Toppers Pizza Franchise Starts Operating Over the Radar

With the right strategy in place, Toppers Pizza is set to revolutionize the competitive pizza industry.

SPONSOREDUpdated 7:19PM • 02/23/16

When Scott Gittrich opened the first Toppers Pizza* in Whitewater, Wisconsin 25 years ago, he did so with one goal in mind—to completely revolutionize the landscape of the competitive pizza industry.

Back then, four major chains dominated the scene—Domino’s, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut and Little Caesar’s. They were all racing to be the best low-cost provider of all things pizza to all people everywhere. Today, the entire pizza industry is estimated to be at $40 billion, and those early companies that seemingly laid out its foundation benefited greatly from the tide rising for everyone. But there was only one problem—the pizza was homogenous. There was very little innovation or complexity in the delivery segment, and consumers were left craving something more.

That’s when Toppers emerged. Gittrich wasn’t afraid to push the envelope, and he wasn’t afraid to be himself. In a sea of greasy pizza chains, he was hell-bent on rising above the fray and standing out. Today, the unapologetic brand has established an audacious reputation as the forward-thinking pizza pioneers—if Toppers isn’t innovating, they’re not doing their job.

That tenacity has paid off in a big way—over the years, Toppers’ impressive sales growth led to being ranked second on PMQ/Technomic 2015 Pizza Power Report of sales percentage increases of the top 50 chains, with Papa John’s, Domino’s and Pizza Hut not even cracking the top five.

So what’s Toppers’ recipe for success in this booming industry? For starters, they don’t mess around when they say “Never Settle.” But it also comes down to five strategic moves that have helped them stay 10 steps ahead of the game.

Strength in Leadership

Many sophisticated operators look at the strength of leadership as a determining factor in whether or not they will invest in growing with a brand. Gittrich understood that he alone could not propel Toppers to becoming the next great brand.

Thus, he invested heavily in the support structure of the brand, comprising it of industry veterans, marketing geniuses and restaurant operators. The team is built of a corporate staff that out-numbers similar sized brands in depth and support. Some of the leaders to connect with are:

Scott Iversen, VP of Marketing

Mark Cairns, Director of Franchising

Adam Olenberg, Corporate Operations Director

Mark Watt, Franchise Operations Director

Matt Martin, Director of Training

Kendall Richmond, Chief Financial Officer

Unit-Level Economics

In 2015, 73 percent of all Toppers stores boasted record sales, boosting overall system-wide sales up 22.5% from 2014. And with that record-breaking year behind them, the brand’s goal in 2016 is to bring in even more revenue at the unit-level—and their strategy is to steal market share from some of the industry’s biggest competitors.

Consider one of the brand’s mature two-store markets in Wisconsin. In an area with less than 40,000 households, these two Toppers locations generated $2.56 million in revenue in 2015 versus $1.48 million in 2010. That’s a $1.08 million increase in sales in just five years—and it’s no accident.

“Our franchisees stole these sales from their local competitors by executing the Toppers system at a high level,” Gittrich said. “There wasn’t an additional $1.08 million in pizza being sold in that market—we stole it from our competitors.”

And that’s just one example. In the past five years, the number of stores in the system has tripled, and the average unit volume has increased by eight percent.

“This is an extremely encouraging statistic, because it proves that our Toppers units can thrive in any market and put up a good fight against the bigger chains,” Gittrich added.

Growth Opportunities

In the past two years, Toppers has grown from 46 restaurants to 73. The secret to their growth is twofold—they’ve yet to see a ceiling in any of their existing markets and there are many more available territories where the brand could truly thrive.

Today, the brand operates in 11 states. And while the brand currently has a strong presence in the Midwest, Toppers isn’t limiting itself to the comforts of home. This year, the brand is on target to add 40 new units to the system, and they’re eyeing hot territories throughout the country.

Currently, states like Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina all have room for new franchisees—so long as they sign on for a three store commitment. Meanwhile, a wide swath of the West, the West Coast and the South are all available for area developers (meaning they need to sign on for a five store commitment). Long story short, when it comes to expanding their brand throughout the U.S., Toppers’ options are limitless.

Product Innovation

With adventurous and unconventional options always on deck, it’s clear that innovation has long been at the heart of what makes Toppers so great. As the palates of customers continue to evolve, the brand has always believed that it’s crucial to closely monitor the changing flavor profiles people crave.

“To really stand out, you need to be at the forefront and stay ahead of the competition. At Toppers, we have a heritage of offering unique toppings, and Topperstix have given us this incredible opportunity to constantly dish up exciting new flavor combinations. In many ways, they’ve allowed us to be first-to-market with a lot of popular ingredients,” said Scott Iversen, Toppers’ vice president of marketing.

Earlier this year, Toppers launched their 3-Cheese Garlicstix—an ode to the Topperstix that customers have come to know and love, just kicked up three notches. The chain also introduced three new pizza toppings, making customization the toughest-and best—decision pizza fanatics will ever have to make com mealtime. Asiago cheese and fire-roasted jalapenos made their menu debut in 2016, joining the ranks of more than 30 other mouth-watering toppings—and they’re just getting started.

Evolving Technology

In an era where online food ordering is set to overtake traditional telephone orders for the first time, a new and improved toppers.com was launched as an e-commerce site. Enhancements were made to simplify the online ordering process, and a new responsive design allowed customers to have a pizza delivered to their door with the touch of a button on their smartphones—all designed with Toppers’ characteristic “Never Settle” aesthetic in mind.

Since the new website was unveiled in August 2015, Toppers has already seen a noticeable spike in traffic, with nearly 40 percent of system-wide orders now being placed online—a 33 percent jump from 2014.

For the above reasons, 1851 Franchise has named Toppers Pizza a brand to watch, as potentially the next great player in the better-pizza delivery category.

To learn more about Toppers Pizza, click here.

*This brand is a paid partner of 1851 Franchise. For more information on paid partnerships please click here.

Toppers Pizza Franchise Starts Operating Over the Radar

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