Marco's Pizza Kicks Off 2025: Recapping a Stellar 2024 and Charting a Bold Path Forward
Development & Innovation Take Center Stage in 2025 as Marco's Stakes its Claim as One of the Industry Leaders
TOLEDO, Ohio, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, enters 2025 on the heels of a landmark year. With 85 franchises awarded and 70 new store openings in 2024, Marco's surpassed its 1,200th store milestone. As the brand accelerates its development and innovation efforts, Marco's is staking its claim as one of the leading brands in the pizza industry with no signs of slowing down.
Notable Achievements in 2024:
- Culinary Innovation: Marco's pushed boundaries with tasty LTOs like its Fiery Flavors Menu, a category-defining lineup anchored by a spicy cheese blend. Other menu highlights included the Triple Pep Magnifico and Margherita Pizza, each showcasing Marco's commitment to bold, premium flavors.
- Technology Advancement: The rollout of a proprietary cloud-based platform continues to enhance franchisee operations and guest experiences. This innovation reflects Marco's dedication to staying ahead in a rapidly evolving digital landscape with 770 new features and enhancements added to the platform since launch.
- New Brand Platform: The launch of But Wait, There's Marco's™ continues to disrupt routine ordering behavior and reminds customers why Marco's stands out with its fresh ingredients and bold flavors.
- Design & Operational Enhancements: The unveiling of a new store design and the integration of technologies strengthened both the customer experience and operational efficiency.
- NextGen Leadership: Marco's bolstered its leadership team with strategic hires including SVP of Digital Marketing Ben Halliwell, Director of Culinary Innovation Kathleen Kennedy, supporting 2023 new hire CMO Denise Lauer, and the promotions of John Meyers to COO, Milton Molina to SVP of Store Technology, Cathy Kinzer to SVP of Supply Chain, and Kristin Corcoran to Chief Legal Counsel.
- Philanthropic Efforts: The Marco's Pizza Foundation joined forces with Junior Achievement USA to further fuel entrepreneurial opportunity for young people, with a goal of reaching $500,000 in donations.
Vision for 2025
Marco's enters 2025 with a renewed focus on multi-unit franchise development, with 65% of 2024 agreements coming from existing franchisees – a testament to the brand's strong operational support and business model. Key growth areas include expansion into nontraditional locations and international markets, including Mexico.
"Marco's leads the charge in growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction," said Tony Libardi, Co-CEO & President of Marco's Pizza. "As we continue our expansion, we remain focused on bold culinary creations, operational excellence, and franchisee support. 2025 will be a year of momentum as we deliver on our commitment to quality and innovation."
Key Initiatives on the Horizon
- Expanded Culinary Innovation: Under Kathleen Kennedy, Director of Culinary Innovation, Marco's will continue introducing menu items that captivate customers and help drive franchisee sales.
- Technology Enhancements: Marco's will build on its front and back of house system with new features, including enhanced data analytics, to support franchisee operations and create an improved guest experience with an upgrade of its digital platform.
- Multi-Unit Growth & Nontraditional Opportunities: Marco's is currently focusing on key markets in the Midwest, East Coast, and Sun Belt regions, plus international expansion – building on the momentum of a 50-unit master franchise agreement to develop in Mexico City. Furthermore, the development team continues to explore options for nontraditional expansion, including ghost kitchens in urban areas.
Marco's growth and strong performance continue to be recognized across the industry. Notably, the ranked in the Top 50 on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500, earned a spot in Newsweek's America's Best Customer Service for pizza chains, and was highlighted on Nation's Restaurant News' Top 500 and QSR's Top 50.
Prospects are taking note of the business opportunity, as the Marco's Franchising Franchise Disclosure Document reports the Top 50% of Marco's franchised stores generated average net royalty sales of AUV $1,208,653 during the 2023 fiscal year*.
FRANdata, a leading research and advisory firm that analyzes the franchise market, reports Marco's 2024 FUND Score ranks among the Top 10 of all evaluated franchise systems. More impressively, Marco's ranks in the Top 3 scores for all QSR brands and No. 2 in the pizza category, maintaining its strong position from 2023. These impressive rankings are a testament to the brand's commitment to financing guidance as a core focus of its franchise development strategy which has led the near 1,300-unit brand on the path to continued growth.
For more information Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or contact Jamie Cecil at jcecil@marcos.com or 866-731-8209.
ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA
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 1,200 stores in 35 states with locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Mexico. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked in the Top 50 on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2025 "Franchise 500" ranking. Other recent accolades include a high ranking on Newsweek's 2025 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, earning a spot on QSR's Top 50, and being featured on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking.
*Based on the Average Sales Volume of the top 50% of U.S. Franchised Stores for our fiscal year 2023. Based on our fiscal year 2023, 185 of 447 Franchised Stores in the category (or 41%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of Marco's Franchising's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document ("FDD") - please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Individual results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.
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SOURCE Marco's Pizza