If the expression "selling ice to an Eskimo" means anything, it could be applied to the latest Domino's Pizza Italy endeavor, as the Michigan-based chain takes possibly its biggest challenge to date by attempting to sell pizza to the nation that actually created the popular dish.
While there are obviously many fast food chains in the Southern European country, it's no less a big deal to attempt to sell them their own food only higher-priced and massively produced, as Domino's Pizza Italy will even be taking out some of its trademark odd flavors, such as chicken - what do they have to offer that any local pizzeria doesn't?
According to Quartz, not much: other than the Hawaiian option (ham and pineapple), the menu that Domino's Pizza Italy is offering the Mediterranean nation is just about the same as every other trattoria in the country, as they kept from the more exotic flavors under the assumption that this would make the locals jump to their rosaries.
As Market Watch reports, what brings an edge to Domino's Pizza Italy isn't so much their actual menu items but rather the technology the franchise is bringing the nation: unlike in Americans, Italians aren't quite as accustomed to delivery and take-out in their pies, even though the average local will gobble down pizza about seven times per month.
"We will be using a recipe created by us, using locally-sourced wheat. Everything else is purely Italian," said Alessandro Lazzaroni, the partner of the Domino's Pizza Italy franchise, in a statement to CNBC. "We are purchasing all of our products from Italian producers. We've created our own recipe, starting for the original pizza recipe, with Italian products, like 100 percent tomato sauce and mozzarella, and products like Prosciutto di Parma, Gorgonzola, Grana Padano and Mozzarella di bufala Campana."
Could Domino's Pizza Italy succeed in such a difficult market? Only time will tell.
