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Pizza Hut Diversifies, but Claims It Hasn't Changed Names

YumSugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:30:08 -0700

Recently, Domino's has overloaded on carbs with pasta bread bowls, Wendy's has supplemented its menu with boneless chicken wings, and Burger King's realized its destiny with pork ribs. Along the same lines, Pizza Hut has expanded its horizons, adding lasagna, pasta, and buffalo chicken to its lineup. But - contrary to public speculation - the fast food company will not be abbreviating its name. In light of rumors that the franchise was shortening its name to "The Hut," Pizza Hut has made an official statement that it has no plans for a name change.

“Pizza Hut is not changing its name. We are proud of our name and heritage and will continue to be Pizza Hut. We do use ‘The Hut’ in some of our marketing efforts," Brian Niccol, the company's chief marketing officer, clarified. The company, which is best known for its fast-delivery pizzas, has attempted to overcome poor sales by expanding its repertoire to include other food items and using the shortened nickname "The Hut." The chain is also launching a new "Big Eat Tiny Price" value menu.

What are your thoughts on Pizza Hut moving beyond pizza? Can its new items set it apart from other competitors? Does a name like "The Hut" compel you to buy something other than delivery pizza?

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Kobayashi Beats Chestnut, Takes Pizza Eating Title

partysugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:00:09 -0700

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.

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Taste Test: Pizza Hut's Tuscani Lasagna

YumSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:00:32 -0800

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.

Pizza Hut's Tuscani lasagna is made with three cheeses - ricotta, Parmesan, and Romano - as well as a meat sauce, so it's not an option for vegetarians. Upon first glance, it looked like a dead ringer for the meat marinara pasta I'd tried last month - that is to say, not so appealing. The tray was also a behemoth. The lasagna claims to feed a family of four, but I'd say that, considering it weighs in at over three pounds, it could easily feed a couple more mouths.

With a firm, chewy bite and a nice ratio of meat, cheese, pasta, and sauce, the lasagna was actually enjoyable. Both of us went back for seconds. We were, however, shocked by how sweet the dish was: the marinara was decidedly sweet, and the rest of the recipe compensated for this by being incredibly salty.

My advice to the Pizza Hut kitchen would be to cut back on both the sugar and the salt. If you're a big lasagna fan, don't want to bother with reheating and cooking, and can handle a bit of overseasoning, I'd say this could be the match for you.

Have you tried this dish yet? What did you think of it?

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Latest Ads Remind You Where Your Food Came From

YumSugar — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:20:52 -0800

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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Taste Test: Pizza Hut's The Natural Pizza

YumSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:29:32 -0800

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.

The Natural comes in three flavors: Cheese, Natural Pepperoni, and The Rustica, a blend of all-natural sausage, fire-roasted red peppers, and marinated Roma tomatoes. I sampled the first two flavors. The crust was similar to a typical Pizza Hut pizza: It was not too thick nor incredibly thin. In fact, everything about the pie was typical of Pizza Hut, except for one major difference. The crust had the distinct grainy, rough quality of whole wheat flour. It was, as one Sugar gal put it, "like eating pizza on a whole wheat pita".

The texture meant the pizza had more personality, but are the pizzas actually better for you, or is the whole "natural" aspect simply a clever positioning tactic? I did some research, and if you opt for the Natural instead of a typical Pizza Hut pizza, you might shave a fat gram, consume 20 calories less, and gain some fiber. So I suppose if you appreciate the texture of whole wheat, the Natural is an attractive alternative to the, well, not-so-natural.

The bigger question is, if you were health conscious, would you really be eating Pizza Hut in the first place? Have you tried this pizza yet? What did you think of it?

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Taste Test: Pizza Hut's Tuscani Pastas

YumSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:15:08 -0800

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.

Much like we felt Domino's subs tasted like pizza, PartySugar and I thought Pizza Hut's pastas actually looked like pizza. I did a double take on the Meaty Marinara, as it looked like a standard cheese pizza!

Meaty Marinara: This pasta arrived with slightly burnt edges, and was the least appetizing to look at. Thank goodness its name includes the word "meat," since the dish actually looks like it's vegetarian: The pasta, marinara, and meat are on underneath a thick layer of melted mozzarella. The sauce tasted more like pizza sauce than pasta sauce, but this option, with its tomato base, seemed the healthiest of the three.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo: Although the chicken strips were tender and meaty, this was my least favorite of the pastas. The congealed Alfredo sauce was representative of why I usually hesitate to order Alfredo.

Premium Bacon Mac 'N Cheese: This was the best of the pastas, with its smooth, creamy Velveeta-like texture and crisp and meaty bits of smoky bacon.

Beware that these pastas are certainly not light. After tasting a sample of each, I felt satisfied for hours. Later, I had a few more bites of each, and I felt thirsty, bloated, and a little sick. However, if you're already inclined to order delivery from Pizza Hut, there's no harm in ordering a pasta instead - my vote goes to the Premium Bacon Mac 'N Cheese (2 a.m. after a night on the town, anyone?). Have you been tried out Pizza Hut's pastas? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Pizza Hut Draws Attention With Viral Video

YumSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:18:58 -0800

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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Trend Alert: Foodies on Facebook

YumSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:15:08 -0800

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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Would You Order Pizza on Facebook?

YumSugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:31:36 -0700

Last week, fast-food chain Pizza Hut launched an online ordering system on the social networking site Facebook. Now those of you who are addicted to social networking can order dinner without having to exit Facebook! For extra-quick reordering, the application also remembers your favorites.

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Pizza Hut Is Now Pasta Hut . . . or Is It?

YumSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:29:51 -0700

OK, I'm assuming this is a Pizza Hut's way of playing a practical April Fool's joke on all of its customers, but you never can tell these days. It could just be and oddly-timed marketing scheme.

This morning, the Pizza Hut chain unveiled new signage declaring they're now serving pasta so good that they've decided to change their name. The dishes that inspired the name change are the Creamy Chicken Alfredo and Meaty Marinara. The 3-lb. servings - that are baked in a blend of sauce and cheese - will be available for $11.99. Scott Bergen, Pizza Hut's CEO, said:

For 50 years we've been all about pizza. As we've prepared for the launch of our new line of Tuscani Pastas our customers have consistently told us these pastas are so good we should change our name to Pasta Hut. Starting tomorrow, Pizza Hut is Pasta Hut.

I can't imagine they would actually change their name, although I could see them doing it for a short promotional period. Surely the name change must be an April Fool's joke? Either way I want to know, are you curious about their new baked pastas, and would you buy pasta from Pizza Hut?

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