Once, the popular pizza chain was the top choice for groups and loved ones to feast on its unlimited dining experience, help-yourself greens station, and make-your-own dessert.
However fewer customers are choosing the brand these days, and it is shutting down 50% of its British outlets after being rescued from insolvency for the second occasion this year.
It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes Prudence. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” But now, in her mid-twenties, she says “it's not a thing anymore.”
In the view of 23-year-old Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been known and loved for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now outdated.
“The manner in which they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad bar, it seems as if they are lowering standards and have reduced quality... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How?’”
Because grocery costs have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's unlimited dining format has become very expensive to run. Similarly, its outlets, which are being reduced from a large number to 64.
The company, in common with competitors, has also seen its operating costs increase. In April this year, labor expenses rose due to higher minimum pay and an increase in employer taxes.
A couple in their thirties and twenties mention they would often visit at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they order in a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.
According to your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are close, notes an industry analyst.
Even though Pizza Hut provides takeaway and deliveries through external services, it is falling behind to big rivals which solely cater to off-premise dining.
“Another pizza company has managed to dominate the delivery market thanks to aggressive marketing and ongoing discounts that make shoppers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the original prices are quite high,” notes the expert.
But for Chris and Joanne it is justified to get their date night sent directly.
“We definitely eat at home now instead of we eat out,” says the female customer, matching latest data that show a drop in people frequenting informal dining spots.
In the warmer season, quick-service eateries saw a six percent decline in customers compared to last summer.
Moreover, one more competitor to ordered-in pies: the frozen or fresh pizza.
A hospitality expert, senior partner at a major consultancy, notes that not only have supermarkets been offering high-quality ready-to-bake pizzas for years – some are even selling home-pizza ovens.
“Lifestyle changes are also having an impact in the performance of fast-food chains,” says the analyst.
The increased interest of low-carb regimens has increased sales at grilled chicken brands, while affecting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he continues.
As people dine out less frequently, they may prefer a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with comfortable booths and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more old-fashioned than premium.
The rise of premium pizza outlets” over the last several years, for example new entrants, has “dramatically shifted the public's perception of what quality pizza is,” explains the food expert.
“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a carefully curated additions, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's decline,” she comments.
“What person would spend £17.99 on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a chain when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made traditional pie for under a tenner at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?
“It's an easy choice.”
An independent operator, who operates a small business based in a county in England comments: “The issue isn’t that lost interest in pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”
Dan says his adaptable business can offer premium pizza at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it could not keep up with changing preferences.
According to an independent chain in a city in southwest England, the founder says the industry is expanding but Pizza Hut has not provided anything fresh.
“You now have individual slices, London pizza, New Haven-style, fermented dough, wood-fired, deep-dish – it's a delightful challenge for a pizza-loving consumer to try.”
The owner says Pizza Hut “should transform” as younger people don't have any emotional connection or loyalty to the chain.
Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been fragmented and allocated to its more modern, agile competitors. To maintain its high labor and location costs, it would have to increase costs – which commentators say is challenging at a time when personal spending are shrinking.
A senior executive of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the rescue aimed “to safeguard our customer service and protect jobs where possible”.
It was explained its key goal was to maintain service at the remaining 64 restaurants and takeaway hubs and to assist staff through the transition.
But with large sums going into operating its locations, it may be unable to allocate significant resources in its delivery service because the industry is “complex and working with existing external services comes at a price”, analysts say.
However, it's noted, reducing expenses by exiting competitive urban areas could be a effective strategy to adapt.
