I was in India the past 10 days, I go about every 3 years. This time I noticed one big change: Domino’s Pizza is HUGE in India. Every few blocks has a Domino’s and the people are going crazy for it. Here are a few of the ways Domino’s has tailored their business to be more India friendly.
Things that Domino’s changed to fit India:
Veg Friendly Everything
50% of the entire menu is vegetarian. They clearly specify which menu items are vegetarian by showing you a green dot next to the item. 10% of India is completely vegetarian and 30% of India is vegetarian due to religious reasons at least 5 days out of the month.
Moped Delivery
The traffic in Mumbai (one of the biggest cities in India) is really bad, much worse than Los Angeles. It takes 20 minutes to go a mile – this is due to over population, bad roads, animals roaming the streets, and people crossing the road whenever they want. Mopeds are definitely the fastest way to get around the city because they can easily weave through traffic.
Goodbye Parmesan, Hello “Spice Mix”!
Indians like things spicy. Instead of including Parmesan cheese packets Domino’s includes an “Oregano SpiceMix”. They have also spiced up their pizza recipes to please the Indian palette. The spicy Sriracha sauce that we are all use to in America is water compared to the spice level in India. A spicyness level of 2 stars in India is 4 stars in the US.
Things that Domino’s didn’t change for India:
Home Delivery
It turns out people are lazy everywhere. Food at your door for no extra charge is a great service.
Self Service
This one was kind of a shocker to me. Indians are accustomed to being waited on hand and foot at a restaurant, you just don’t expect to have to clean up after yourself.
But Domino’s Pizza India didn’t have any servers or bus boys during my visit. All they had was a simple trash can with a “Use Me” sign. By educating and training their customers to clean up after themselves, Domino’s India can employ less people and keep their prices low. It is interesting that Domino’s decided to challenge Indian culture here even though they were willing to make a lot of other cultural changes that are outlined above.
The Domino’s Pizza Brand Name
The Domino’s brand name is strong. They have been featured in hundreds of movies and have run gazillions of TV ads. Even though Domino’s was new to India a few years ago millions of Indians heard about it before hand allowing them to have a massive launch.
Domino’s India is ran and managed by an Indian based company called Jubilant Foodworks. The best decision Domino’s made in their India strategy is understanding that they are not an expert in India, so they partnered with a strong team that truly understands India to help grow their business there.
Here are 3 things I learned from Domino’s India:
1. Tailor your business based on the countries’ culture (I know obvious!)
2. Keep your brand identity
3. Don’t do it yourself – Find someone amazing that knows the country to help you run and manage the business abroad.
What could Domino’s do in your country that would make it thrive? Let me know in the comments.