Marco’s Pizza, one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, kicks off 2026 with deliberate development plans following a year of strategic expansion and systemwide investment. In 2025, Marco’s opened more than 60 new stores and this year, it plans to surpass 80 new store openings while continuing to accelerate growth across new domestic markets, international territories, and nontraditional venues. Complementing its expansion, Marco’s is rolling out advanced digital tools, operational enhancements, and menu innovations, strengthening franchisee support and setting the stage for sustainable, long-term operations.
Notable Achievements in 2025
- Strategic U.S. Expansion: Marco’s entered New Jersey and signed a development agreement for New Mexico, expanding its national footprint and unlocking new growth markets.
- International Milestones: The brand celebrated anniversaries in Mexico and Puerto Rico while continuing to explore new international opportunities and growth across the Caribbean and LATAM regions.
- Nontraditional Development: Continued expansion into ghost kitchens and alternative real estate formats helped drive accessible and flexible growth opportunities.
- Leadership Growth: Marco’s strengthened its executive bench with key hires, including Brad Smith to VP of Franchise Growth, Bill Schaffler to CFO and Steve Kennedy to CMO, reinforcing the infrastructure needed to support continued expansion.
- Operational Efficiencies: As part of an ongoing initiative to streamline store-level operations, Marco’s identified strategic vendor relationships, resulting in significant supply chain cost-savings.
- Digital Experience Enhancements: The brand advanced its digital ecosystem to improve the guest journey and support franchisee operations, laying the groundwork for future innovation. Notably, these enhancements earned Marco’s an AVA Digital Gold Level Award for its Ordering Platform and Website – Redesign.
- Industry Recognition: Marco’s earned accolades from FRANdata – claiming the highest FUND Score among all QSR concepts and No. 1 in the pizza category, Entrepreneur – ranking No. 50 in the 2026 Franchise 500 ranking, QSR – named a best franchise deal, and Newsweek – earning a reader’s choice best pizza chain award – all reinforcing the brand’s strength.
Vision for 2026
Marco’s enters 2026 with a continued focus on scalable growth and franchisee support, targeting 80+ new store openings, expansion into new territories, and continued development across domestic and international markets.
“Marco’s momentum is driven by a commitment to thoughtful expansion and strong franchisee support,” said Gerardo Flores, Chief Development Officer of Marco’s Pizza. “As we look ahead, we remain focused on building the infrastructure, technology and innovation needed to support the next phase of growth.”
Key Initiatives on the Horizon
- Operations Center of Excellence: Marco’s is developing new initiatives designed to enhance systemwide training, operational consistency, and performance as the brand continues to scale.
- Next-Generation Digital Experience: Including an updated loyalty program and exploration of AI-powered ordering capabilities.
- Menu Innovation Pipeline: Marco’s will introduce new product innovation in 2026 under the culinary leadership of Chef Kathleen Kennedy.
- International & Nontraditional Growth: The brand will continue exploring new global markets, expanding across Mexico and the Caribbean, and growing nontraditional formats including ghost kitchens.
Franchise Opportunities
To further support accessibility and franchise expansion, Marco’s introduced the Franchise Development Royalty Incentive Program, designed to lower barriers for qualified multi-unit owners. With early-stage royalty incentives starting at 0%, along with comprehensive support in real estate, construction, and operations, the program provides a streamlined, resource-rich path for franchisees to expand.
Prospects are taking note of the business opportunity, as Marco’s Franchise Disclosure Document reports $1.3M AUV for the top 25% of franchised stores in 2024*.
For more information Marco’s Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or contact Brad Smith at bradsmith@marcos.com or 419-279-5795.
*Based on average sales volume of the top performing 25% (or 239 units) of Marco’s Pizza Franchised Stores that were open during our 2024 fiscal year. Of the 955 Franchised Stores that were in operation for our entire 2024 fiscal year, 239 were included in the top 25% set and 40% obtained or surpassed the average sales volume. This information excludes (i) international locations (including Puerto Rico); (ii) Franchised Stores not open for the entire 52-week period in 2024; (iii) special venue and non-traditional franchised locations; and (iv) Franchised Stores that closed in 2024. See Item 19 of our 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information. Individual results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.