Jimmy John's Versus Papa John's: Divergent Delivery Approaches

As third-party delivery platforms continue to infiltrate (and many would say dominate) the restaurant industry, QSR brands are approaching the shift with sometimes opposite approaches. Case in point: QSR sandwich chain Jimmy John’s, which corporate leadership claims will never outsource their “freaky fast” delivery to a third party, versus Papa John’s, the nation’s fourth-largest pizza chain and new DoorDash partner. “Their different strategies demonstrate the restaurant industry’s uncertain response to the emergence of third-party providers,” according to an article on Restaurant Business.

According to the article, “Chains that have blazed the delivery trail [...] face an existential threat to their competitive advantage. It’s difficult to envision a future of expanding delivery that doesn’t eat into those chains’ businesses.” That said, there’s no arguing that consumers want third-party delivery. So what’s a brand to do?

If you’re Papa John’s, get on board with delivery. “Papa John’s is the smallest of the four big pizza chains, with 3,200 locations. Using delivery extends the potential pool of customers for each of those units. And it gets the company in front of third-party delivery customers,” the article said.

Conversely, sandwich chain Jimmy John’s has announced that it will never partner with third-party delivery services, citing a competitive advantage, the article said. “There’s a real threat for the Champaign, Ill.-based chain, which has had delivery since 1983: Its primary sandwich competitors have all jumped on board the delivery bandwagon. By vowing to “never” use third parties and deploying such a short radius, Jimmy John’s is cutting off a certain number of customers from getting its sandwiches delivered at a time when consumers are clearly using the service. And it is not getting access to customers who like ordering from those third-party apps.”

Read the full article here.