Did you know there are 34 million ways to make a Domino’s pizza? Or that Domino’s delivery truck drivers drive about 19 million miles per year? Neither did I. I was one of several top Latino and tech bloggers invited and treated by Domino’s to a visit and tour of its headquarter in Ann Arbor, MI. We were invited to take a look at its Hispanic marketing outreach; meet and greet with top executives; tour the headquarters offices and supply chain distribution center; try new Domino’s products and make my own pizza and finally, to get a first look at the new Spanish mobile app.
“Every day’s a pizza day!” Domino’s is very much in the people business, not just the pizza business. Think about all the times you’ve eaten pizza to celebrate, or during sad moments or just plain ol’ everyday life. Our trip was short and there is much to share about the company, the people, the franchise business model, the products and the community outreach. I will first share some fun photos about my experience and then follow up with posts about Hispanic outreach and its Smart Slice program in schools.
Honestly, I wasn’t quite ready for what I got to experience in Ann Arbor. The photo below is just a snippet of what happens in a supply chain center. We had a full tour and learned and watched the pizza dough get mixed, made, packaged and loaded for delivery. The ingredients for the dough? Water, salt, sugar, yeast, oil and … a goodie bag. C’mon, they weren’t going to tell us all their secrets!
I couldn’t resist the chance to hop in one of the cabs of the delivery trucks. By switching to Volvo’s, Domino’s drivers have been able to increase 1 mile per gallon. Every mile counts when they are making over 10,000 deliveries per week. Remember, Domino’s dough is never frozen so the deliveries to the store happen fairly often. The trailers are kept at chilly 38 degrees or under to keep the products fresh. Um, that’s cold. It was colder in the trucks than outside the day we were in Michigan.
We headed back to the headquarters and got to experience making a fresh pizza with that dough first hand. Look at my face in learning ‘pull and turn’ technique to make a perfect circle of flat dough. With a ‘spooladle’ (I think I got that right half spoon/half ladle) of sauce, lots of cheese, pepperoni, steak, peppers and bacon, I created a delicious pizza! (Finished product is featured at top of this post, delicioso!)
Eating our pizzas for lunch, we had the chance to grill, I mean, ask questions of many of the top executives at Domino’s. Check back in for bits of that conversation. We asked about the franchisee business model, branding, culture and community outreach. Plus, I’ll share what CEO Patrick Doyle had to say about being an honorary Latino.
There’s exciting news for now though! Be on the lookout for the official launch of the Spanish-language App on October 29. It will be available for iPhone, Android and Kindle Fire. If you prefer to order your pizza in Español, you will be able to do so from your phone. It’s user friendly and answers ‘what’s for dinner?’ after a busy day.
