Papa John's Korea wraps up 2026 recipe contest with customer, franchisee ideas

Papa John's Korea said Sunday it has concluded the finals and awards ceremony of its 2026 Recipe Contest, an event designed to uncover new pizza recipes drawn from the fresh ideas of customers and franchisees.

The finals were held Thursday at the company's headquarters training room in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Now in its fifth year, the contest was divided into a customer category and a franchisee category, each with a distinct theme. The customer category invited entries reimagining discontinued menu items under the theme "A discontinued Papa John's menu I'd love to see again," while the franchisee category challenged store owners to submit their best in-store flavor combinations.

After the competition, eight teams were recognized in total — two grand-prize winners, two excellence-award winners and four encouragement-award winners. Kim Yeo-hyeon took the grand prize in the customer category, while Min Gyeong-seok, owner of the Gwangju Nam-gu store, claimed the top honor in the franchisee category. Prize money included 3 million won ($2,240) for each grand-prize winner, 1 million won for each excellence-award winner and 500,000 won for each encouragement-award winner.

Kim reimagined a fondly remembered discontinued item, the mango shrimp pizza, with a fresh perspective. Min presented an inventive combination built on Hawaiian pizza with a two-blend cheese mix and other toppings.

Seo Chang-woo, chairman of Papa John's Korea, said the contest was "a meaningful occasion to discover new possibilities for the Papa John's menu through the diverse perspectives and ideas of our customers and franchisees."