IWith more than 150 locations in the United States and Mexico, Peter Piper Pizza has enhanced its menu, restaurant design, marketing approach and operations in anticipation of expansion through new company and franchise-owned restaurants.

The 30-year old restaurant chain appeals to all ages with its great food (made-from-scratch dough, fresh salads, appetizers and desserts) and a fun, family atmosphere (interactive redemption and video games and an indoor playground). It operates restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico.

The company typically locates in shopping centers with strong anchor tenants and prefers freestanding buildings or an end-cap space. They look for locations convenient to residential areas, schools and recreational facilities.

To help management better understand the chain’s primary customers and to help them decide where to expand both company and franchise restaurants, Peter Piper Inc. turned to Buxton for guidance.

Buxton Offers a Solution

Buxton, the leading customer analytics firm for the retail industry, performed its time-proven CustomerID analysis to determine the psychographic profile of Peter Piper’s best customers. Then Buxton compared this profile against potential new restaurant sites to determine the best matches for the company. For each of these sites, Buxton created a drive-time trade area analysis to determine the exact number of potential customers and to project estimated annual income. With this data, Peter Piper’s leaders charted the course for moving into new markets and expanding within existing markets.

The Results

Peter Piper Inc. designed an expansion plan that initially targets the western and southwestern US. The company, which operates over 135 corporate and franchised locations, expects to expand its restaurant base by 15% each year in the coming years. They plan to achieve this by opening new company and new franchise locations. By the end of 2008, the chain will open several new company restaurants in Phoenix, San Diego and Dallas.

“Buxton has been useful as we expand into new markets, as finding new locations for our restaurants in well-developed areas will be a critical part of our success strategy in these new markets,” says Frank Sbordone, President and CEO, Peter Piper Inc.

Targeted markets for new franchise growth include expansion into northwestern cities such as Portland and Seattle, as well as other western markets including Denver, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, and in the Orange and Riverside Counties of Southern California. The research Buxton provided helped identify where Peter Piper’s core customers are located throughout the western states in order to successfully grow the Peter Piper Pizza concept.

“Our company expansion will be focused on new locations in Phoenix, San Diego and Dallas,” Sbordone says. “On the franchise side, our expansion potential is exciting. We have identified many large markets for potential new franchisees who want to develop an entire market and grow with Peter Piper.”