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Domino’s courts controversy by releasing a pineapple crust pizza in Japan

Oona McGee May 23, 2024
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People are making their opinions known in the “Pineapple x Pizza Yes or No General Election 2024”.

Domino’s is the leading pizza delivery chain in terms of sales and locations in Japan, and the way they stay on top of the competition is by boldly thinking outside the box with their new releases.

This month, the chain is going where many fear to tread, wading into the most controversial debate in the pizza world by asking the question: “Should there be pineapple on pizza?”

To help customers make up their minds about which side of the divide they stand on, Domino’s is releasing two pineapple-heavy pizzas and a divisive new crust that’ll make people either salivate or reel away in horror.

▼ The new crust is called “Tropical Twist”

Unlike regular pineapple-topped pizzas, these new ones double down on the fruit as the crusts are filled with mozzarella cheese and pineapple sauce. This allows you to enjoy “the refreshing and fruity harmony of melting cheese and pineapple up to the very last bite”, and you can order it straight off the menu in either a regular Quattro version or an extreme Quattro version.

▼ The Tropical Twist Quattro pairs the pineapple crust with the following four pizza toppings: Tropical; Spicy; Garlic Master; Korean Short Ribs.

The Extreme Pineapple Twist Quattro is aimed at diehard pineapple lovers, as it contains the following four toppings: Ham and Pineapple; Ham, Pineapple, and Jalapeño; Beef Short Ribs and Pineapple; Pineapple, Smoked Bacon and BBQ sauce.

The pizzas start at 3,390 yen (US$21.68) for a small Tropical Twist Quattro and 3,450 yen for an Extreme Pineapple Twist Quattro. Alternatively, the Tropical Twist crust can be ordered for any pizza on the menu, with prices starting at an additional 440 yen for a small-sized pizza.

If you can’t get enough of tropical flavours you can also try the Tropical Cheese Twist Breads (350 yen for two pieces), which come with a pineapple dipping sauce…

…or the Premium Shake Tropical Coconut (740 yen), which contains pineapple sauce and a sprinkling of coconut on top, and it can be ordered with or without the whipped cream topping.

▼ What’s perhaps most shocking, though, is the fact that the pizza crust doesn’t just contain pineapple, but shredded coconut as well.

Coconut on pizza has the potential to rile people up even more than pineapple, but Domino’s says it was included during the trial-and-error phase of testing to get the pineapple flavour just right. Whether you love pineapple or not, it’s definitely a bold new product that’s set to cause debate, and the chain is fully aware of this, using the controversy to its advantage with the “Pineapple x Pizza Yes or No General Election 2024“.

▼ Are you on the “yes” side on the left? Or the “No” side on the right?

The general election will run from 27 May to 9 June, which is the sales period for the limited-time range, and customers can cast their votes for or against online and through social media sites and the Line messaging app. To kick things off, Domino’s invited two big names in the industry to debate the pros and cons of pineapple on pizza at a special media event on 17 May.

▼ Ricky, a celebrity from Jamaica, was on the “yes’ side of the debate, while Angelo Cozzolino, the chef at Italian pizzeria ristorante Baabo Angelo, was on the “no” side.

After tasting the new pineapple-infused pizza crusts, Ricky raved about the deliciousness of the juicy, sweet and salty pineapple flavour, while Cozzolino said it was too sweet for Italians, with the fruit making the pizza feel “watery”. The Italian chef wasn’t shy in expressing his opinion, likening pineapple on pizza to “adding olive oil to miso soup” or “adding sugar to Japanese tea”.

▼ That’s a firm “no” from Cozzolino.

To coincide with the release of the new range, Domino’s will open a special voting station inside Shinjuku Station on 27 May, for one day only. Held at ZeroBase Labs Shinjuku, Shinjuku MyLord 1F, staff will be handing out samples of the new product in boxes at the voting booth, so you can find out whether it’ll sway your opinion on the topic.

Regardless of where you stand, it’s heartening to see Domino’s fostering a debate on a divisive topic and giving both sides a platform from which to discuss their opinions rather than cancelling one side in their favour.

It’s part of what makes Domino’s the number one pizza delivery chain in Japan, and part of why they don’t shy away from putting pickles on their pizzas either.

Source, images: PR Times
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