Dodo Pizza was founded in 2011 in Syktyvkar, Russia. Just 12 years later we have 935 pizzerias in 17 countries, and soon there will be twice as many.

The secret to our success is a sustainable business model, trustful relationships with our franchisee partners, and a strong brand that is inextricably linked to our culture. This site is about our culture and the brand.

Good pizza

We make good pizza. Thousands of people place their orders every day and give us five-star feedback. About 80% of our orders are repeat orders. And about 10% of our customers return to us on a regular basis, every two weeks or even more often.

Why do our customers value us so much?

Outstanding Experience

We believe we get those five stars for what we call the “pizza experience”. We say that what we call “our product” stretches way beyond pizza itself. In Dodo we say that the entire “pizza experience” is our product. The complete chain of events that starts with the idea of having a pizza and ends with the total fulfillment of all customers’ needs — this is Dodo Pizza’s product.

• We created our menu so that every customer will find something appealing for them specifically. It is about recipes, portions, and prices altogether.
• We made our mobile app easy to use and predictable.
• We work on making atmosphere in our pizzerias both cozy and pleasant, so that our customers could enjoy themselves while eating.
• We try to deliver the order quickly and safely, and we hand it over with a smile.
• And in case the customer has any problems with the order, we try to solve them both quickly and with attention to customer’s needs.

All this sounds way more complicated than just “making pizza”, right?

Our own delivery

Being Dodo Pizza is first and foremost having its own delivery:

• a courier with a branded bag,
• with a signature smile,
• and with a special smart ‘courier’ app in their pocket.

Yes, the courier’s app is really smart: it literally knows how to optimize routes for a faster delivery. It's only due to our own delivery that the pizza experience turns out to be uncompromising.

Truth to be told, in new markets, we sometimes partner with food aggregators. This helps us at start to increase brand visibility and our accessibility to people. However, we try to deliver as many orders as we can ourselves and abandon aggregators as early as possible. And we do so because our own delivery is cooler, safer and much more predictable.

A trustworthy place

We aim to be consistent anywhere we open. It means that if you travel to a different country or city, we want you to be able to visit Dodo Pizza there and get the same quality experience as the one you had at home. We want Dodo to become a trustworthy place to visit no matter where you are.

Also, we have different pizzeria formats. For example, at our “city” format pizzeria you can have a snack while you are running errands somewhere downtown; whereas in our “family” places we have children’s playgrounds, so that you can have dinner with your kids and even chill a bit while they are playing.

Place full of attentive people

Being responsive and friendly is what we value the most, what we train our staff for. Yes, sometimes sh*t happens: someone drops their food, spills the drink or is just having a bad day. Dodo is staffed with helpful and friendly people who are ready to help everyone without exception.

Comfortable and clean

It doesn’t matter whether you visit Dodo Pizzeria to have a quick snack alone, to sit with your pals or to celebrate a birthday with a large group of friends — it will be pleasant to do any of this at our store.

We pay extra attention to cleanliness in our pizzerias: all the surfaces are washed frequently and thoroughly. We even have “secret cleanliness inspectors’ to come and check out every corner. We comply with all the safety standards, both state sanitary regulations and our internal, even stricter ones.

Go-to pizza app

At first glance, you may say that the Dodo Pizza app has the same features as other pizza apps have. Yes, you can find menu with pics and prices in our app; you can add and remove ingredients; track your order status; rate and leave feedback.

However, we went further while working on these features to make them even more practical for our customers:

• In the Dodo App you can order delivery not just to your home, but to your table while you are in a pizzeria. Or you can order for a takeaway. A convenient takeaway: imagine you walk by a pizzeria, order a little in advance and pick up the order literally in a minute. This feature is incredibly appreciated by customers with children and strollers.
• Our App has more than just a menu with pictures; it has a convenient, informative and extremely honest menu. We only show photos of real products, which are not photoshopped: we show the products the way the customer will get them in real life, all according to our standards.
• The Dodo app allows you not just to customize ingredients for your pizza (add or delete them); it also lets you “build your own combo” or create pizza made of two different halves!
• we have a full-fledged loyalty program with cashback and missions, as well as personalized offers and lots of promo codes. We heard that people usually hate loyalty programs for being intrusive and irrelevant, but we made ours to be really valuable for the client and with noticeable benefits.
• Well, this one is special. You can not just track your order status in our app, but watch how your order is being prepared through the webcam live streaming from pizzeria’s kitchen!
• Dodo app allows you more than just to leave feedback for your order. You can actually give detailed review on every aspect of the order and through that have an impact on our processes and recipes.

At the end of the day, it’s a pretty good app, huh?

Finally, our app is unified. It is literally the same in all countries. In case you are a frequent traveler and a Dodo Pizza fan, you don’t have to reinstall anything: just switch to the country you are in. “Unified” also means that in case we change anything in the app (pop a dark theme, add a courier tracking on a map) — it’ll show up for everyone at once.

“Zero non-responsiveness” principle

Every once in a while, something unfortunate happens with our customers’ orders. Of course, we serve X orders daily and worldwide and we are all humans. So yes, sh*t happens, we make mistakes.

That’s why we take feedback very seriously. Every customer’s feedback received directly is displayed on special screens in pizzerias and offices. These reviews have a real impact on what we do: both people who run particular pizzerias and those from management company — all get to see the reviews. Sometimes they bring joy, sometimes it’s terrible pain. But each and every incident is investigated, all the problems revealed are turned into tasks with deadlines for the staff members in charge.

Call us crazy, but we are in constant search for feedback. While others hide people behind “bots”, we make it easy for our customers to reach our support team in person and share their feedback or search for help. Moreover, we actively monitor customer reviews everywhere — on maps, in review services, on social media, even in the comments of our competitors’ social media. Simply everywhere we look for feedback. You ask “why”? Because it lets us know what to improve and become better.

And not to forget. We do not only like to receive that feedback. We try to respond to everyone.

“Solve the customer’s problem first, and only then — your own” principle

There are too many ways to react to problems in the wrong way. You are probably familiar with the one when you text to the customer support with your problem and get some useless promo code in return without your problem being solved? Or the one when they disappear for a few days till you forget about your problem? Or even apologize sadly and do nothing? Sorry, if you had to deal with those ones.

We believe that there is only one right way to deal with customer’s problems:

• first solve the client’s problem, as quickly as possible, without creating any more trouble;
• only after problem being actually solved — return to the customer with feedback and promo codes;
• in case the problem comes up systematically — focus on resolving this problem on larger scale, so that none of the customers face it anymore.

This is how we do it. And that’s why we love feedback: because it doesn’t weaken us, it makes our business stronger and our relationship with clients deeper.

Trust is the key

Our support team solves problems very quickly: 70% of all issues are resolved in the first conversation with the customer. This is possible because we trust people. Trust them a lot.

First of all, we trust our clients: if they say that their pizza is burnt, that means it is burnt, no need to send us proving pictures or whatever. If the customer says that the courier is late — well, then, the courier really is. That doesn’t mean that we are vulnerable to manipulations, no. Our well controlled digital system, Dodo IS algorithms, helps us detect intentional abuse or any alert operators. Yes, sometimes people lie and make mistakes, but we believe it’s better to believe everyone than to suspect everyone.

We also trust our customer support operators. We provide them with all the tools to solve problems: the ability to quickly contact a courier, a manager, a partner, a management company. And we trust them to make decisions — the right to issue a promo code or increase the discount or help the client in the way they feel it’s right.

And, yes it pays off: we managed to build a support service that really supports!

Every day our customers deal with numerous tasks: call back, help, drive, create, discuss, do. Along with that, they need to find time to eat, feed, treat, please, and care. We don't know what exactly they take care of each and every day. But what we do know is how to make any day a little better! When somebody needs a pizza or a quick snack, a quiet corner or a meeting spot, they have Dodo Pizza.

We look to the future with optimism and believe in a world full of “difference makers”.

Difference makers are change accelerators. They are proactive, attentive, responsive and demanding. These are the people who care.

If something goes wrong, difference makers will text our support team, not because they’re angry, but just to make sure it won’t happen again — neither to them, nor to anyone else. In a way, difference makers are our partners. We show them an example of openness and trust, we help them to lean on something steady, even if it’s just pizza. And they give us hundreds of ideas on what we can do even better.

Difference makers are the ones who inspire us and give meaning to what we do. They turn a trivial pizza into a boisterous feast, a moment of self-care or a gesture of support. They turn Dodo Pizza into something that really matters.

Dodo Pizza is a mass-market brand. We don't and can't have unloved customers, everyone matters to us. Nevertheless, it is the difference makers that we consider the core of our audience, it is them that we want to hit in the heart. And our mission is related to them.

We want people to become more active and demanding — in other words, we want to see as many difference makers as possible. How can we have any impact on this? We know how.

What are “values”?

Is it something that we see as important, sincerely believe in, or what we strive for? Or is it something that our customers appreciate in us, what they choose us for and single us out from others?

It may seem that these are two different questions, and you have to choose which one to respond to. Our secret is to have the same answer to each of them.

It works on a personal level:

• If a person values quality work, and a person is appreciated for their quality work, it turns out that in matters of quality they can just be themselves.
• If a person values openness, and a person is appreciated for their openness — it means that their interests are perfectly aligned with the interests of others. This is a sign of integrity, and maybe a recipe for happiness.

It works the same way at the corporate level:

• If we as an organization invest in the accessibility of our products systematically, and our customers appreciate our accessibility, then we don’t need to pretend, we can just be ourselves.
• If everyone in the company feels in their heart that attentiveness is essential and makes the world a better place, and our customers agree on that and appreciate our attentiveness, then we can just do what we believe in and not waste a second on a “pretty picture”.

Win-win!

Dodo Pizza is a mass-market brand, and the idea of accessibility spreads through our entire business. We strive to be accessible to every customer without exception, and in the broadest sense:

• Geographic accessibility. We open in the most remote cities, making delivery zones more compact to be closer to customers.
• Pricing accessibility. Initially, we set affordable prices; we also have a lot of profitable combos; we also make sure that the menu has great options not only for large groups, but for one or two; we also have everyone’s favorite loyalty program, and there are promo codes, promo codes, tons of promo codes.
• Interface accessibility. Our app is adjusted for visually impaired and people who are blind, as well as for people with motor impairments, sensitivity to light or to sharp animations.
• Architecture accessibility. The legislation already has all the necessary standards, and we comply with them not formally, but in reality.

We are fundamentally attentive.

We believe that attentiveness makes the world a better place. It improves relationships among people and helps build trust.

We are attentive:

• at the checkout: we create a friendly atmosphere and help with selection;
• in the support service: we respond to any requests, and if anything goes wrong, we solve the problem quickly;
• in the public space: we are attentive to every feedback, comment and suggestion, and we respond to everyone;
• in dialog with partners and team: we value everyone, do not dismiss anyone, hear and take into account everyone's interests.

It is important that attentiveness should be fundamental. Not situational, on the occasion of a good mood, but unconditional, always and everywhere. Our attentiveness is stronger than fatigue, stronger than any insults, stronger than technical and organizational problems, stronger than any “but”.

We build our business on trust. This is the key principle that allows us to channel the creative energy of thousands of talented people into one big business, to recognize problems in time, to live happily and fear nothing.

We trust:

• Our customers. A couple of examples: we have open counters where you can pick up the goods before paying in the checkout area; our support service takes everything on trust in disputes; we give discounts on birthdays without any proof; if a customer spills coffee accidentally, we make a new one for free.
• Our employees. We consider everyone a partner in a common cause. We do not use KPIs, only OKRs. We never penalize anyone for anything. We let ambitious people take leading positions, often given a little “in advance”, and give them a chance to show what they are worth.
• Our partners. We open access to information without any NDAs and mandatory payments. We trust the opinion of experienced franchisees, support initiatives and learn from them, and discuss key decisions at a special Partners’ Council.
• The world. We believe that no one wishes us harm on purpose, so we listen to criticism carefully.

Of course, we do not tolerate deliberate deception. If we know for sure that someone is doing harm purposefully, we take action. But instead of suspecting everyone and allowing only some individuals to earn our trust, we trust everyone, and only allow some people to become the unfortunate exception.

It’s a vulnerable position. It’s pretty easy to fool a promo code out of our support team, and it's not that hard to shoplift a salad from our open counter. We know.

You just don’t have to be afraid. It’s more profitable to trust. We’ve checked that a hundred times with a calculator in our hand. We’re not afraid to trust because we’re confident in ourselves, our decisions, our products and our view of the world.

Thanks to a culture of openness, our company has grown significantly without worsening for even a bit.

For us, openness is:

• Quality control instrument. When everything is in plain sight, it’s much easier to verify compliance with standards.
• Improvement driver. Thanks to openness, we not only constantly receive tips and external signals, but also accept them and use them to evolve.
• Transparency. We literally have transparent walls in our pizzerias, and we also have a transparent business, we publish financial information openly as well as a huge number of documents, including this very one.
• Honesty. We tell it as it is. All of our advertising is no tricks and no text in a minuscule font. We value word of mouth and reputation very much. If we are wrong, we do not hide mistakes, but recognize them and draw conclusions.
• Impartiality. We treat people of all ethnicities with respect, do not judge by appearance, gender or status, work with everyone as equals and trust everyone equally.
• Sincere curiosity. We are interested in the world in all its diversity: we do not try to dictate rules, but want to both influence the whole world and learn from the whole world.

Not only do we maintain this culture within the company, but we strive to be an example to all: an example of how open-mindedness, sincerity, acceptance of differences and a desire to find common ground help achieve outstanding results.

Customers are keenly aware of the difference between tasty and tasteless, fast and slow, convenient and inconvenient, clear and confusing. So we seriously go over the top with everything about quality.

• Over the top with the ingredients. We pick our suppliers carefully, never skimp on flavour.
• Over the top with food safety. We observe storage conditions carefully, move ingredients from shelf to shelf, and throw away expired ingredients ruthlessly.
• Over the top with the dough. We select the ingredients carefully. Perfect the recipe. We pass the quest of grams, degrees, percentages and hours and minutes. Build production and distribution centers to make dough in more predictable conditions so that quality doesn’t decrease with increasing volumes.
• Over the top with the recipes. We improve classic world bestsellers through detailed feedback from thousands of customers: this is called R&Digital. We make recipes that are unique to our markets with expertise, with heart, using the talents of our chefs.
• We sell fresh pizza only. Our delivery time averages 34 minutes. We sell slices on display for no more than 90 minutes, then we throw them away ruthlessly.

How to maintain quality over the long haul

It’s hard! The sight gets blurry. It’s easy to stop noticing problems and lower your expectations of yourself. Here’s what helps us:

• Ultimate business digitization. The computer’s sight doesn’t get blurry. Algorithms don’t get tired in the evening. We have been developing our own information system Dodo IS since day one of the company’s launch, and it plays a huge role in quality management.
• Public rating. Every pizzeria has a public rating. This is a direct and rigorous assessment of customer experience, the arithmetic mean of all the ratings received from customers without filters, corrections and tricky formulas. Unfortunately, unfair evaluations also affect the open rating, we have to admit that. But we do not evaluate effort — only the results. The open rating is a key metric of our business, we are constantly improving it and are happy with every hundredth of a point.
• Impartiality. It allows us to examine ourselves again and again with a fresh look, through our customers’ eyes. Eventually, they don’t care about the complexities of implementation, do they? Well, we don’t look for excuses.
• Integrity. If the pizzeria does not provide quality, first we try to help, and if it is not responsive we demand from the partner to sell the pizzeria to another partner or even close it. Alas, there have been such cases.
• Integrity. Once upon a time, in one of the first pizzerias there were 20 kilograms of expired pepperoni. Expired only for a couple days! Given the heat treatment, a couple of days past due is no problem at all. 20 kg is a lot, and for us it was a lot of money. We decided to throw it all away: not because it’s dangerous to eat, but because it’s dangerous to compromise on quality. A standard is a standard.
• And once again, integrity. Once we disposed of a stock of check tape worth 11 million rubles — the tape had “frozen cheese is not used” printed on it, and as the chain grew, for the sake of food safety, we decided it was better to freeze. We felt really sorry about the money, but we couldn’t keep telling a lie. Some would say “well when this tape runs out, then the promise will be renewed, big deal!” Not us.