2025 is expected to be a year of celebration for California Pizza Kitchen. The chain, which was established in 1985, is turning 40 years old. The pizza brand has faced recent challenges — it emerged from bankruptcy in 2020 — but has hit its stride in the past few years, despite early post-bankruptcy struggles to attract franchisees and the closure of some units.
CPK, which has over 200 units globally, expects to significantly grow its unit count and boost brand recognition through various channels, including non-traditional, vending machines and consumer packaged goods, CPK President Michael Beacham said.
Many of CPK’s strategies are already in motion. It signed its first domestic franchise agreement in November for six new stores in Nevada and Utah, in addition to the refranchising of three restaurants in the Las Vegas area. Earlier this year, it began partnering with virtual brand Man Vs Fries as a way to expand its menu.
“We’ve had a really good couple of quarters of sales and traffic and guest satisfaction ratings, so we know we’re on the right path,” Beacham said.
Check out how CPK plans to extend its consumer reach in the years ahead.
Vending machines
Later this year, consumers will be able to engage with CPK in a new way: vending machines. Over the next few months the brand will launch a pilot of two different vending machine models.
One can produce a full-size pizza and the other can produce smaller, personal pizzas in high-volume areas like airports, Beacham said. The machines can also serve pastas or cold items, which would give CPK the flexibility to keep the vending machine menus fresh and allow customers to try something new.
Vending machines can help offset operational challenges, such as reduced restaurant hours in the wake of rising labor costs. They also offer an on-the-go option for consumers without the extra fees of channels like delivery.
“If we can bridge that gap and bring you a high-quality product in a convenient location, whether it's a hospital, an airport, a college dorm, a limited-service hotel, then we believe our consumers are going to be excited to see us arrive in those locations,” Beacham said.
Non-traditional growth
CPK is currently in 12 airports, but has plans to expand into more, Beacham said. Previously, the chain would pursue airport opportunities if an airport or operator approached the chain. Now, it is proactively pursuing airport locations, and has 38 requests for proposals under consideration across airports and transit hubs, he said.
“We have a very flexible model that can be as simple as a counter service [model] to a fast casual [model] with a bar to a full-service sit down restaurant,” Beacham said.
Virtual brands
Outside of its traditional LTO menu, CPK is expanding its offerings through a partnership with Man Vs Fries, which offers a variety of burritos and quesadillas. Customers can order Man Vs Fries off-premise from participating CPK restaurants or in-store using a secret menu.
“If kids are big Man Vs Fries fans and their parents want the CPK experience, they can all dine together and both enjoy the brands in our restaurants,” Beacham said.
Man Vs Fries is initially available in California and Florida CPK locations, but the chain expects to expand it into additional restaurants, Beacham said.
When the CPK considered the virtual brand, it evaluated its success and opportunities for cross-utilization with SKUs, equipment and labor to properly execute the partnership, Beacham said.
“In terms of sales volume per day, Man Vs Fries has kind of stood on its own,” Beacham said.
CPK expects this partnership to last, unlike other virtual brands that casual chains have tried, but eventually discontinued. Beacham said other restaurants have made the mistake of creating a virtual brand partnership without thinking through if the partner brand’s kitchen uses the same ingredients, can use the same equipment and has the same culture as the host restaurant.
“[Man Vs’ Fries has] innovative flavors that just match the philosophy behind how we look at our kitchens and the food we put on our plates,” Beacham said.
Franchising
In 2021, CPK began a domestic franchising program — it had long franchised internationally — as part of its development strategy. In 2023, it also began refranchising, which can attract operators who want to take on stores without upfront development costs.
“This brand has a pent up demand for people wanting to be a part of it from a franchisee standpoint,” Beacham said.
CPK is planning to bring three or four franchisees into its domestic system each year to “ensure that we’ve also maintained the culture and the quality that’s made CPK what it is,” Beacham said.
Franchising will continue on the international side, with new stores opening recently in Hong Kong and the Philippines. More stores will open in the next few months in Canada, Costa Rica and the Philippines in addition to new international markets slated for later this year.
In addition to franchising, the chain will continue to open company-owned stores, Beacham said. CPK considers markets where it operates corporate restaurants as its core markets because it has deep expertise, knowledge and relationships in these areas. The chain views franchising as a tool to gain G&A, scale and relationships through operators in markets it's less familiar with.
“If we refranchise our stores, or do a straight-up franchise without the purchase of stores, we’re going to, long term, [have] a better blended system with higher growth and still maintain the quality and success,” Beacham said.
Beacham said he expects about 10 new units this year, more than double the four openings it had last year. By 2026, growth will start to accelerate because it will have both domestic and international partners building stores at the same time, he said.
“I think you’re going to see a lot more CPK stores in different formats, both streetside and non-traditional,” Beacham said. “I think you’re going to see us from a dominant position in the vending space.”
Consumer packaged goods
CPK has offered its frozen pizzas in grocery stores for many years, but Beacham said within the next few years, he expects to expand from the frozen pizza aisle into frozen appetizers, entrees and eventually into the refrigerated space. The chain is also launching its frozen pizzas in international markets, with plans to debut the business in Asia at the end of the first quarter.
“We’ve got places around the country where we don’t have a big penetration of stores, but we still end up on [consumers’] dinner tables at home,” Beacham said. “As we build stores, we end up getting consumers that come in because they recognize the logo and the brand. The more stores we have, the more people buy our consumer goods products to have it at home. They very much have a synergistic approach.”
