handful open in Bangkok for awhile now - my last order was before opening and although got receipt order was not transferred to deliver store when they opened (no information when that is on web site). They are better tasting then alternatives for me (actually has cheese on it - at least the current 2-1 special). And yes they used to have a wide network in Bangkok years ago but then often order by phone would end up at wrong delivery store - it was so bad local store had us order directly. But they failed (there was also an Oz franchise at that time which also seems to have failed - always gave free movie posters).

What we need is a Costco here.Their 18" pizza for $10 is hard to beat and one of the best. My Thai wife loved it while visiting The States.

Another bad pizza even worse the other two

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Just reading about it, it seems another US chain that abuses the word Pizza for their strange products.

I hope they come up North to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai the Pizzas places they have here now are bad to say the least.

Domino Pizza came to Thailand in the 90s and left with its tail between its legs a couple of years later. But then KFC failed in its first attempt in Hong Kong too.

I'm building my own oven, but I am not going to deliver, In fact I am keeping it all to myself.

Why would you want to put liver on a pizza?

I make my own anyway, a lot cheaper than those tasteless things the chains churn out and a lot better quality.

My Thai family keep saying I should open my own store. But I can't be bothered.

I also make my own cheeses and bacon, ham sausage etc etc....

I can knock up an 18 incher fully loaded for less than 80 baht.

If my memory serves me correctly there was some years back a presence of Domino's Pizza here in Thailand. Personally I always found their products somewhat superior to their then competitors.

Indeed welcome news the return of Domino's Pizza.

Indeed, they were in Bangkok some 20 to 25 years ago and were - at that time - far superior than Pizza Hut. All the others did not exist at that time yet. Still featuring one of the plastic coke goblets. Welcome back!

Will it be Domino's Pizza or will it be Domino's Thai Pizza? Pizza Hut was one of my favorite chain pizza places in the US, but the Thai version was lost in translation.

more fatty, diabetes loaded Thais will be walking around the sois ,shame about the junk food

They had one or two restaurants a year or two ago, now they have about 10 in Bangkok and one in Pattaya, I haven't had the chance to try them here in Thailand, but they were pretty good for a high street street chain back home. Pizza is very popular with Thai people, although they usually defile it with seafood sauce, yuk!

The more competition in the marketplace the better it is for the consumer.

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Crap food for the masses to become massive.!

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What? Dominoes and their horrible excuse for a pizza already exists in Thailand. Made the mistake of ordering one just a few months back.

I thought the Minor group held the franchise for The Pizza Hut or Domino's and then there was a parting of the ways, which produced The Pizza Company.

In early 2001, the Minor Food Group launched The Pizza Company in Thailand. It offered Thai consumers a fresh and innovative approach to pizza based on richer and heavier toppings, greater variety with thirty pizza toppings to choose from, an appealing new cheese blend, new appetizers and an overall dining experience unavailable at any of the world’s better known pizza restaurants. From the day of its launch, The Pizza Company has been Thailand’s market leader in both the dine-in and delivery segments with an estimated 70% share of the Thai market.

http://www.minorfoodgroup.com/aboutus/pizzacompany/

Of all the attempts to produce pizza I've run across in Pattaya, I find the pizza seller in the lower level food court of Central to be the best. Not saying it's the same as a real CHICAGO pizza (which is the benchmark for the rest of the world) but it's certainly better than anything else I've tasted.

I'm building my own oven, but I am not going to deliver, In fact I am keeping it all to myself.

I wish I had the space out the back for a real brick oven, but I do have a very large Italian oven outside that does the trick ... and home-made pizza is just so much better than the plastic pizzas they sell in many of these major outlets.

Crap food for the masses to become massive.!

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The other article is about the thriving dog meat trade in Thailand - just a coincidence?

I thought the Minor group held the franchise for The Pizza Hut or Domino's and then there was a parting of the ways, which produced The Pizza Company.

In early 2001, the Minor Food Group launched The Pizza Company in Thailand. It offered Thai consumers a fresh and innovative approach to pizza based on richer and heavier toppings, greater variety with thirty pizza toppings to choose from, an appealing new cheese blend, new appetizers and an overall dining experience unavailable at any of the world’s better known pizza restaurants. From the day of its launch, The Pizza Company has been Thailand’s market leader in both the dine-in and delivery segments with an estimated 70% share of the Thai market.

http://www.minorfoodgroup.com/aboutus/pizzacompany/

Of all the attempts to produce pizza I've run across in Pattaya, I find the pizza seller in the lower level food court of Central to be the best. Not saying it's the same as a real CHICAGO pizza (which is the benchmark for the rest of the world) but it's certainly better than anything else I've tasted.

Chicago pizza ... world benchmark ... really ...? I think a few Italians, like Gennaro Contaldo, would disagree with you.

I think you'll find NAPLES is the place where pizza originated - you know, in Italy ...

I have a New Yorker acquaintance who swears black is white that pizza was invented there, and now we have Chicagoans muscling in.

Who cares, as long as it tastes good. The Thai stuff is muck, that's for sure.

I thought the Minor group held the franchise for The Pizza Hut or Domino's and then there was a parting of the ways, which produced The Pizza Company.

In early 2001, the Minor Food Group launched The Pizza Company in Thailand. It offered Thai consumers a fresh and innovative approach to pizza based on richer and heavier toppings, greater variety with thirty pizza toppings to choose from, an appealing new cheese blend, new appetizers and an overall dining experience unavailable at any of the world’s better known pizza restaurants. From the day of its launch, The Pizza Company has been Thailand’s market leader in both the dine-in and delivery segments with an estimated 70% share of the Thai market.

http://www.minorfoodgroup.com/aboutus/pizzacompany/

Of all the attempts to produce pizza I've run across in Pattaya, I find the pizza seller in the lower level food court of Central to be the best. Not saying it's the same as a real CHICAGO pizza (which is the benchmark for the rest of the world) but it's certainly better than anything else I've tasted.

Chicago pizza ... world benchmark ... really ...? I think a few Italians, like Gennaro Contaldo, would disagree with you.

Chicago Deep dish is pretty good. A bit on the heavy side. Havent tasted Gennaro Contaldo's so i cant say, but until then, i'll give my nod to a Chicago deep dish, or a simple NY cheese pizza (light on the cheese please )

But that's all theory, Domino's is here and cant wait to see if it tastes as i remember . McD's and BK's are close to the home version, so I'm hopeful that Domino's are also.

I have only seen Domino's on Sukhumvit - any other locations in Bangkok cause I understand their delivery radius is pretty tight.

What we need is a Costco here.Their 18" pizza for $10 is hard to beat and one of the best. My Thai wife loved it while visiting The States.

Wouldn't that be grand!!! Doubt if it'll ever happen however. BTW when is Krispy Kreme going to open a shop in Khonkaen? Does only BKK get these? :-(

Great pizza if you like cardboard with tomato sauce and a little cheese. Dominoes was the worst of all the franchise pizza places. It made the cheap frozen supermarket pizza seem pretty good in comparison.

Good Pizza, a welcome entrant to the arena if you ask me.

And lets face it... At 4 in the morning you cant really pick a good pizza from a bad one, you just get to work out which one tastes best with alcohol come downs.

Dominos always got my vote on that one.

PLEEASSEEE NOOO! ...... Classic Hot Buffalo ???

If the Thais take it literally, we'll never know what the <deleted> we are eating.

What we need is a Costco here.Their 18" pizza for $10 is hard to beat and one of the best. My Thai wife loved it while visiting The States.

An 18 inch pizza...?

I know you Americans love to eat big but that's ridiculous!