Pizza Hut - Products

Products

In North America, Pizza Hut sells "Stuffed crust " pizza, with the outermost edge wrapped around a cylinder of mozzarella cheese; "Hand-Tossed," more like traditional pizzeria crusts; "Thin 'N Crispy", a thin, crisp dough which was Pizza Hut's original style; "Dippin' Strips pizza", a pizza cut into small strips that can be dipped into a number of sauces; and "The Edge pizza," where the toppings nearly reach to the edge of the pizza. There was also formerly a crust that was not as thick as Pizza Hut's pan pizza, and not as thin as its thin crust. This crust was used on the Full House XL pizza and discontinued in 2007. There are regional differences in the products and bases sold.

Pizza Hut experiments with new products frequently, with less successful ones being discontinued. These include the initially popular two-foot by one-foot square cut pizza Bigfoot, the 16" Big New Yorker, made with a sweet sauce, the Chicago Dish Pizza and Sicilian pizza, the latter also offered in 2006 as Lasagna Pizza. Other products Pizza Hut has offered are the "P'zone," which is Pizza Hut's version of the calzone; the Cheesy Bites pizza, similar to the Stuffed Crust pizza except the crust has been divided into 28 bite-sized pieces that can be pulled apart; and the Insider pizza, where a layer of cheese is in between two layers of dough. Another limited time offer was a Double Deep pizza with double the toppings and 50% more cheese, with the crust wrapped over the top to hold in all the toppings. In 1985 Pizza Hut introduced the Priazzo, a two-crusted Italian pie that resembled a deep-dish pizza. Varieties included Priazzo Milano, a blend of Italian sausage, pepperoni, beef, pork fillings, a hint of bacon, mozzarella and cheddar cheese; Priazzo Florentine, a light blend of five cheeses with ham and a touch of spinach, and Priazzo Roma, stuffed with pepperoni, mushrooms, Italian sausage, pork filling, onions, mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The double-crusted pie was topped with a layer of tomato sauce and melted cheese. The Priazzo was introduced by a $15 million advertising campaign, but proved too labor-intensive and was removed from the menu several years later.

Depending on the individual restaurant size, Pizza Huts also may offer pasta dinners such as spaghetti and Cavatini – a mixture of Cavatelli (shells), Rotini (spirals), and Rotelle (wheels).

A new, upscale concept was unveiled in 2004, called Pizza Hut Italian Bistro. Unveiled at fifty locations nationwide, the Bistro is similar to a traditional Pizza Hut, except that new, Italian themed dishes are offered, such as penne pasta, chicken pomodoro, toasted sandwiches and other foods. Instead of black, white, and red, Bistro locations feature a burgundy and tan motif. Pizza Hut Bistros still serve the chain's traditional pizzas and sides as well. In some cases, Pizza Hut has replaced a "Red Roof" location with the new concept.

Pizza Hut on May 9, 2008, created and sold in Seattle, Denver, and Dallas, "The Natural", featuring organic ingredients. This was discontinued on October 27, 2009 in the Dallas market. It has since launched a nationwide advertising campaign. Also in 2008, Pizza Hut created their biggest pizza ever, the Panormous Pizza.

Pizza Hut introduced stuffed pan pizza on August 23, 2009. Unlike a regular stuffed crust pizza, cheese is not inside the crust, just pressed into the pan crust. Pizza Hut introduced the Big Italy, a pizza that is almost two feet long on August 22, 2010.

In 2010, Pizza Hut came under fire when its supplier of palm oil, Sinar Mas, was exposed to be illegally slashing and burning the Paradise Forests of Indonesia to plant palm oil plantations.

Due to its previous ownership by PepsiCo, Pizza Hut, as with all Yum! Brands concepts, have a lifetime contract to sell Pepsi products. While Pizza Hut was owned by Pepsi, all three of Pizza Hut's major competitors--Domino's Pizza, Papa John's Pizza, and Little Caesars--all sold Coca-Cola products. However, since Pepsi's divestment of its restaurant business, both Papa John's (in 2012) and Little Caesars (in 2007) later switched to Pepsi products themselves.