Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza announced highlights and financial results for its first five years in business along with a forward outlook for the next five years. The build-your-own pizza chain, known for its chef-driven recipes and casually hip restaurants, projects system-wide sales this year—its fifth full year in business—to exceed $292 million. In five years, the company expects system-wide sales to exceed $1 billion.
Results & Highlights (2013—2017):
Grew system-wide sales to $185 million in 2016, an increase of 83 percent over the prior year. Tracking to $292 million system-wide sales in 2017, its fifth full year in business.
Achieved average unit volumes (AUVs) of $1.45 million in 2016.
Achieved year-to-date same store sales growth of 5.0% through February 2017
Accelerated its restaurant openings with 250 locations planned by year-end. Major metropolitan areas now being developed include New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dallas, Detroit, Miami, Atlanta, and Toronto.
Signed a multi-year endorsement deal with global icon and NBA All-Star LeBron James.
Added “brand-building’”locations at Walt Disney World in Florida, Universal Studios in Hollywood, and Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers and NHL’s Kings.
Launched a new smart phone app featuring online ordering, mobile pay and loyalty/rewards.
Became the first national pizza chain to remove artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and high fructose corn syrup from all of its ingredients for pizzas and salads. The company also offers cane sugar sodas from its fountain dispensers.
Changed to a plant-based straw so that all packaging is now 100% eco-friendly (recyclable, compostable or made from post-consumer content).
Grew overall guest satisfaction, including a system-wide average 4.3 rating across online consumer review sites.
Five Year Outlook (2018—2022):
Projecting system-wide sales of $417 million in 2018 and $1.1 billion in 2022 – its tenth full year in business.
Projecting 375 restaurants open at the end of 2018 and 855 restaurants open at the end of 2022—all supported by a current franchise commitment pipeline of 324 units.
“We spent our first five years in business refining our restaurant model and building out the infrastructure and franchise network to support our rapid growth,” says Jim Mizes, COO and president of Blaze Pizza. “We now have the people, processes and systems in place to achieve our goal of becoming a billion-dollar brand by our 10th birthday.”
