What the cluck! When pizza shops chase chicken

What Domino’s awkward flight into the fried chicken market tells us about drastic brand pivots

In November 2025, Domino’s UK made headlines when its chief executive, Andrew Rennie, was abruptly ousted after steering the business towards a fried chicken future. Rennie argued that the pizza market in the UK had “peaked,” and had launched a fried-chicken sub-brand called Chick 'N' Dip. Yet by the time of his departure, Domino’s was facing slipping orders and issuing profit warnings.

This drama raises a broader question: When a brand strays far from its original strength, can it successfully reinvent itself, or does it risk undermining what made it strong in the first place?

The Domino’s pivot - bold but fraught

Rennie defended the product shift by pointing to growing demand for chicken, calling it “the fastest-growing protein,” and hailing a fresh opportunity beyond the UK’s sagging pizza market. In September 2025, Chick ’N’ Dip opened in about 210 stores, signalling a bold new direction, with national roll-out planned.

But the results were underwhelming. Domino’s UK reported a 1.5% dip in orders in Q3, and a 15% fall in first-half profits - before the change of leadership. The board’s reaction was telling: They said the chicken push was a distraction from the “disciplined execution” of Domino’s core pizza business.

In one fell swoop, Domino’s journey from pizza pioneer to chicken challenger exposed a key risk: Even a large brand with a wide footprint may face serious backlash when it departs from what it’s known for.

Where diversification works — staying close to what you do best

Not all brands that adapt stray so far from their DNA as Domino’s. Some have managed to diversify successfully by staying close to their core strengths, or by extending in adjacent directions rather than making wholesale changes.

We can see this truth in segments such as artisan coffee shops, bakeries or value-led QSRs, where many are shifting formats - offering more delivery, take-out, or revising store formats to meet evolving habits. These changes represent adaptation, not identity overhaul.

Why some pivots work and others don’t

What distinguishes success from failure when companies stray from their core business?

Brand identity coherence. Diversification tends to work best when it aligns with the brand’s existing identity or extends it naturally, e.g., new formats, delivery models, or adjacent product lines. Radical shifts (pizza → fried chicken) risk confusing or alienating existing customers.

Operational focus. Brands built around the new focus from the start have systems, supply-chains and brand messaging designed for that product. In contrast, legacy chains may lack the infrastructure or mindset to support a wholly different business model.

Incremental vs dramatic change. Incremental adaptations - new service formats, product extensions, etc - tend to preserve brand equity while improving relevance. Dramatic shifts risk diluting or undermining that equity.

In this framework, Domino’s 2025 pivot appears to have been a radical shift — with all the perils that come with that. Meanwhile, other parts of the UK fast-food sector continue to grow, but largely through specialisation or incremental adaptation.

Final word - the lesson for brands

For a brand contemplating a departure from its core, the path to success seems clear: Stay close to what you do best. Diversify if you need to, but do so within the logic and identity you already understand. The success stories in the current fast food market are those that build on their strengths: Whether that’s specialising in chicken from the outset, or adapting delivery models and store formats.

This mantra holds true regardless of the industry you work in, because the fact is, great businesses don’t succeed by chasing every trend; they thrive by executing their core formula with discipline, focus, and clarity.

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