Papa Johns just unveiled what might be its most daring innovation yet: the Croissant Pizza. A buttery, flaky, French-inspired twist on America’s favorite pie, this product is a textbook example of brand evolution within the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) category. With a limited-edition launch, a high-fashion collaboration with KidSuper, and global market reach—this campaign had all the elements of a high-impact product debut.
Except one.
They didn’t buy CroissantPizza*com.
Yes, you read that right. In 2025, in an era where owning your digital real estate is everything, Papa Johns launched a globally marketed product without acquiring the exact-match domain name for one of its new crown jewels.
As someone who has built and sold domain names, invested in branding strategies for major franchises, and studied QSR marketing campaigns in depth—this is not just a minor oversight. It’s a missed branding opportunity, a strategic lapse, and frankly, a marketing fumble that cost them just $14.
Let’s break down how an otherwise brilliant product launch ended up with a hole in its crust.
The Product Launch: Croissant Meets Pizza in a Global Play
To be clear, Papa Johns did a lot right with this launch.
- The Product: Croissant Pizza combines the rich, indulgent texture of a flaky French pastry with the bold, comforting flavors of pizza. It’s a “cronut moment” for the pizza world—a hybrid category bender with viral potential.
- The Storytelling: They tied the product to current food culture trends (like the ‘crookie’ and ‘cruffin’), leveraging consumer curiosity and global appetite for inventive fusion cuisine.
- The Fashion Collab: Partnering with KidSuper for a limited-edition, fashion-forward pizza delivery bag is not just unexpected—it’s genius. The bag itself, with crescent-shaped zippers and pastry-mimicking textures, tells a visual story that perfectly matches the product.
- The Rollout: The launch began in the UAE and quickly expanded across global markets—South Korea, China, Chile, and Peru—positioning Papa Johns as a boundary-pushing, international innovator.
In other words, this was a well-researched, strategically executed, and culturally relevant launch.
Which makes the domain name oversight even more baffling.
The Domain Name Dilemma: Why CroissantPizza*com Matters
In the branding world, digital is everything. A memorable domain name is not just a URL—it’s a marketing asset, a trust signal, and in many cases, a search magnet.
Here’s why CroissantPizza*com should have been part of Papa Johns’ pre-launch checklist:
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Goldmine
The term croissant pizza is now going to spike in global search interest thanks to the campaign. By not owning the exact-match domain, Papa Johns has no control over:
- The search landing experience
- Keyword dominance
- Brand protection from competitors or opportunists who might buy the domain
It’s the equivalent of building a flagship store and forgetting to hang the sign outside.
2. Brand Authority & Consumer Trust
Consumers expect legitimacy. When they search for “croissant pizza,” they’re subconsciously scanning for URLs that match their intent. If someone else owns CroissantPizza*com and populates it with affiliate ads, clickbait, or worse—Papa Johns risks brand confusion and consumer drop-off. Of course putting on my Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C. lawyer hat there can possibly be trademark issues here too…
3. Marketing Funnel Ownership
Imagine running an influencer campaign or TikTok ad where “link in bio” directs to CroissantPizza*com—a domain that Papa Johns doesn’t own. Every campaign asset (QR codes, PPC, social CTAs) is weakened without a clear, ownable destination.
4. Protection from Brand Hijacking
Even now, Papa Johns is vulnerable to a cyber-squatter buying the domain and redirecting traffic. Worse? A competitor like Domino’s , Pizza Hut , Marco’s Pizza (Marco’s Franchising, LLC), etc. could use the domain to hijack the narrative or confuse consumers. In the franchise world, this is a serious threat to brand equity.
A $14 Mistake with a Million-Dollar Impact?
That’s all it would have cost: $14 to register CroissantPizza*com. For a multi-billion dollar brand like Papa Johns, this is loose change—less than the cost of one Croissant Pizza combo meal.
As of today, CroissantPizza*com is still unregistered (at least at the time of writing). This isn’t just a “teachable moment”—it’s a textbook case study.
What They Should Have Done (And What You Can Learn From This)
Papa Johns is a major player, but this blunder reveals a blind spot even in top-tier marketing departments. Here’s what could have avoided this issue:
Pre-launch Digital Audit
Before launching any new product name, brands should lock down all relevant:
- Domain names (main, variants, misspellings)
- Social handles (@croissantpizza, etc.)
- Hashtags
Own the Keyword
Even if the product is temporary, the keyword lives forever. Papa Johns should have:
- Created a dedicated microsite (e.g., CroissantPizza*com)
- Embedded campaign videos, influencer content, and a store locator
- Used it for PR distribution and SEO content hubs
Redirect for Tracking and Retargeting
With CroissantPizza*com, Papa Johns could have:
- Installed Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, and email capture forms
- Retargeted warm audiences with future product drops
The Bigger Lesson for Brands and Marketers
Whether you’re a global QSR brand or a regional upstart, digital real estate matters. Domain names are your first impression. They guide your narrative, enhance your SEO, and protect your brand from dilution or hijacking.
Papa Johns had a world-class product, a daring creative collaboration, and a global rollout strategy—but they forgot to secure the front door to the house they just built.
Final Slice: What’s Next for Croissant Pizza?
The Croissant Pizza will likely perform well. Its visual appeal alone makes it Instagrammable and TikTok-worthy. The mashup trend has legs, and if the taste matches the marketing hype, consumers will eat it up—literally.
But if Papa Johns wants to fully capitalize, they need to think digitally-first going forward.
They could still:
- Acquire CroissantPizza*com (if it hasn’t already been scooped up)
- Turn it into a global landing page for the campaign
- Create content about croissant mashups, behind-the-scenes R&D, and customer reactions
- Use it to build anticipation for limited drops in new markets
In short, they can still save this slice.
Because in today’s world, it’s not just about better ingredients and better pizza—it’s also about better digital branding.
If you happen to register any of the domain names (for less than $14) please keep me updated as I always like to see what happens with the domain names I discover.
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To your domaining success,
@AndrewHazen & @DomainSuccess
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