LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ: PZZA) added a new page to its pizza playbook today, announcing it will be serving up one of its biggest product innovations in a decade: Papa John’s Pan Pizza.

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Papa John’s Pan Pizza comes in a sleek, new box available for a limited time only. (Photo: Business Wire)

The new, handcrafted pan pizza is more of what pizza fans love and have come to expect from Papa John’s. Made from fresh, never-frozen pan dough with no artificial preservatives, this crust features seven simple ingredients—a signature blend of flour and extra virgin olive oil, cold-filtered water, sugar, salt, yeast and oil.

The seasoned hearty tomato sauce is a variation of the signature Papa John’s pizza sauce—made from California fresh-packed tomatoes, perfect for the Pan Pizza. Each Pan Pizza is layered with high-quality toppings of choice and covered with Papa John’s signature cheese all the way to the edge of the specially crafted, caramelized cheese crust. The final pie is baked to a thick, golden crust for a delicious crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside pizza experience.

“We’ve been working for a year and a half on this Pan Pizza to get it absolutely perfect for our pizza fans,” said Steve Ritchie, President and COO of Papa John's. “We wanted this pie to follow our quality ingredient promise but with a unique edge. This brought us to create a new, fresh pan dough and sauce to give our customers more of what they want and love.”

Papa John’s Pan Pizza comes in a sleek, new box, available for a limited time only. The box was designed specifically to house the Papa John’s Pan Pizza in style and features a deep black exterior and a full-color top with an image of the long-awaited pie.

Beginning October 10, a new advertising campaign featuring legendary quarterback Peyton Manning, NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt, and Papa John will air nationwide. Showing fans what a “Gameday with Peyton” looks like these days, the ad debuts the new Pan Pizza with fanfare, smoke machines and cheerleaders, and invites pizza fans to design their own Pan halftime experiences by redeeming an offer for the new pizza with three toppings of choice for only $10.

Because of its commitment to quality, Papa John's was the first national pizza delivery chain to announce the removal of the following ingredients across its entire food menu:

• Preservatives BHA and BHT;
• Flavor enhancer MSG;
• Cellulose and partially hydrogenated oils;
• Artificial flavors and synthetic colors; and
• High fructose corn syrup.

Papa John’s also recently announced the completion of its promises to remove human and animal antibiotics from its grilled chicken toppings and chicken poppers, as well as 14 additional ingredients from its food menu by the end of 2016. And, as of Oct. 1, Papa John’s has converted to using cage-free eggs. The brand plans to continue exploring ways to always deliver on its promise of BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA.

Order online at www.papajohns.com, through Papa John's mobile ordering app for iPhone and Android devices, or through the new Apple TV app.

About Papa John’s

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third-largest pizza delivery company. For 15 of the past 17 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's is the Official Pizza Sponsor of the National Football League and Super Bowl LI. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com. Also visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/papajohns, Twitter at twitter.com/papajohns, YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/papajohns, Instagram at instagram.com/papajohns, Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/papajohnspizza, and Vine at vine.co/papajohns.

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