Marco's Pizza® on Pace to Reach $1 Billion in Annual Systemwide Sales in 2022 after Closing Out a Record-Breaking Sales Year

TOLEDO, Ohio, Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, projects to reach $1B in annual systemwide sales in 2022, after closing out 2021 with robust systemwide growth and store-level performance. The 1,000-plus unit brand plans to grow to 1,500 units by 2023 with more than 200 stores in development today. All this as the brand closes out a record-breaking sales year and continues to experience double-digit same-store-sales increases year-over-year. Marco's believes this performance makes it America's fifth largest pizza brand, as it sets its sights on being No. 4.

"The success we've seen is the result of a collective effort of the incredible franchisees and team members at the store level who deliver on our brand promise each and every day, our committed Support Center, our loyal guests and the executive leadership team," said Tony Libardi, Co-CEO & President of Marco's Pizza. "There's never been a more opportune time for both existing and prospective franchisees to grow with Marco's. With plenty of territories available for growth, our development and performance strategy remain centered on finding multi-unit franchisees who align with our business strategy and culture, while continuing to prioritize innovation and maximize unit-level profitability."

Marco's is investing millions of dollars in technology innovations through the next few years as it grows to be the fourth largest brand in pizza. At its 2021 Franchise Convention, CXO Steve Seyferth and CIO Rick Stanbridge discussed how Marco's is navigating this digital world and exploring technologies that create a better customer and employee experience while at the same time helping to improve store-level profitability.

Marco's has been pushing forward several innovation initiatives and pilot programs, including rapid adoption of third-party delivery plus utilizing AI for voice-to-text ordering and generating automated promise times. It pushes to test robotic kitchen innovations, ghost kitchens, new operational equipment, and even simulated a drone delivery.

In addition to innovation, Marco's continues to invest in building its brand through a multi-channel national advertising program while highlighting its quality product and value offerings. The brand's creative platform centers on the tagline, "Pizza Lovers Get it" – as the brand has seen that their customers share an inordinate amount of love toward Marco's compared to customers of their competitors. The brand kicks off 2022 highlighting its signature Pepperoni Magnifico pizza, topped with approximately 75 slices of crispy Old World Pepperoni® and classic pepperoni, a generous dash of romesan seasoning along with its signature fresh, three-cheese blend and original sauce.

The brand's impressive performance has earned multiple awards and recognition: ranked as one of America's Favorite Restaurant Chains of 2022 by Newsweek, named in Newsweek's 2022 America's Best Customer Service in the pizza chains category, earned the No. 4 spot on Restaurant Business' 2021 Top 10 Fastest Growing Chains, ranked No. 42 on QSR's Top 50, leaped to No. 99 on the 2021 Franchise Times Top 400 leading the off-premise pizza category in same-store sales increases, appeared five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious Top 500 ranking, named a Top Global Franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine and claimed the No. 2 spot in the pizza category on Entrepreneur's 2022 Franchise 500® ranking.

Marco's consistent performance, coupled with high-tier franchise support from the executive leadership team, many franchise owners themselves, resulted in eager and sophisticated entrepreneurs and multi-unit operators flocking to the franchise opportunity. According to FRANdata, a leading research and advisory firm that analyzes the franchise market, Marco's 2021 FUND Score is in the top 1% of all evaluated franchise systems and is among the top three scores for all QSR brands. The Top 50% of Marco's franchised stores generated $1,059,574 AUV for 2020*.

For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or call 866-731-8209.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA 
Marco's Pizza is America's Most Loved and Most Trusted Pizza Brand, according to the 2019 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza brands in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,000 stores in 34 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 2 in the Pizza category on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2022 "Franchise 500" ranking, and No. 4 in the Fastest Growing category on Restaurant Business' 2021 "Top 10 Fastest Growing Chains" ranking. Other recent accolades include a first-time presence on Newsweek's 2022 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, ranked No. 42 on QSR's Top 50 and has been featured five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking.

*Based on the Average Unit Volume of the top 50% of our Franchised Stores for fiscal year 2020. Based on fiscal year 2020, 142 of 369 Franchised Stores in the category (38%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of our 2021 FDD – please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.

SOURCE Marco's Pizza