Pizza Hut

In an exciting start to the season, the famed Japanese competitive eater, Takeru Kobayashi, has beaten his long time rival, Joey Chestnut, in battle pizza. The two faced off in a 6-minute pizza eating challenge last weekend. It wasn't your ordinary pizza, however, it was sponsor Pizza Hut's 12-inch, one-pound pepperoni filled calzone, known as the P'zone. The extra thick layer of dough proved to be Chestnut's Achilles heel, "it's doughy," he said, "It takes a lot of chewing." Kobayashi consumed 5 3/4 P'zones to narrow out Chestnut, who chowed down 5 1/2 P'zones. The Tokyo native, who is recovering from a painful jaw disorder, came into the competition ready to win: "I wanted to prove that I'm champion. A champion will stand up to any battle."

Chestnut hopes to bounce back and uphold his title of hot dog eating champion. The much hyped competition takes place every year on the 4th of July. To check out a gallery of images of Chestnut and Kobayashi consuming the P'zones, read more

At the Food Fete that Party and I attended a few weeks ago, we ran into some representatives from Pizza Hut, who revealed that the fast food chain would be introducing yet another pasta to its delivery lineup: lasagna. After the intriguing taste test results of our Pizza Hut pastas, I was looking forward to giving the lasagna ($14.99) a try. It's impossible to go too wrong with any dish made of pasta, tomato sauce, and melted cheese. To check out more pictures and find out what I thought, read more

In an era when people are consumed with better-for-you goods, food and beverage companies are launching new campaigns that highlight the produce from which their products are derived.

According to market research results from Mintel International, a quarter of the food and beverages launched in 2008 claimed to be "natural," making it the year's most prevalent claim.

For the first time in more than half a century, food titan Heinz has changed its iconic ketchup label, switching out the gherkin below the name for a plump, vine-ripened tomato. The goal? To remind consumers that Heinz tomatoes go into each bottle of ketchup. Tropicana has repackaged its cartons to only include the word "juice" in small type at the bottom. The OJ box now reads, "100 percent orange: Pure and natural." Frito-Lay's current TV spots underscore the fact that Lay's chips come from potatoes.

From Welch's 100-percent grape juice from concord grapes campaign to Pizza Hut's The Natural pizza, this trend has certainly come to my attention. Have you taken notice as well? Do you think it's a good thing that more companies are emphasizing healthfulness in their edible products, or is this movement simply a gimmicky positioning tactic?

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Oxymoronic as it may sound, fast food chains have begun marketing their latest products as nutritious, wholesome meals. One of the best examples of this movement is Pizza Hut's new health-oriented pie, the Natural.

The Natural pizza ($9.99 for a medium with one topping) has sauce "made from vine-ripened tomatoes," all-natural toppings, and a multigrain crust that has been endorsed by the Whole Grains Council. Find out what I thought of its taste — and how healthy it really is — when you read more

Earlier this year, Pizza Hut played a trick on the country by claiming it had changed its name to Pasta Hut. Although the name change turned out to be an advertising prank, the pizza delivery chain did roll out a new line of Tuscani Pastas ($12.99). After trying out Domino's new line of subs, I decided that to be fair, I'd give Pizza Hut's pastas a try, too. To find out how the chain's new offerings tasted, read more

Pizza Hut has caused an uproar with the launch of a new viral advertising campaign. "Kicked Out of a Pizza Place," a video produced by Mediocre Films, has gotten 198,135 views on YouTube since it was posted less than five days ago. The fast food corporation is piggybacking on the success of other chains' attempt at viral videos, such as competitor Wendy's MySpace video, "Crazy Lettuce". The pizza parlor video, one of three in the viral campaign, is already attracting lots of attention — both for its humor and its tackiness. "If Pizza Hut were a person, I'd say it was a jerk," wrote Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus, an Internet marketing agency.

While the video had me busting a gut, I also thought it was a slap in the face of family-owned businesses. More importantly, I question whether the campaign conveyed any meaningful (or positive) brand message to consumers about Pizza Hut. Watch the video below — I'd love to hear what you think.

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Foodies may be serious about eating, but apparently they're serious about computers: Fast-food chains, food companies, and food celebrities are raising their profiles on social-networking platform Facebook.

Last month, we mentioned that Pizza Hut was the first fast-food chain to launch a Facebook online ordering system, so die-hard users never have to leave the site to order dinner. And yesterday, number one fast-food chain McDonald's launched a Facebook fan site of its own to honor the 25th anniversary of its wildly popular Chicken McNuggets.

In a push to connect to its younger customers, pizza delivery Papa John's has launched a new promotion: Anyone who becomes a "fan" of the Papa John's page on Facebook will receive an online redemption code for a free medium pizza with any online order.

It isn't just fast-food chains who are promoting themselves on Facebook — other food industry insiders are following suit. Candy company Mars advertised its "Get Some Nuts" campaign for Snickers on Facebook, and rumors about Next Food Network Star finalist Lisa Garza spread after she changed her marital status on her Facebook page.

I'm surprised to learn that Facebook has become so important in the world of food. Have you been following the food and beverage industry there?

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