Domino's Pizza® Introduces Specialty Chicken

'Failure is an option' in campaign promoting first new menu item since Handmade Pan Pizza

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Apr 14, 2014, 07:07 ET

ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- While it is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) continues to show it is a legitimate player in the chicken business – and beginning today, launches its new Specialty Chicken, the latest innovation to an expanding menu. Domino's will celebrate by giving away 25,000 orders of Specialty Chicken to select Facebook fans who enter on Domino's Facebook brand page for a chance to win by day's end.

The boneless chicken product features a delicious combination of toppings, sauces and cheeses layered over 12 bites of lightly breaded, 100 percent whole breast white meat chicken. The four unique flavors offered include Crispy Bacon & Tomato, Spicy Jalapeno-Pineapple, Classic Hot Buffalo and Sweet BBQ Bacon.

"Our new Specialty Chicken is one of the most creative, innovative menu items we have ever had," said Russell Weiner, Domino's Pizza chief marketing officer. "Our pizza chefs have taken chicken to a whole new level, using our unique ingredients to create these four bold flavors. There's nothing quite like Domino's Specialty Chicken on the market today."

A national TV campaign beginning on April 21 focuses on not being afraid to take risks – something Domino's has certainly not been fearful of in recent history – and how some turn out better than others.

"We are proud to be known as a pizza company, but Specialty Chicken shows we are not afraid to step out of our comfort zone and take risks – something that is truly part of our brand fabric," said Weiner. "Not every risk we have taken has turned out to be successful, but as a brand we have learned that sometimes you have to fail in order to be great."

Specialty Chicken is the first new product for Domino's since the launch of Handmade Pan Pizza in September 2012 and will be available as part of its $5.99 mix and match deal.

"Including Specialty Chicken as part of our $5.99 value deal offers customers a great opportunity to try one of the four flavors, along with the choice of one of our other menu favorites – and we can't wait to hear what everyone thinks," said Weiner.

FOR FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States & D.C., 13 years and older. Ends 4/15/14. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions, visit www.facebook.com/dominos. Void where prohibited.

About Domino's Pizza®

Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, with a significant business in carryout pizza. It ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with its global enterprise of more than 10,800 stores in over 70 international markets. Domino's had global retail sales of over $8.0 billion in 2013, comprised of nearly $3.8 billion in the U.S. and over $4.2 billion internationally. In the fourth quarter of 2013, Domino's had global retail sales of over $2.5 billion, comprised of over $1.1 billion in the U.S. and nearly $1.4 billion internationally. Its system is made up of franchise owner-operators who accounted for over 96% of the Domino's Pizza stores as of the fourth quarter of 2013. The emphasis on technology innovation has helped Domino's reach an estimated $3 billion annually in global digital sales. Domino's generated approximately 40% of sales in the U.S. from its digital channels in 2013, helped by the introduction of ordering apps for iPhone^®, Android^™, Windows Phone 8^® and Kindle Fire^™. Domino's ordering apps now cover nearly 95% of the U.S. smartphone market. Continuing its focus on menu enhancement, Domino's established itself as a player in the pan pizza market with the launch of its Handmade Pan Pizza, featuring fresh, never-frozen dough, in October 2012.