By Jennifer Williams

Domino's Pizza hopes its first rebrand in 13 years will help it sell more pizzas, wings and cheesy bread as Americans pull back on eating out.

The world's largest pizza chain last month revamped its look to feature brighter and black-and-gold boxes, a new jingle and a thicker font, called "Domino's Sans." The changes are rolling out now as other updates at the chain -- such as its first stuffed-crust pizza and a partnership with DoorDash -- are boosting sales.

"We really haven't updated a lot, and I think a lot has evolved in the way consumers gravitate toward brands," said Chief Financial Officer Sandeep Reddy. "We saw an opportunity."

Restaurant chains are challenged as consumers eat out less. Cava and Chipotle Mexican Grill have cut their outlooks, pointing to weaker demand from certain customers. Meanwhile, Yum Brands is evaluating strategic options for its struggling Pizza Hut business, including the sale of all or parts of the brand. Fast-food traffic is down 2.4% this year, compared with a 1.6% drop for restaurants overall, according to market-research firm Black Box Intelligence.

Domino's has been a bright spot, and it wants to hold on to the momentum. The company's total sales rose 6.2% from a year earlier in the three months ended Sept. 7. U.S. same-store sales grew 5.2% in the period.

One factor was a deal, added to the menu in August, for a pizza with any toppings for $9.99. Reddy declined to share how much of its sales stem from the deal, but it returned for a third run that ended last month because of its popularity among consumers and franchisees, he said. Domino's likes to keep competition "on its toes" with new offers, announcing them at unexpected times, for instance, but realistically, he said, others don't have the capability to offer the same price points for long periods.

"The competition cannot sustain the level of prices that we're able to promote at because they're not profitable transactions for them over a longer period of time," Reddy said. One advantage for Domino's is its scale. Selling an average of four million pizzas a day globally means costs for ingredients, packaging and other items are more attractive, according to the CFO.

Stuffed-crust pizza -- which Pizza Hut rolled out in 1995 -- is also providing a boost. Domino's for the first time added mozzarella-filled crusts to its menu in March after decades of holding out. Diners are eating them up, according to Reddy. Executives last month said cheese from the crusts of pizzas sold would easily wrap around the Earth and then some. Reddy said the company's high expectations for the menu addition are being met.

Now, the cheese-filled crust option will see a box upgrade. It has been over a decade since the company last updated its brand, and the changes last month were over a year and a half in the making, Reddy said. Elements include the jingle performed by country star Shaboozey. And new boxes, black ones for more premium fare such as stuffed-crust pies and brighter red, white and blue packaging for the rest.

Recent brand updates have been met with backlash, prompting some companies to drop their revamp plans. Reddy isn't worried that the Domino's changes, which are expected to be fully rolled out in the coming months, will suffer the same fate. "You do the correct research, and you're very objective about what the feedback is telling you," he said. "You don't get married to an idea."

Reddy declined to disclose how much the company has spent on the rebrand. It "wasn't a huge amount" compared with the chain's annual U.S. marketing budget of around $500 million, he said.

As brighter boxes make their way into Domino's stores, consumers are looking to spend less on eating out. Reddy flagged last month that sales across the restaurant industry started slowing around October.

Domino's should be well positioned, analysts said. For one, carryout orders, which have in the past lagged behind deliveries, were up 8.7% in the latest three-month period. Domino's executives have said customers rarely switch between carryout and delivery -- the overlap rate is somewhere in the midteens -- which means the momentum is primarily driven by new customers, said Peter Saleh, a restaurants and food distributors analyst at BTIG. Domino's is additionally reaching a broader consumer base for delivery now that it is on DoorDash as well as Uber.

Pizza can also be a good option for cost-conscious diners, said Saleh. "You could walk into Domino's and get two large pies with one or two toppings on them and walk out for around $20," he said. "Pick your other brand, you're not going to feed a family of four or five for $20."

Write to Jennifer Williams at jennifer.williams@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 17, 2025 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

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