Say Goodbye To The "Pizza" In Pizza Hut

[CatWoman]

'The Hut' Gives Pizza A Healthier Spin
March 9, 2009

-By Elaine Wong


Times are tough for the pizza industry. Not surprisingly, the largest player in the category, Pizza Hut, has been affected. It saw same-store sales drop 1 percent in the fourth quarter. Parent company Yum! Brands attributed the decline to a slowdown in the number of consumers eating out. Additionally, the pizza chain is off to a slower start this year than expected, as pizza falls under the "higher-ticket dinner occasion," as Yum! Brands CEO David Novak said in a recent earnings call. Still, Pizza Hut CMO Brian Niccol attests that consumer demand for newer menu items such as lasagna and the WingStreet brand of wings are holding strong. These options, along with its pizza, make the chain a top source for "home meal replacement solutions," he said. Niccol also discussed how the chain is driving value in a down economy and how it's taking its WingStreet brand of buffalo wings national. Here's what he had to say:

Brandweek: How can Pizza Hut drive growth in this economy?

Brian Niccol: The big solution is for us to come up with home meal replacement solutions, whether it's pasta, pizza or wings. Consumers are strapped for time. Some don't have the cooking knowledge. As the economy takes its toll on consumers, the more you can give them with respect to what's perceived as restaurant quality meals, and if it's done in a fashion that's affordable and ready for their households, . We're one of the few pizza companies to actually come from a restaurant heritage. We're updating and upgrading what a restaurant experience is like.

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/current-issue/e3i801548f98188f77a9b77b475f9af753d

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Wingstreet's not terrible.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

24. You have to order the right kind of wings though

One kind of their bone-in wings has some kind of breading or coating that gets gummy and weird when you put the sauce on.

The wings are great, but be sure to order the ones without breading.

[SoCalDem]

2. Their pizza is not all that good anymore..

Round table has pretty good pizza/..and they have a hermetically sealed / sound-proof "kid-room"..we like that :)

[CatWoman]

5. I stopped eating all things Pizza Hut some years ago

:hi:

[htuttle]

19. I stopped eating there after I worked at one in 1990

If you end up with a Pizza the Hut™ pizza -- just eat the box. It's better for you...

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. These are the people who sell

macaroni dishes by the pound, or something like that?

I had a Pizza Hut pizza once.

Never again ..................................

[ChickMagic]

4. Noooooooo!

I love the hut. I know, I know. I have no taste.
But I love it!

Just an hour ago my Dad called me from the rehab
center saying that my uncle promised to bring him
a hut pizza. He never did, so I'm taking him one
tomorrow. It's part of our family. :)

[KamaAina]

6. "home meal replacement solutions"??

Just the thing for those experiencing "food insecurity" (hunger, that is), I guess. :eyes:

And does that imply that what you get from Pizza Hut isn't considered a "meal"? :shrug:

[CatWoman]

8. just like the "c" in KFC isn't considered chicken anymore?

[KamaAina]

12. Same parent company, too

The somewhat Orwellianly named Yum! Brands.

Coincidence? :tinfoilhat:

[get the red out]

10. No replacement needed

I prefer to make my own pizza. And the cheese isn't "processed cheese food".

I don't trust food euphemisms, call me crazy, but if you can't call it a meal I don't want to eat it.

[MADem]

17. They're heading in the Boston Market direction....a varietal menu.

I am amazed at the number of families that almost never cook. It's getting to be the norm.

[tritsofme]

7. I am blessed enough to be born and raised in Chicago. No crap corporate pizza for us, thanks. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

13. How 'bout it. Same with Mexican food. Sometimes my boyfriend shows his downstate roots and gets a .....

.... taste for Domino's or Taco Bell..:puke:........I have to shake him evey so often.

[sabbat hunter]

9. born and raised

in the NYC area, plenty of places independently owned for pizza and other Italian food.

[CatWoman]

11. there is nothing better than NYC pizza

hot out of the oven.

ooey, gooey, cheesy, hot and GOOD!!!

[Throd]

14. It's not really pizza and it's not really a hut.

"Boxy building where they sell crap" is more the reality.

[EFerrari]

15. Iirc, this was the first chain my family ever went to.

We used to go visit my grandmother across the bridge in Marin every Sunday and stay as late as possible. We'd stop at the Pizza Hut on the way home to San Francisco. There was only 1 shop, not 20, between her house and our house and it was a big treat for us kids.

[Auggie]

16. I am totally afraid of franchise food -- no telling what's in it

You can expect parent companies are cutting costs to the bone in order to maximize profits

[Forkboy]

18. I literally have 9 pizza joints within 10 minutes WALKING distance.

I'm amazed that anyone eats at the chain franchises around here, because they suck compared the the local joints. Pizza Hut is no match for Parkhill Pizza. :)

[Kahuna]

21. I'm in Joisey. Same deal. But my favorite pizza restaurant is 10

miles from me. It's worth the drive. :9

[Metta]

20. Their pizza has been utter garbage for a long time.

and they have nothing else worth eating either.

[cornermouse]

22. Pizza Hut pizza.

Too much tomato sauce, hamburger that has a strange texture and strange taste, and not enough toppings. I order my pizza elsewhere.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

23. "The Hut" is too Space Ballsish for me.

[Deja Q]

27. D'oH! You beat me to it!

:yourock:

[Crabby Appleton]

25. I don't want a "home meal replacement solution"

I want a pizza!

[Deja Q]

26. "The Hut" or otherwise, a diet of it will still make ya look like Jabba

[MzShellG]

28. Didnt Rush Lamebrain own pizza hut...

Some time ago? Whatever happened with that?