Papa Murphy’s secret recipe for growth is simple: drive market penetration in key areas to increase awareness. It’s a tactic demonstrated time and time again as Papa Murphy’s expands. The brand saw its presence grow from five stores to 14 in just 18 months in Jacksonville, Florida. And store locations doubled from eight to 16 in Memphis.

Building off that success, Papa Murphy’s has created their Growth Market Development Incentive to catapult their 1,575+ location-strong brand to even more markets. The program is an aggressive push to grow new market share in 80 key growth markets. To do this, Papa Murphy’s will continue penetration in priority territories throughout the United States through a series of development incentives designed to attract new franchisees.

According to Gary Payne, Vice President of Franchise Sales, Mississippi is one of these key territories with four current locations. In particular, the brand is focusing on growth in Jackson—Mississippi’s state capital.

“Our brand is loved by families who appreciate high quality pizza at an extremely affordable price,” Payne said. “Our demographic research shows the Jackson region has the perfect mix of those families searching for value-driven, high-quality food options. We think that helps prime our brand for strong success in the market.”

Having an established presence throughout the state doesn’t hurt either. The brand has observed a strong correlation between customer awareness and the number of existing stores that they already have in a market.

“The more we penetrate a territory, the more performance accelerates,” Payne added. “Having a handful of locations that are already established in Mississippi is a good sign for the brand’s growth potential.”

With locations in more than 38 states, expanding farther in Mississippi is a logical next step for Papa Murphy’s as they continue to grow throughout the country. Robyn and Scott Johnstone, who currently own a Papa Murphy’s franchise in Olive Branch, have already found success with the brand in Mississippi. They believe that their location continues to grow as more people hear about the convenience of the take ‘n’ bake pizzas and the high-quality product.

“These days, people want an alternative to doing something for dinner that is both fresh and delicious, and easy and convenient. It’s a new concept for a lot of people, but it seems as though once they try it, they keep coming back,” Robyn said. “We’ve already seen Papa Murphy’s grow, and we have every reason to believe that the brand will continue to thrive in Mississippi.”

As part of the Growth Market Development Incentive, Payne added that Papa Murphy’s will offer Mississippi franchisees incentives to open Papa Murphy’s in certain new markets. Entrepreneurs that sign agreements opening a minimum number of stores will benefit from a reduced franchise fee and no royalty fee for the first 12 months a new store is open.

To learn more about franchising opportunities with Papa Murphy’s, including  other Growth Market Development Incentive Areas, click here.