Papa John’s names Sean Muldoon chief ingredient officerPapa John’s names Sean Muldoon chief ingredient officer

Papa John’s International Inc. has promoted Sean Muldoon to chief ingredient officer, the company said Monday.

Muldoon, who had been senior vice president, research and development, quality assurance and supply chain, will oversee those same functions for the Louisville, Ky.-based pizza chain globally, from a c-suite position.

“Under Sean’s leadership, we have developed the gold standard for ingredients as well as one of the ‘cleanest’ pizza ingredient labels among top national pizza chains,” Steve Ritchie, Papa John’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Sean and his team strive to give our customers the best ingredients and the best pizza possible. His efforts exemplify Papa John’s continued efforts to deliver high quality ingredients sourced from ethical, dedicated suppliers.”

Muldoon, a Papa John’s veteran who joined the company in 1999, will oversee the global expansion of the chain’s “Gold Standard” ingredient specifications and its clean label initiative. 

Papa John’s said that organizing research and development alongside supply chain and quality assurance improves efficiency as well as the quality of ingredients across the globe. 

The position, a c-level ingredient officer, underscores efforts by restaurant chains to demonstrate that they are focused on using high quality and “clean” ingredients in their food. 

The 4,800-unit Papa John’s, which has long had the tagline of “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.” has been doubling down on its quality messaging recently with efforts to reduce unwanted ingredients from its menu items. 

Under Muldoon, the company has eliminated artificial flavors and synthetic colors from its food menu, and introduced a new light menu. The chain is also introducing a grilled chicken pizza and chicken poppers this summer that include chicken raised without antibiotics and fed a vegetarian diet.

Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected].
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