Papa Murphy's parent company MTY Food Group announced another round of closures for the struggling take-and-bake pizza chain, signaling deepening problems in a once-thriving segment. CEO Eric Lefebvre attributed the contraction to a brutally competitive promotional landscape that erodes margins and undermines customer retention.
The take-and-bake pizza model, which built Papa Murphy's reputation on fresh, customizable pies customers finish baking at home, faces headwinds from both traditional pizzerias and delivery-dominant competitors like Domino's and Pizza Hut. These rivals deploy relentless discounting that forces Papa Murphy's into a race to the bottom on pricing, where the chain cannot compete effectively given its labor-intensive preparation model.
Lefebvre's comments reveal a fundamental market challenge. Take-and-bake pizza occupies an awkward middle ground. It lacks the convenience of delivery and the immediacy of eat-in dining. Consumers increasingly expect both speed and rock-bottom prices, neither of which favor Papa Murphy's positioning. The chain charges premium prices relative to delivery pizza, betting customers will value fresher ingredients and customization. That value proposition erodes when competitors slash prices weekly.
The closures mark another setback for MTY Food Group, which acquired Papa Murphy's in 2020 for roughly $1.4 billion. The chain has struggled through multiple rounds of restructuring since. Competition in pizza has intensified as delivery platforms amplify customer choice and promotional warfare. Marco's Pizza, Blaze, and independent operators fragment what was once Papa Murphy's niche.
The broader pizza category faces maturation pressures. Growth comes from market share theft rather than category expansion. Loyalty programs and delivery partnerships now define competitive advantage rather than product differentiation alone. Papa Murphy's fresh dough and customer customization once stood out. Today, chains like Blaze