The old Pizza Hut and the new. The Cherry Pepper Bombshell pizza is on the right.
Pizza Hut is hoping a new in-store look, healthier food options, digital strategy, and a choose-your-own-adventure-style menu featuring exotic crust and sauce options will turn the struggling brand around.
Yum! Brands, Pizza Hut's parent company, will announce the major menu changes, set to debut November 19 at the chain, which has lagged competitors like Domino's and Papa John's in recent years and failed to improve sales. The new menu is far from the Pizza Hut customers have known for the last 56 years, including crust options like Curried Away, Ginger Boom Boom, Honey Sriracha and and Salted Pretzel, and new toppings including Peruvian cherry peppers, sliced banana peppers, and fresh spinach.
The additional vegetables are presumably part of Pizza Hut's health push, as another part of its revamped menu features "Skinny" pizza options that contain 250 or fewer calories. The brand's logo, uniforms and digital strategy will also get a makeover.
Many of the menu changes, according to the chain's Chief Marketing Officer, reflected Pizza Hut's findings that its customers wanted more adventurous flavor options akin to the experience of going to a food truck. The brand's push into healthier menu options underscores a larger industry trend toward fresher, higher quality ingredients, which has helped competitors like Chipotle to expand rapidly in recent years, stealing customers away from the established giants.