Have you ever wanted to eat better without giving up the foods you love? Sacrificing flavor for high-quality foods happens a lot, especially when it comes to pizza. Does it feel like it’s either healthier and tasteless or greasy and too filling? That’s where Oath Pizza comes in, with a menu full of exciting twists on flavors you actually love. Oath pizzas are crafted on a proprietary crust that is grilled, seared in avocado oil, and topped with real, fresh ingredients. The brand is disrupting the pizza and better-for-you segments with a product that is perfectly positioned to intersect the demand for high-quality comfort foods.
What started in a small seaside shop on Nantucket Island in 2015 has now become a beloved national brand, known for its signature avocado oil pizza crust and 100% feel-good pizza experience.
Oath is led by experienced restaurant executives and former Chipotle operations and marketing leaders. Drew Kellogg serves as the Chief Executive Officer, and Stacie Colburn Hayes, the Chief Marketing Officer. The expertise of Kellogg and Hayes has helped to get Oath Pizza back to its roots and prepared the brand for growth. Kellogg joined Oath Pizza in 2018 and brought his years of leadership experience to the rapidly evolving company. He now drives the brand’s strategic vision with his purpose-driven and talented team. Together, they are growing Oath Pizza into a robust national brand that is working to positively impact the world.
Kellogg saw the potential for the future of Oath Pizza. He asked his team and connections to help bring his vision to life using the brand’s unique product and efficient business model.
Hayes also joined Oath Pizza in 2018 and drives the vision for all marketing, technology, menu innovation, customer service, and franchise development. She and her team are responsible for the brand evolution and cutting-edge digital infrastructure. They work alongside the operational teams to provide unprecedented support to the company owned and franchise locations nationwide.
We at The Franchise Universe came across Oath Pizza in our expedition to find “The 10 Best Food Franchises to Open in 2021.” We got into an insightful conversation with Drew to know his experience and methodologies that make Oath Pizza stand out from the rest to become one of the beloved household food franchises.
The Story Continues
Today, Oath has grown to 29 locations across the country. For those who are not close to a restaurant location, their craft pizzas are available to ship to households and businesses across the country from Goldbelly®.
Oath’s franchise program began in 2018 when it was selected as the newest franchise by Aramark, the globally-recognized Fortune 500 food service leader. Oath was chosen due to its efficient business model, turn-key operations, and better for-you brand appeal to key groups, like Millennials and Gen Z.
Even without a focus on development at the time, Oath’s non-traditional franchise program continued to grow. The brand caught the attention of Covelli Enterprises, the largest Panera franchisee, which signed on as its second franchisee in 2019.
Oath’s franchise opportunity was selling itself to some of the biggest companies in the industry, so Kellogg decided to implement a traditional franchise growth strategy. He shifted resources and budget to market the opportunity more broadly and prepared for the resulting rapid franchise growth.
Now, Oath’s goal is to find franchise partners to open new locations, primarily in affluent suburban areas, occupied by ingredient-conscious folks who want a better pizza option. Oath’s ideal franchise partners are wellness-, community-, and people focused, with a love of delicious food and an appreciation for a simple, efficient operation and business model.
Overcoming Growing Pains
Oath experienced rapid corporate and franchise expansion with Aramark early on, before the brand identity, operations, supply chain, and other components were fully established.
Aramark’s openings began just before Kellogg and Hayes came on board. With the help of their exceptional and dedicated team, Kellogg optimized Oath’s business model and operations. At the same time, Hayes reestablished the brand identity and positioning, elevated the guest experience, and implemented new, proven marketing strategies. There was a period of branding and menu changes after Aramark openings had begun, but the adjustments were positive for the brand and its franchise partners and created a solid foundation for rapid, long-term franchise growth.
A Better Pizza Experience
Oath is pizza reimagined. Each bite is meant to make every day feel like a summer Friday back on Nantucket, where their first location opened its doors.
Oath’s signature crust is hand-stretched, grilled, and seared in avocado oil for a deliciously unique flavor and texture. Its menu offers signature pizzas as well as customizable options. Rare to the pizza industry, each Oath Pizza is made with real, highquality ingredients, and topped with house-made sauces, fresh, hand-cut produce, Applegate® organic proteins, and flavorful garnishes.
Oath Pizza has also become known for meeting vegan, gluten-free, and many other dietary needs with its inclusive menu. Thanks to its new partnership with Banza® to provide a perfectly doughy yet crispy chickpea crust, any pizza can be made gluten-free or vegan. Other options like vegan cheese and Beyond Meat are favorites among those looking for plant-based options.
For dessert? A chocolate chunk cookie pizza, where creamy ricotta meets cookie dough, topped with chocolate drizzle and powdered sugar. The perfect end to any meal. Oath also offers a popular kids’ menu, featuring pizzas crafted on a fluffy mini crust and a nut-free environment for parents seeking a safer, better option for their children.
A Culture Built on Community
Oath’s mission is to inspire happiness in its communities, and its team members are the most critical part of that. When Kellogg started, his first order of business was to meet the restaurant and field teams and evaluate the strengths and opportunities of the company culture. He led the team in collaborating to update the vision, mission, and values that set the tone for mutual investment and ownership across the organization.
Today, Kellogg and the team operate on the same core values they developed when he came on board-empowerment, hospitality, integrity, passion, sustainability, and teamwork, which can be felt throughout the organization.
The Highs and Lows of a Pandemic
The team at Oath worked tirelessly to adapt to the changing needs of its customers, restaurant teams, and communities while fulfilling its commitment to protect and grow its business. While difficult, the slowed pace and fast decision-making created space for Oath to optimize its model, set a path forward, and prepare for fast growth in a post pandemic world.
Fortunately, in 2019, Kellogg and Hayes had prioritized key parts of the business that would serve as essential during the pandemic. Kellogg focused on operational efficiencies as well as franchise program refinement and alignment. Hayes focused on strengthening cutting-edge ordering and front-of-house technologies and dining experiences. This included a value engineered menu, direct online ordering app, and website development, as well as an improved loyalty program, ordering experience, and data driven marketing campaigns with impressive ROI.
As a result, Oath Pizza was able to not only survive but thrive during the pandemic. The brand saw considerable improvements in operational efficiencies, increased digital revenue, improved new customer conversion, and database growth. These systems and strategies allowed creative campaigns, national partnerships, and the exploration of new revenue and growth channels. This included offering nationwide shipping in a matter of weeks via Shopify, and on Goldbelly® a few months later.
Community Offerings from Your Pizza Spot
Oath has been an active member and advocate of all of its communities from the start. Over the past 20 months, Hayes and the team found ways to support those in need, despite future uncertainties. When the pandemic arrived in the U.S., the team transformed its food truck into a contactless operation overnight. It set out to serve up its feelgood pizzas to front-line workers, isolated apartment building residents, hotel and retail staff, and many other community groups. Additionally, with the launch of its Pizza Party Packs, Oath donated 10% of profits to support organizations such as Feeding America, Americares, Home for Little Wanderers, Color of Change, and Coded by Kids. Oath continues to participate in local government funded food programs, donate to shelters, volunteer, and host fundraisers for non-profit organizations and schools.
Towards the Quest of Meticulous Expansion
Kellogg knew that he could transform Oath Pizza into something special and scalable with the help of Hayes and the Oath team. The brand’s unique, better-for-you product intersects the increasing consumer demand for real, quality food and satisfies the void for a better pizza. In addition, with one of the most efficient and scalable models in the QSR industry, Oath fulfills the growing demands for efficient, scalable and easy-to-operate, franchise concepts.
Now, with confidence in its unique, authentic, and scalable franchise opportunities, Oath is eager to grow. It aims to sign on dozens of new franchise partners by the end of 2022.
Go Ahead, Craft Your Own Story
Kellogg understands how to lead in a competitive franchise market and his advice to emerging entrepreneurs is simple, “Stay positive, be grateful, smile often, and be a curious, humble student along the way.” He adds, “Aim high and make sure to set goals that are inspirational, worthy, and make the world a better place.”
