Papa Murphy’s is Built for Essential Business Success

As other restaurants pivoted, our take and bake pizza concept franchise powered through with our already popular meal kit concept

Nearly a year after the pandemic began, Papa Murphy’s Senior Director for Culinary and Corporate Chef Carron Harris spoke with Nation’s Restaurant News for their Extra Serving podcast about how our take-and-bake chain was “built for COVID.”

Papa Murphy’s was strongly positioned to weather the pandemic, Harris says, because of our focus on making high-quality food that is designed to travel well and cook and enjoy at home.

During the podcast, the food industry veteran discusses how many businesses had to unexpectedly pivot last year to accommodate guests’ demand for takeout, while Papa Murphy’s had already been providing exceptional pizza for takeout for the last four decades. She also discussed how our R&D process has adapted over the past year.

“We’ve had great success with people being able to customize their pizza any way they want. They can watch it being made in front of them, so they know they are getting something that’s safe and then they get to control it at their house which has been a blessing for us,” she says. “We’ve also created some pizza kits where they can come in and get a full-sized pizza and take the contents home, the pepperoni, cheese and sauce, and build it with their kids if they like.”

Papa Murphy’s also already had multiple ways of ordering, whether it be via our app, desktop or even third-party delivery companies such as UberEats or DoorDash. “Even our lobbies were designed for fast pick up with minimal contact thanks to quick pick up stations,” says Harris.

While our corporate team had to adapt to working from home and we had to enforce much more stringent in-store safety precautions, from plexiglass shields, to masks and additional sanitizing, Papa Murphy’s has always focused on creating a high-quality, in-home meal experience. Thanks to this, our menu didn’t require many modifications during the height of the pandemic. The Mini Murph assemble at home 7-inch pizza kits, for example, that have been so popular pre-COVID inspired the launch of a new 16-inch pepperoni pizza kit version for adults.

As families focused on sheltering at home and making the most of family time, Papa Murphy’s stood out as a brand already centered on these core values. Families are busier than ever but still want to put good, high-quality food on the table.

“With Papa Murphy’s what we often hear is guests don’t have to work very hard to do it right. They put it in the oven and take it out of the oven, but they still feel like they are putting a meal on the table that they had some part in creating. We make it very easy for guests to not have to do much, yet still receive a great high-quality pizza,” she says. “We still make our dough every day in the stores. It’s not frozen or from a commissary. We shred our cheese fresh from a block of mozzarella, so again it’s not frozen and not pre-shredded. And all of our veggies are prepped fresh in the store so people feel like they are getting a good quality product and they feel good about putting it on their table for their families.”

R&D focuses on portable, high-quality food that travels well to a guest’s home

Harris says that the R&D process has only had to modify slightly due to Papa Murphy’s products all made to be cooked at home. This means testing can be done at home in her own kitchen. As the team develops new LTOs, such as the new pizza made with chicken alfredo sauce, they always take into consideration how well it will travel to the guest’s house.

“We do a lot of thinking about the what-ifs about our product? How long will it sit in the box? How long will it be good?” Harris says. “From a frigid Montana winter to Phoenix in the summer we have to ensure our pizza travels well, especially when choosing new toppings and new ingredients. What could happen between the store and home? What are the variety of ways a guest can use it or abuse it? Using guest comments about different things that happen, we can gain insight on possibly modifying ingredients. It all starts with a fairly resilient dough that doesn’t have a real low tolerance for heat or freezing.”

To listen to Harris’s podcast interview in its entirety, visit Nation’s Restaurant News.

Bring A Take and Bake Pizza Franchise to Your Community

Papa Murphy’s franchise is a low-cost investment opportunity offering high growth potential. Join this dynamic brand as we expand our footprint across the United States. Initial investment costs range from $286,919 to $524,205, depending on numerous factors, including geographic areas, condition of the premises, and construction costs. We have grown to more than 1,250 locations thanks to a business model built for entrepreneurs who are passionate about making a difference in their community, bringing families together, and most of all – pizza.