(FORTUNE Magazine) – While the low-carb and anti-obesity campaigns have slammed food companies from Sara Lee to Kraft, Domino's Pizza hasn't just promised results; it has delivered. Since going public last July, the 44-year-old Ann Arbor, Mich., company has seen its stock climb 26%. CEO David Brandon, a five-year Domino's veteran and a former quarterback for the University of Michigan, stopped by FORTUNE recently to let us sample the new Doublemelt Pizza, dish on how we Americans hate to wait, and quiz us on which country has the highest pizza consumption. (Hint: It's not the U.S.) -- Julia Boorstin

What changes have you made?

Before I joined Domino's, turnover rates were 158%. We had 125,000 employees, so we were going through close to 200,000 people a year. We've overhauled our training program and driven turnover down more than 60%. In the past five years we have relocated or remodeled nine out of every ten Domino's stores, which cost $30,000 to $100,000 or more per store. We're rolling out a new technology for our point-of-sale system that among other things accepts orders over the Internet. When you call we can tell who you are and see your phone number and address, and also your ordering history. So it'll prompt us on what we ought to try to sell you before you're even on the line.

You've built 1,200 stores during the past five years, two-thirds of them abroad. What is your strongest international business?

Our largest international market is Mexico. We've been there 15 years, and our presence is larger than McDonald's and Burger King combined. We've also been growing in Asia--pizza delivery has worked quite well in Taiwan and Japan, but in China when people eat pizza, it looks as if they want to leave their home to enjoy it. There we're playing around with a bigger store with a sit-down area.

Are Americans the biggest pizza eaters?

No! The highest per capita consumption is in Iceland. The menu looks more like ours than most countries', but with fish toppings. I think it's the lifestyle there: long days, long nights, and the fact that people have discretionary income.

Do you get ideas from your franchisees?

It's like working with 1,350 entrepreneurs. A franchisee invented the Spoodle, a combo spoon and ladle used to measure the right amount of pizza sauce and spread it quickly and evenly. We're doing a million pizzas a night, and it really helps. Another franchisee invented the Heatwave bag to deal with heat loss.

What distinguishes your business from, say, a KFC?

Some 85% of everything that's sold in the pizza category is sold on some sort of package deal. It's one of the most promotion-oriented businesses you can find. That's one of the reasons my background in consumer marketing served me well.

But speed is still the key, right?

It doesn't take long to go from hungry to angry. Even though we no longer have our 30-minute guarantee, people still expect the pizza to come in 30 minutes. Our research shows that people are understanding until about 40 minutes pass; then after every five additional minutes they get increasingly angry.

Why haven't you been hurt by the low-carb craze and all the focus on obesity?

Pizza can be easily modified and designed to be healthy. If you want to cut back on fat consumption, you have that choice. I lost 30 pounds eating pizza on the Weight Watchers diet. But when people order pizza, they're driven by what tastes good. Our most successful brand introduction in the past ten years was the Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, which at the peak of the diet hype did a phenomenal business as one of the least healthy products we've ever rolled out.