The New Menu
Donatos Pizza is adding two permanent chicken pizzas to its menu starting August 24, anchored by a reformulated housemade ranch made with real buttermilk and served in dipping cups rather than the single-serve packets the Columbus, Ohio-based chain previously used. The launch spans more than 177 franchise and company stores, plus over 250 non-traditional locations including select Red Robin restaurants.
The Buffalo Chicken Dip Pizza layers boneless chicken wings with hot chicken rub, jalapeños, Gorgonzola crumbles, and a Mariachi spice mix over Alfredo sauce and shredded provolone, finished with a mild wing sauce drizzle and the new ranch on the side. The Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza builds on Donatos' Famous Thin crust with sliced chicken breast, Roma tomatoes, crispy bacon, and a Romano cheese blend, finished with a ranch drizzle. Both pies are permanent additions — not limited-time offers.
Ranch as a Platform
The condiment refresh is as much a strategic signal as a recipe change. Ranch has held the top spot among U.S. salad dressings since 1992, and Forbes reported earlier this year that 75% of Americans say they like or love it — momentum amplified this summer by international visitors to the FIFA World Cup going viral over their enthusiasm for the sauce. For Donatos, upgrading from a packet format to a fresh, in-house cup positions the ranch as a dippable, drizzleable platform ingredient rather than a throwaway add-on.
To drive trial, the chain is including a free ranch sample with every large pizza ordered for a limited time. "Ranch isn't just a condiment anymore, it's a craze, and we wanted Donatos Pizza to lead it instead of chase it," said Kevin King, President and CEO of Donatos Pizza. Chief Marketing Officer Jodie Conrad framed the pairing as intentional contrast: "Savory and creamy on one side, spicy and cooling on the other."
Foodservice Context
The move reflects a broader trend in pizza-forward foodservice: operators are increasingly treating signature sauces and dips as menu differentiators rather than afterthoughts. For convenience-store foodservice programs and pizza-at-retail operators watching the pizza segment, Donatos' ranch-as-anchor approach mirrors how QSR chains have leaned into proprietary sauces — think Chick-fil-A Sauce or Raising Cane's — to build brand loyalty around a condiment rather than solely around the entrée.
Donatos' non-traditional footprint across 250-plus embedded locations makes the ranch upgrade especially relevant for restaurant-in-retail and co-branded foodservice operators. A dipping-cup format is more practical for in-store pickup and grab-and-go than individual foil packets, and a housemade positioning can justify a modest price premium at the counter. Whether the chain extends the ranch to its non-traditional partners — where throughput and back-of-house complexity differ sharply from a freestanding pizzeria — has not been announced.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
