How the Country Lost Its Taste for Pizza Hut

Once, Pizza Hut was the top choice for families and friends to enjoy its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, help-yourself greens station, and make-your-own dessert.

Yet not as many patrons are frequenting the chain these days, and it is closing 50% of its UK locations after being bought out of administration for the second instance this calendar year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says one London shopper. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she says “it's fallen out of favor.”

For a diner in her twenties, some of the very things Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it started in the UK in the mid-20th century are now less appealing.

“The way they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad station, it seems as if they are cutting corners and have lower standards... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

Since food prices have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become increasingly pricey to run. As have its outlets, which are being reduced from over 130 to 64.

The business, in common with competitors, has also seen its expenses go up. This spring, labor expenses increased due to higher minimum pay and an rise in employer taxes.

Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29 explain they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “every now and then”, but now they get delivery from a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

Depending on your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are close, notes an industry analyst.

Even though Pizza Hut provides off-premise options through third-party apps, it is falling behind to major competitors which focus exclusively to this market.

“Domino's has managed to dominate the delivery market thanks to strong promotions and constantly running deals that make consumers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the original prices are on the higher side,” explains the analyst.

But for these customers it is worth it to get their evening together brought to their home.

“We definitely eat at home now more than we eat out,” explains the female customer, echoing recent statistics that show a drop in people going to informal dining spots.

During the summer months, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a six percent decline in customers compared to last summer.

Additionally, one more competitor to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

A hospitality expert, head of leisure and hospitality at a leading firm, points out that not only have supermarkets been providing good-standard oven-ready pizzas for a long time – some are even promoting countertop ovens.

“Lifestyle changes are also playing a factor in the popularity of quick-service brands,” states the expert.

The rising popularity of high protein diets has driven sales at chicken shops, while affecting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he adds.

Because people visit restaurants not as often, they may look for a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's classic look with comfortable booths and traditional décor can feel more retro than luxurious.

The “explosion of artisanal pizza places” over the last decade and a half, including new entrants, has “dramatically shifted the consumer view of what quality pizza is,” explains the food expert.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a select ingredients, not the overly oily, dense and piled-high pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what's led to Pizza Hut's downfall,” she states.

“Who would choose to spend a high price on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a chain when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made traditional pie for under a tenner at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who owns Smokey Deez based in Suffolk says: “The issue isn’t that lost interest in pizza – they just want improved value.”

The owner says his adaptable business can offer premium pizza at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it failed to adapt with evolving tastes.

According to an independent chain in a city in southwest England, the founder says the industry is expanding but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything new.

“There are now by-the-slice options, London pizza, thin crust, fermented dough, traditional Italian, rectangular – it's a wonderful array for a pizza enthusiast to discover.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as the youth don't have any emotional connection or attachment to the company.

Over time, Pizza Hut's share has been divided and spread to its more modern, agile competitors. To sustain its costly operations, it would have to increase costs – which experts say is difficult at a time when family finances are tightening.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the acquisition aimed “to safeguard our dining experience and retain staff where possible”.

The executive stated its immediate priority was to keep running at the surviving locations and delivery sites and to assist staff through the change.

Yet with so much money going into operating its locations, it probably cannot to allocate significant resources in its delivery service because the sector is “complicated and using existing delivery apps comes at a cost”, commentators say.

But, he adds, lowering overhead by leaving competitive urban areas could be a smart move to evolve.