Why Domino’s UK is now betting big on chicken alongside pizza
Domino’s Pizza Group, the UK and Ireland master franchisee of the global brand, is aggressively promoting its new chicken offering, CHICK ‘N’ DIP, as a new way of cornering a popular fast food market.
In its full-year 2025 results published on Tuesday (10 March, Domino’s highlighted the nationwide rollout of CHICK ‘N’ DIP as a key driver of future growth.
The menu features chicken tenders, wings, boneless bites, and nine globally inspired dips, building on a successful trial in Northwest England and Northern Ireland from September 2025.
“We had a good finish to 2025, delivering full year results that were in line with guidance. I’m grateful to our colleagues and franchisees for their focus and hard work to deliver this outcome, and I’m pleased with the strong momentum we are carrying into 2026,” said interim CEO Nicola Frampton.
“In 2026, we are focused on strengthening our core business and driving disciplined execution across the organisation. In particular, we are excited about a number of strategic and operational initiatives to drive sustainable growth, including: the successful system-wide launch of CHICK ‘N’ DIP; a strong pipeline of wider product innovation; the development of our loyalty program and continued enhancements to our industry-leading supply chain.
“These initiatives, combined with Domino’s exceptional brand and strong market position, give me great confidence in our ability to create further value for our customers, franchise partners and shareholders.”
Complementary rather than competitive
The company positions CHICK ‘N’ DIP as highly complementary rather than competitive to pizza.
Trial data showed that over 80% of CHICK ‘N’ DIP orders were placed alongside pizza, suggesting it boosts average basket size and drives incremental sales in a tough consumer environment.
Domino’s already held a dominant 52.6% share of the UK pizza takeaway market (up 7.5 percentage points), but by entering chicken more forcefully, the addressable market effectively doubles.
Mixed financial performance
The push comes amid a mixed financial performance. System-wide sales rose 1.5% to £1,595.6 million, with group revenue up 3.1% to £685.4 million.
However, underlying EBITDA fell 6.6% to £133.9 million, and underlying profit before tax dropped 15% to £91.2 million, reflecting lower supply chain volumes, margin pressure, and investments.
Shares rose around 4.8% on the results day, trading in the 195-198p range.
The chicken initiative traces back further. Launched initially as a sub-brand in September 2025 under former CEO Andrew Rennie, who had suggested pizza growth in the UK was nearing saturation and that chicken represented the future, the rollout accelerated after positive early tests.
Rennie’s departure in late 2025 raised questions about the strategy, but the current leadership continues to hype CHICK ‘N’ DIP as additive, not substitutive.
Critics might see risks of cannibalisation in a market where consumers face cost-of-living pressures and could opt for chicken over pizza rather than both.
Yet Domino’s data counters this, with strong dip attachment even in non-chicken orders and the advantage of leveraging existing kitchens, delivery infrastructure, and 25-minute delivery times – no extra capital expenditure required.
