Sbarro
What if Sbarro launched in Lebanon?
- Role
- Strategy, research & campaign development, with Tala Karameh
- Project type
- Hypothetical market-entry concept
- Scope
- Positioning · Launch strategy · Campaign
The challenge
How could an established international pizza brand enter Lebanon in a way that feels relevant rather than simply imported?
But would this actually work in Lebanon? → that’s where I started.
Act I
Understanding the opportunity
The local story, how Sbarro is seen globally, and the market it would walk into.
01The local story
Sbarro was here. Then it disappeared.
2010
Opened, closed quietly
Sbarro entered Lebanon in 2010 and exited without noise.
Recognized
Not differentiated
People knew the name but couldn’t say what Sbarro was for, or who it was for.
Blurred
With the category
It sat on the same shelf as Domino’s and Pizza Hut, with no reason to pick it.
The diagnosis
The problem was positioning, not product.
02Global perception
Overpriced. Not fresh. Mall pizza. Forgettable.
Reviews and threads from the West told the same story. So the strategy wasn’t to change the product. It was to fix the perception.
We are not
changing the product.
We are
fixing the perception.
03Context & competition
We don’t fight pizza. We fight lunch.
Of the PESTEL signals, three shaped the strategy: a tight lunch budget, food as a social moment, and delivery-first behavior. And the real competition isn’t other pizza chains. It’s the $2 to $15 lunch decision.
Man’oushe
$1 to $2
Cultural default, all day, cheap.
Shawarma
~$4
Fast, hot, filling, widely accepted.
Snack
$3 to $15
Convenient, familiar, workday-ready.
Sbarro slice
$2 to $4
Grab-and-go, branded, hot in 30 seconds.
Act II
Building the position
Who it is for, and what would make them choose it over what they already eat.
04Audience
Three segments. One focus.
Primary
Time-pressed professionals
25 to 40, USD salary, orders lunch 3 to 4 times a week.
~130K · ★★★★★
Secondary
Price-sensitive students
17 to 22, groups, discovers food on TikTok.
~70K · ★★★
Tertiary
Mall groups & families
Weekend sharers. Not our weekday story.
~90K · ★★
Meet Nour, 25
“I need fast, clean food. Right now.”
Marketing specialist · Achrafieh
2:00 PM Monday. Meeting at 2:30. Hungry, tired, didn’t pack lunch.
Eats between meetings, not at a table. Hand-held, under 10 minutes, $3 to $4.
She isn’t looking for lunch. She’s looking for a break.
05Positioning & offer
We are not pizza. We are a break.
- Busy
- Pause
- Calm
A slice is ready in 30 seconds and priced between man’oushe and a snack, starting at $1.99. The menu is built around three ways to take a break.
The Break Combo
1 slice + drink
$3.50
Most popular
2 slices combo
$5.90
Shared
Pizza + stromboli + drink
$8.90
Owned app · Primary
Schedule, reorder, loyalty
Every 10 slices, the 11th is on us.
Walk-in · Core
Self-ordering
Zero wait for professionals.
Aggregators · Secondary
Reach new customers
Then push the next order to the app.
Act III
Bringing it to market
The campaign, and how we would know it worked.
06The campaign
Take a slice. Take a break.
No AI. No influencers. No actors. Real people, real moments, real routines: someone drowning in emails, a chaotic meeting, Beirut traffic. One bite, and the scene goes calm. Social video, commute billboards and delivery-app banners from 11am to 2pm carry it everywhere.
The three-year plan
One corner. Then a country.
Year 1 · Badaro
Flagship slice shop. Walk-in and app. The proof store.
Year 2 · Dbayeh
Highway takeaway for commuters, with office-park delivery.
Year 3 · Malls
Weekend and group expansion with branded kiosks.
07Measurement
What would success mean?
Awareness
Reach & recall
Engagement
Saves, shares, comments
Footfall
Badaro store visits
Conversion
Orders in the app
Repeat
The 11th slice
ROAS
Return on ad spend
would you stop for this pizza? that’s the test.