A good suggestion that may’t be owned solely can doom a enterprise to an limitless battle with copycats.
That is what occurred through the self-serve frozen yogurt increase of the mid- to late-2000s. One among these help-yourself, add-your-own-toppings, pay-by-weight locations would come right into a neighborhood and have traces out the door.
The issue is that there’s nothing proprietary about self-serve frozen yogurt. TCBY, or different market leaders, cannot cease knockoffs from providing the identical product. And to make issues worse, numerous lower-end franchises supplied this idea with out doing any type of market examine.
That led to too many gamers getting into every market and turning one thing particular into one thing that had an excessive amount of provide.
It is a system that is unfair to anybody first to market, nevertheless it’s widespread in enterprise. Uber can be an enormous hit with limitless pricing energy if Lyft by no means existed. The identical could be stated of Uber Eats and its varied supply rivals.
The identical success results in copycats and oversaturation factor has occurred within the customized pizza house and Pie 5 has been a serious sufferer.
Self-serve frozen yogurt timeline:
- Early 2000s: Conventional frozen yogurt chains like TCBY existed, however self-serve was restricted.
- Mid-2000s: Pinkberry (based 2005 in Los Angeles) sparked the pattern, emphasizing “tart” flavors and toppings bars.
- 2008–2012: Explosion of self-serve chains throughout the U.S., typically in malls, city facilities, and faculty cities. Social media helped gasoline the pattern with “Instagrammable” toppings.
- Publish-2012: Progress slowed on account of market saturation, rising rents, and competitors from more healthy dessert alternate options (froyo vs. frozen desserts like Halo Prime, smoothies, and so on.).
- Closures: By the late 2010s, many self-serve froyo outlets had closed, with chains like Pinkberry consolidating areas and smaller independents disappearing on account of declining demand.
Pie 5 has shrunk to 17 areas.
Shannon O'Hara/Getty Photographs
Pie 5 has struggled
Pie 5 was not the corporate that innovated the make-your-own-personal pizza on a nationwide stage. The thought had existed domestically for many years, nevertheless it turned extra of a nationwide thought nearer to the early 2010s, when Blaze and MOD Pizza had attracted some buzz.
The corporate has some daring objectives, in line with its web site.
At Pie 5, we’re right here to alter how you consider pizza.
That is a fairly large boast, and the corporate explains its logic additional down the web page.
“Sure, it’s still round, it’s still sliced, and it’s still delicious, but ours is all about quality. We make our dough fresh every morning, chop garden-fresh veggies by hand, and mix up our own marinara sauce with fresh-picked tomatoes. You can try one of our signature creations or build your own! It’s crazy, but we want you to try all our amazing ingredients so you can discover your new favorite pizza,” the corporate shared.
The issue, and it is a massive one, is that there is nothing distinctive about Pie 5. Blaze and MOD, for instance, each supply the same product and boast concerning the high quality of their components.
Pie 5 as soon as had an early mover benefit, nevertheless it has misplaced that in what has grow to be an area crowded with related make-your-own-pizza franchises.
Pie 5 was not first
2008 – MOD Pizza based in Seattle, WA, by Scott and Ally Svenson
- Idea: “Fast casual, build-your-own pizzas with no set sizes.”
- First retailer opens in 2008; early growth focuses on West Coast.
2009 – Blaze Pizza based in Irvine, CA, by Elise and Rick Wetzel
- Idea: “Artisan-style personal pizzas baked in 180-second ovens.”
- Franchise mannequin accelerates fast development.
2011 – Pie 5 Pizza Co. based in Fort Price, TX.
- Idea: “Fast-casual, personal-sized pizzas in about 5 minutes.”
- Initially centered on Texas; later expands nationwide.
Pie 5 faces an uphill battle
At its peak, Pie 5 Pizza had over 100 areas nationwide and seemed to be rising rapidly. The chain started to battle within the mid-2010s, when competitors within the house turned fierce, and Blaze and MOD turned the better-known manufacturers.
It has steadily shrunk its footprint and now operates solely 17 Pie 5 areas.
Pie 5 is owned by Rave Restaurant Group, which additionally owns a extra profitable pizza chain. It supplied this description in a current SEC 10-Ok submitting.
“The company has offered consumers affordable, high-quality pizza since 1958, when the first Pizza Inn restaurant opened in Dallas, Texas. We awarded our first franchise in 1963 and opened our first buffet restaurant in 1969. We began franchising the Pizza Inn brand internationally in the late 1970s….In June 2011, we opened the first Pie Five restaurant in Ft. Worth, Texas,” it shared.
And whereas Pie 5 has shrunk, the corporate has not given up on it.
“We will opportunistically evaluate developing franchised Pie Five Units domestically. The rate at which we will be able to continue to expand the Pie Five concept through franchise development is determined in part by our success at selecting qualified franchisees, by our ability to identify satisfactory sites in appropriate markets, and by our ability to continue training and monitoring our franchisees,” it shared within the 10-Ok.
Trade professional and restaurant dealer Robin Gagnon is just not very forgiving of the model.
“This shouldn’t have happened. Pie Five went from 84 restaurants at the end of fiscal 2017 to just 17 today — an 80% loss of footprint in less than a decade,” she posted on LinkedIn. “…The story is familiar: declining same-store sales, shuttered high-volume units, and fewer franchise operators willing (or able) to hold on.”
Pie 5 pizza timeline:
- June 2, 2011: Pie 5 Pizza opened its first location in Fort Price, Texas, introducing a fast-casual idea centered on customizable private pizzas made in 5 minutes.
- 2012: Pie 5 was acknowledged as one among Nation’s Restaurant Information’ “Hot New Concepts.”
- 2015: Father or mother firm Pizza Inn Holdings was rebranded as Rave Restaurant Group, reflecting its portfolio growth past the standard Pizza Inn buffet mannequin.
- March 2017: Pie 5 closed a number of Midwestern shops, together with areas within the Twin Cities metro space, to give attention to different markets.
- 2022: Pie 5 launched its greatest menu transformation, eliminating giant pizzas and including individual-sized choices to reinforce the dine-in expertise.
- December 2024: Pie 5 operated 19 areas throughout eight states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia.
- October 2025: The chain diminished its footprint to 17 areas, down from round 100 in 2017, on account of declining gross sales and buyer site visitors.
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