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Papa John’s Dominates the Pizza Category in Customer Satisfaction and Product Quality

PZZA | June 20, 2017

Papa John’s Dominates the Pizza Category in Customer Satisfaction and Product Quality

Pizza brand celebrates #1 ranking among QSR pizza chains in annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) report for 16 ^th time in 18 years

Papa John's continues to best the pizza category when it comes to quality and is celebrating with yet another top ranking from consumers. According to the 2017 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) that was released today, Papa John’s ranked first among QSR-pizza brands in customer satisfaction and product quality, while also ranking tied for second overall among limited service restaurants. This year’s recognition marks the 16^th time out of the previous 18 years that the Louisville-based pizza chain led the pizza industry in overall customer satisfaction. The 16^th #1 ACSI ranking is unprecedented in the restaurant category and reinforces Papa John’s category leadership in quality.

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Papa John's celebrates #1 ranking among QSR pizza chains in annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) report for 16th time in 18 years (Graphic: Business Wire)

“Our journey to better is a path we set out on more than 30 years ago because you can't make good wine from bad grapes and our customers recognize the difference," said Papa John, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Papa John’s International. “You can feel the passion for quality from everyone at Papa John’s from our drivers to our pizza makers to our dedicated executive leadership team.”

Papa John's earned the highest marks in customer satisfaction and product quality among quick-service pizza restaurants in the individual ACSI ratings. These measures were the result of survey data from roughly 180,000 customers over the past 12 months. Papa John's dedication to quality is reinforced by its financial investment of over $100 million dollars to provide superior products to its customers. Papa John’s is the first national pizza delivery chain to announce the removal of: flavor enhancer MSG, preservatives like BHA and BHT; cellulose and partially hydrogenated oils; artificial flavors and synthetic colors and the removal of High Fructose Corn Syrup across the entire food menu.

Consumers surveyed were asked about the best aspect of their experience with Papa John’s Pizza. Top responses included:

“I love that the ingredients always taste fresh!”
“Papa John's has the best tasting pizza ever.”
“Crust on their pizza is the best!”
“Taste and freshness are always great.”

Just last month, Papa John's was selected as Pizza Chain Brand of the Year in the 2017 Harris Poll EquiTrend Rankings and recently announced that 60 percent of Papa John's domestic sales originate from digital channels.

About ACSI Survey

ACSI uses customer interviews as input to a multi-equation econometric model developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. The ACSI model is a cause-and-effect model with indices for drivers of satisfaction on one side (customer expectations, perceived quality and perceived value), satisfaction (ACSI) in the center, and outcomes of satisfaction on the other side (customer complaints and customer loyalty, including customer retention and price tolerance). Indexes are reported on a 0 to 100 scale.

About Papa John's

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third-largest pizza delivery company. For 16 of the past 18 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's is the Official Pizza Sponsor of the National Football League, the Official Pizza of Major League Baseball and the Official Pizza Partner of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com. Also visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PapaJohns, Twitter at http://twitter.com/PapaJohns, YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/papajohns, Instagram at instagram.com/papajohns, and Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/papajohnspizza. Looking to be a part of something Better? Join the Papa John’s Pizza Family at www.papajohns.com/careers/ and www.papajohns.com/franchise

About ACSI

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a national economic indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of products and services available to household consumers in the United States. The ACSI uses data from interviews with roughly 180,000 customers annually as inputs to an econometric model for measuring customer satisfaction with more than 300 companies in 43 industries and 10 economic sectors, as well as over 100 services, programs, and websites of federal government agencies.

ACSI results are released on a monthly basis, with all measures reported using a scale of 0 to 100. ACSI data have proven to be strongly related to a number of essential indicators of micro and macroeconomic performance. For example, firms with higher levels of customer satisfaction tend to have higher earnings and stock returns relative to competitors. Stock portfolios based on companies that show strong performance in ACSI deliver excess returns in up markets as well as down markets. And, at the macro level, customer satisfaction has been shown to be predictive of both consumer spending and gross domestic product growth. The Index was founded at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and is produced by ACSI LLC. The ACSI can be found on the Web at www.theacsi.org.