Pizza Hut puts radical change on the menu

By George Anderson

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

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It might have been safer to go with a small tweak here and there, but Pizza Hut is really looking to shake things up and so the world's largest pizza chain has decided to throw its old menu in the dumpster and offer new options that pretty much address every type of taste there is.

Earlier this week Pizza Hut announced its menu would include:

• Ten new crust flavors, including Honey Sriracha, Salted Pretzel and Ginger Boom Boom;
• Six new sauces, including Premium Crushed Tomato and Buffalo;
• Eleven new "Explore Flavor" pizza recipes such as 7-Alarm Fire (pepperoni, sliced banana peppers, Peruvian cherry peppers, sliced jalapeno peppers and fresh green peppers on a Hand-Tossed Crust with a fiery red pepper crust flavor).

"We know that American tastes and preferences are evolving, and this new menu is designed to completely wow them," said Wiley Bates, III, Pizza Hut's executive chef, in a statement. "While some customers will be finding ways to bring flavors to the pizzas they've fallen in love with, others may be trying them for the first time. And, with so many options, there's definitely something for everyone."

Pizza Hut's changes are not stopping at its menu. The company also unveiled a new logo and is changing its employees' uniforms, delivery boxes and cups. The company will promote the changes in a new ad campaign called the "Flavor of Now."

Not everyone thinks Pizza Hut is on the right track with its changes.

"Pizza Hut may be doing too much too quickly," Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomic, told USA Today. "It would appear that the brand that has lost touch with the consumer is trying to change too much overnight."

An article on The Motley Fool site argues that instead of expanding the number of choices on its menu, Pizza Hut might be better served by simplifying its offers and offering a higher quality product, similarly to what rival Domino's has done.