Papa John’s appoints new R&D head

Papa John’s has brought in an experienced food service pro to oversee the future development of its tasty menu.

Papa John’s has appointed a veteran of the food industry to its newly created role of ‘R&D Director’ for the whole of the UK. Tom Allen has spent more than two decades in the world of food, working with household names including Pret A Manager, KFC, Domino’s and M&S, as well as setting up his own award-winning artisan bakery.

Allen expressed his excitement at the new role, which will require him to oversee all of the menu choices for every Papa John’s branch in the UK.

“I am excited to join the Papa John’s team. The company continues to expand rapidly. While having the presence of a big, established and popular brand, the management team is small enough to be flexible and can respond quickly to changing customer trends in the market. This means I have the scope to innovate and really make a difference with new product introductions, while maintaining our focus on the quality ingredients that make up our ‘old favourites’ and best-selling pizzas.”

Allen also explained how his role will involve working with the pizza franchise’s vast network of franchisees to develop a strong relationship.

“As well as developing Papa John’s menu, I will also be working closely with franchisees. Papa John’s has well over 400 franchised stores in the UK and I will spend some time visiting stores and meeting franchisees, managers and staff. It is critically important that we manage the cost of goods and any wastage and so I need to have direct feedback from franchisees to see how we can continue to make improvements. Franchisees often come up with some great new ideas for products and process improvements too!”

Under Allen’s guidance, Papa John’s will no doubt keep delivering delicious pizza to its hungry customers all across the country. If you’re looking to become a franchisee, now is the time to get in touch with the rapidly expanding pizza franchise, as it’s on the hunt for talented entrepreneurs up and down the UK.

Sophie Cole, Point Franchise ©