Tim Hortons aims for lunch and dinner market share

TORONTO — As part of its strategy to expand market share in the lunch and dinner categories, Tim Hortons is introducing flatbread pizzas at 20 locations in the greater Toronto area. The flatbread pizzas are listed as a limited time offer.

Tim Hortons introduced four limited-time flatbread pizza flavors, including cheese, pepperoni, chicken Parmesan and sausage and jalapeño.  The cheese flatbread pizza is priced at $6.99, while the other varieties are listed at $7.99.

Michael Oliveira, communications director for Tim Hortons, said “On any given day, there are Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada running test markets to trial new ideas and menu items that we think our guests will love.” Mr. Oliveira added that it is “early days” for the flatbread pizza rollout.

The lunch and dinner daypart make up a growing category in the Canadian fast-food industry, according to Tim Hortons, representing an $8.5 billion market that is growing at an annual rate of 5%. The company’s current market share in the lunch and dinner category is 4 %.

Jose Cil, chief executive officer of Tim Hortons’ parent company Restaurant Brands International, in an Aug. 4 conference call said the company has been working on several new products to help the chain, which is best known for its breakfast menu, move into the lunch and dinner category, commonly referred to as the “PM daypart.”

“We’re seeing growth in PM food and growth in lunch daypart on the food side,” Mr. Cil said. “…We have aspirations internally in terms of where we want to get to. We haven’t shared those publicly. But we do believe this is a massive opportunity. The shift in how we think about the menu, the fact that we’ve brought in culinary expertise over the last 18 months or so, folks that specialize in developing craveable products that people love and want to come down for more and more.”

The move by the Toronto-based coffee and donut chain mirrors recentproduct innovation at Panerawith flatbread pizza. In September 2021, Panera added a sausage and pepperoni flavor to its lineup of flatbread pizza.