Domino's Pairing Pizza With Christmas, Valentine's Day In Japan

Pizza may be a party staple for occasions like the Super Bowl or kids' birthday sleepovers, but marketers in Japan are turning the all-American pie into a tradition for special occasions.

AdAge reports that pizza is becoming the centerpiece food for Christmas dinner.

"Kentucky Fried Chicken was the tradition in Japan. People would get together to eat fried chicken and Christmas cake — it was a common thing," Kenji Ikeda of Domino's told Ad Age. "So we started driving people to order pizza. Now, people perceive [Christmas Eve] as an occasion to buy fried chicken, get pizza delivered, and then eat Christmas cake."

Of course now the pizza chain is working on other holidays to cater for, like Mother's Day and Valentine's Day (with the message, "Be careful. This pizza and you two are really hot. Don't get burned!").

Then again, pizza (much like burgers) is not standard fare in japan. Japanese Domino's pizza comes topped with foie gras (for $50), snow crab and shrimp gratin, beef stew and mozzarella, and Mangalitsa pork with Bordeaux sauce. We wonder how Pizza Hut's $10 dinner box will fare in these waters.