Oath Pizza’s Expansion Takes off with Four New Markets and Counting

Oath Pizza has become one of the most popular feel-good brands and sought-after franchise models nationwide in less than a decade. Since opening its first seaside shop on Nantucket Island, Oath has expanded to serve communities across the country. During that time, the fast-growing franchisor also built a uniquely efficient business model validated early on by its first franchisees, Aramark, the Fortune 500 food service company, and Covelli Enterprises, the largest Panera franchisee. 

Oath Pizza’s accomplishments exceeded expectations this year. The brand met impressive milestones, despite post-pandemic difficulties challenging its competitors. Oath signed multiple multi-unit franchise owners this year, representing entry into new markets like Austin, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The company also launched a brand refresh, received frequent media recognition for its industry-leading supply chain and labor strategies, and debuted a new take-out-focused prototype design in its first Connecticut location. 

“The momentum we’ve experienced has been incredible,” says Oath’s Chief Marketing Officer, Stacie Colburn-Hayes. “Every new location brings new fans and prospective franchisees to the table, and every step forward opens up new opportunities for expansion and growth.”

Oath’s successes confirm its compelling position to lead its category as it strategically sits at the intersection of two trends here to stay: pizza and ingredient-conscious consumers.

Oath Pizza’s CEO, Drew Kellogg, says Oath’s sturdy positioning supported its continued growth throughout the pandemic, during which the brand not only survived but “thrived.” 

Oath’s simple operation drives attractive labor and supply chain advantages for traditional corporate and franchise locations. First, its reliable supply chain stems from its delicious and adaptive menu. Franchise owners benefit from flexible alternatives to hard-to-source products, 95% of which are domestically sourced, and Oath’s nationwide distribution network. Additionally, Oath has taken the common but highly labor-intensive dough-making process out of the restaurants. Its award-winning crusts are hand-stretched, grilled, seared in avocado oil, flash-frozen, and shipped in three different sizes from a central commissary. The crusts arrive ready to top with real, fresh toppings and cook in three minutes or less. This process benefits customers with a quick, consistent product and the business with attractive unit economics, including a longer shelf life, reduced costs, and better throughput. 

Oath’s leading staffing and retention numbers point to its simple, turn-key operation with no experience required and people-first inspired culture. Oath locations run with an average of one to four employees per shift and a roster of ten. These advantages have helped Oath maintain strong employee retention, as seen by the fact that 40% of corporate store managers have been with the company for three or more years. 

“We made some critical pivots early in the pandemic to ensure that we continued engaging with customers and that our franchise owners had pathways to success,” Kellogg says. “Those pivots helped our customers, business, and partners then but are also effective now as we continue to move forward, which has helped us build one of the most attractive concepts in franchising,” he adds.

Kellogg and Hayes previously held executive positions at Chipotle Mexican Grill. They joined Oath to optimize and scale the brand and business and made early investments in critical components to support the growth strategy driving the brand’s expansion today. 

Oath’s newest franchise owners benefit from the model's simplicity and prove the model is adaptive, as each new franchisee has a different experience and background.

Outside of Seattle, a married couple of local restaurateurs and franchise industry veterans, Brad and Jennifer Langford, signed a three-unit deal to grow Oath Pizza throughout their market. Brad says their decision largely came from the brand’s refined operational model and impressive products.

“Being an operations-focused owner, when I read about Oath Pizza’s business model, I realized they had found a way to streamline their operations and customer service to make the numbers work,” he says. “You can have the best product in the world, but if you can’t take the development of a product and streamline it through prep, product, and marketing to your customer, it doesn’t matter how great it tastes. I was shocked at how great this product tastes, and more importantly, the bottom line adds up.”

Former Target executive Mandeep Singh, and his brothers-in-law, Garish Talwar and Kulwant Jafal, are introducing Oath Pizza to the Los Angeles area through a three-unit deal. Singh said his team researched several franchise brands before stumbling across an article about Oath that caught their eye.

“We liked what we read, so we dug deeper and decided to reach out to their team,” said Singh. “I was immediately impressed. They are great people and walked us through every question we had. They are passionate about what they do.”

Based on a constant pipeline of interested franchise candidates, Kellogg expects the expansion to continue as new franchise partners sign on to complement corporate openings and help to fuel entry into even more markets in 2023.

“We’ve seen fantastic growth in just a few short years, but we’re just getting started,” said Kellogg. “The brand will continue to expand as a household name across the country. We’re growing quickly but strategically to ensure that we’re taking the right steps to get there, and the future is bright.”

About Oath Pizza: 

Oath Pizza is the fast-growing franchise known for its award-winning avocado oil crust, fresh, organic toppings, and efficient, innovative business model. Oath started in a seaside shop on Nantucket Island. Today, it has expanded nationwide under the leadership of former Chipotle executives who have built the brand and business to scale. The Oath franchise opportunity has quickly risen to a top business consideration for its unique advantages: low cost of entry, small 800 - 1,200 sq ft footprint, flexible build-out with no Type I venting or gas requirement, reliable supply chain, innovative digital systems, and a simple operation that requires only one-to-four employees per shift. Learn more at oathpizza.com/franchise.