Papa John’s announced today that it has released a pizza-ordering app for Apple TV.
There are two sorts of reactions to this news: One, this sounds like a joke. Who needs to order a pizza through their television set instead of just using a phone? And two: I can’t believe it took so long for this to happen.
Papa John’s takes this new app quite seriously, and the chain with 4,600 locations in 34 countries wants everyone to remember that it was the first company to capitalize on a bunch of technological shifts that forever changed the way pizza is consumed. It’s true! Per a statement that shared the news:
Papa John’s is no stranger to industry firsts; the brand was the first national pizza chain with digital ordering at all of its U.S. delivery restaurants in 2001. It was also the first national pizza brand to offer system wide mobile ordering with SMS text in 2007, the first to launch a nationwide digital rewards program in 2010, Papa Rewards, and the first to offer gift cards that can be used on mobile devices.
The Apple TV app — which must be used on a fourth-generation device — will allow people to order from the full Papa John’s menu, customize their pizza to their liking, and receive 25 percent off their first order.
Papa Johns is but the latest entrant in the race to use technology to serve up piping hot pizza. In New Zealand, Domino’s is experimenting with drones that deliver its pizza, for example.
Not to be outdone, Pizza Hut introduced pizza boxes that double as turntables on August 17. The boxes appear to be fully functional, and while professional DJs probably won’t use them anytime soon, they’re more than cool enough for most people.
Papa John’s has the advantage here of having the only sustainable tech. Domino’s won’t be able to deliver pizzas with drones in most countries for a while, and Pizza Hut’s DJ boxes aren’t going to last. An Apple TV app, on the other hand, is something many people can and probably will use in the present and the future.
