Language
You can read the magazine in one of the following languages
5-min read
Bookmark now
Copy Link
It was during university that Tapan Vaidya first started working in restaurants. From there, he never looked back. Now, after close to four decades in the industry, and more than 24 years spent with pizza restaurant Papa Johns, one thing is certain: Vaidya knows good food.
As the CEO of PJP Investments Group, which encompasses Papa Johns United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, he ensures that every slice is served with the promise of ‘BIBP’: Better Ingredients, Better Pizza.
“Papa Johns is a great brand. I love this brand, I love the product, and it mainly stems from BIBP,” Vaidya tells The CEO Magazine. “We take such great care while selecting and finalizing each ingredient so that the final product is always of the highest quality.
“I have always believed that if you chase excellence, success will chase you. I’ve always tried to live by that, and have chased excellence to extremes at times, which probably helped me grow faster than I otherwise would have. But in doing so, I have enjoyed the work that I do. I really love it. It’s been very fulfilling.”
“Papa Johns is a great brand. I love this brand, I love the product.”
Born out of a broom closet with a makeshift pizza oven in the back of a tavern in Indiana, United States in 1984, ‘Papa’ John Schnatter’s legacy today spans more than 6,000 locations in more than 50 countries and territories across the globe.
Within the United Arab Emirates, growth continues at an impressive rate.
“We continue to open restaurants,” Vaidya says. “We continue to develop people. We continue to expand our horizons.”
Now, a major development for the region will be PJP Investments’ expansion into India through a joint venture with Ambrosia QSR, backed by Pulsar Capital, with the goal of opening 650 restaurants in 10 years, the first of which will opened in October in Bengaluru. Across the United Arab Emirates, Papa Johns is approaching 100 restaurants, a huge feat in a complex region.
“We have to, every day, be in the same marketplace, the same competition, and try to steal every incremental point of market share,” Vaidya says.
“The same is true of Saudi Arabia. Certain aspects are somewhat easier in the Middle Eastern markets, with, for example the menu we have in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia being very international.
“You’ll find similar items to the United States and United Kingdom with, of course, local nuances, like halal.”
However, as Vaidya explains, India presents a completely different challenge given the prominence of vegetarian consumers.
“We are transitioning to a market where we are expecting almost 70 percent of our revenue to come from vegetarian features, which has never been the case in the markets that we have offered it in so far,” he says.
“Not only that, we’ve had to invest in a strong R&D effort to create menu items which will appeal to the Indian palate. We have now successfully done that. I can proudly say that the menu we finalized for India is one-third international, but it is one-third India-friendly and one-third India-centric.”
The volatility of the industry, coupled with the various geopolitical situations and the fact that Papa Johns has also felt the impact of a wider movement to boycott American brands, resilience has been part and parcel for the organization.
One of the most vital functions within the restaurant business, Vaidya believes that without a strong, solid supply chain in place, its success would be impossible. Essential, stable partnerships with suppliers such as Reza Hygiene ensure consistency and quality across all aspects of the restaurant.
“Everything leads to both the organization achieving success and the respective organizations achieving success,” he says. “But a good relationship always leads to a successful association.”
“A good relationship always leads to a successful association.”
Technological adoption, specifically AI for operational oversight, represents the next key opportunity for improving efficiency and quality in the quick-service restaurant sector.
“We use AI in multiple elements of the business,” Vaidya explains. “For example, all the CCTV feeds in our restaurants are uploaded to an AI algorithm, which then goes through the entire video from each camera.
“This algorithm essentially will give a showreel of all the things that are going right or those which are going wrong, and that helps our restaurant managers fine-tune and improve the quality of operations.”
Papa Johns is also exploring the possibility of robotic delivery options, having already invested in a vehicle fitted with radars, cameras and sensors.
“It’s a four-wheel drive-like vehicle, slightly bigger than the typical box on the back of a motorcycle,” Vaidya says.
“This robotic vehicle’s central processing unit knows exactly where the location is, the route has been mapped, the vehicle knows how to navigate, and make sure it avoids other vehicles and pedestrians, and reaches its destination as soon as possible.”
Ultimately however, these kinds of adoptions will never replace people – the beating heart and soul of Papa Johns – but rather, enhance efficiency across the board.
“People who are working for the brand are the true assets of Papa Johns,” Vaidya says.
“The emphasis on training and developing people is big within the Papa Johns ecosystem and, when you combine ‘Better Ingredients, Better Pizza’ with better trained people, that’s when magic happens.
“Gone are the days when achieving net profit objectives defined success. Success should be how an organization is adding value to team members, colleagues, consumers and to society in general.”
Returning again to the company motto, Vaidya emphasizes that ultimately there is no compromise for quality in the restaurant business.
“That is something I’ve always believed in and I’ve seen firsthand,” he concludes. “The consumer has gradually but surely got smarter over the years.
“You can try to deceive your consumer at your own peril. Stick with quality, and you’ll stand a chance to fight the challenge.”
RELATED ARTICLES 
SPOTLIGHTS ON LEADERS 
Home
Podcasts
Covers
Be Featured
Community
