Papa Murphy’s looks to refresh struggling brand with new store design and logo, according to company execsPapa Murphy’s looks to refresh struggling brand with new store design and logo, according to company execs

Joanna Fantozzi

Papa Murphy’s announced in June a brand refresh for the Vancouver, Wash.-based “take ‘n bake” pizza chain, including a new logo, color scheme and an open kitchen store design that will soon be rolling out to new and pre-existing stores.

With the brand’s first store redesign in seven years and first new logo in more than a decade, Papa Murphy’s is hoping that the new look will help to inject some new life into the pizza brand that has been struggling to grow sales over the last several years. 

“We have been working really hard to lay the infrastructure with the brand In order to be able to move forward in staying relevant, adding new technology and, and revitalizing the brand,” Victoria Tullett, senior vice president of development and general counsel with Papa Murphy’s said. “That [revamp] has included our online ordering, digital marketing, […] and of course, that store experience.”

Describing the new Papa Murphy’s look as “lighter, more welcoming” and like “an extension of your kitchen at home,” Tullett said that the “Kitchen Delite” remodel balances COVID-era safety concerns with interactivity as customers can more easily watch their pizzas being made.

The design is also more practical and digitally connected. There is signage for telling customers where to order food in person, pick up food from the quick pickup rack, as well as areas for purchasing merchandise and grab and go foods.

These design changes, along with an emphasis on interactive technology, are meant to reduce customer friction, particularly since the pandemic accelerated the use of multiple digital access channels. Papa Murphy’s just introduced an app in 2020 and this year, will be redoing their website to continue to evolve their digital presence, Kim McBee, senior vice president of guest experience and brand marketing at Papa Murphy’s, emphasized.

“We're emphasizing more of the digital messaging, and beautiful food photography on signs that are not static,” Tullett said. “For example, our new specialty pizza, the Outlaw pizza topped with Fritos, is not on our regular menu. So now we can showcase limited time offers in real time. We’re really trying to highlight our products to the consumer so that it’s more impactful.”

Topping off the design will be Papa Murphy’s new logo and color scheme which has been simplified from the red, green, and white colors as a nod to the brand’s Italian American heritage, to red and white as part of this “brand new look to feel relevant,” Tullett said.

Papa Murphy’s goal is to eventually roll out this new design to 1,000 stores, though that could take some time. To help move it along, they’re offering an incentive program to their franchisees to upgrade their stores, with different “rewards” based on if franchisees undergo a full or light remodeling of their stores.

After rolling out these new stores, Papa Murphy’s also wants to start expanding again with plans to grow in markets where the brand is already well-known, like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina.

“We really want to continue to grow the brand from an awareness perspective,” Tullett said. “There's a lot of folks out there, they don't know about our brand and we think COVID gave us an opportunity to change that.”

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