Donatos: Finding the New Pizza

The pizza segment of the fast-food industry is very aggressive. As peoples tastes change and new diets become the rage, restaurant chains must decide if and how to respond. This case focuses on the research behind the introduction of Donatos low-carbohydrate pizza, and how the company collapsed its normal product-development research process to take advantage of a current trend. The case describes a multi-stage study conducted by Donatos, an independent, premium pizza restaurant chain, aimed at tracking interest and response rates to a newly introduced NO DOUGH pizza concept. The research conducted by Donatos is an attempt to test and subsequently meet the needs of its low-carb diet market. In so doing, it also aims to measure customer satisfaction with the new pizza concept.

Describe the pros and cons of using the self-administered intercept and phone survey for this case.