1 Pizza Hut’s franchising network in India

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The Pizza Hut franchise stepped into the Indian fast food market by opening
a dine-in restaurant at Bangalore in 1996. The pizza franchise soon
expanded itself in India and now has the KFC brand beneath its umbrella.
The fast food franchise was the first international fast food firm to make an
entry into the Indian scene and has thus pioneered the Indian pizza market.

The menu provided at the Pizza Hut franchise is that of a complete meal.
Customers are considered as honoured guests at the fast food franchise and
are treated accordingly. It is the customer satisfaction provided by the
specialty food franchise that enabled it to position itself at the top of the
Indian fast food market.

The fast food franchise also ensures that it adds an Indian touch to all the
varieties of pizzas that it makes available to Indian customers. Various
delicious combinations are tested at the Indian Pizza Hut franchisee outlets
by blending the original menu with Indian favourites to make fresh salads,
garlic based breads, soups, yummy pastas and delicious desserts.

The employees of the restaurant support centre of the Pizza Hut fast food
franchise which functions in New Delhi works hard to place Pizza Hut at the
top of Indian market. The support centre takes care of finance, legal and
marketing sides of the Indian operations of Pizza Hut franchisees.
2/05/2007
2 marketing
strategy India's
pizza wars
Two American fast-food giants, Pizza Hut and Domino's, are
duking it out for bigger slices of a hot market. Fortune's
Sheridan Prasso reports.
By Sheridan Prasso, Fortune contributing editor
September 25 2007: 6:26 AM EDT

(Fortune Magazine) -- Thumping dance music, waiters darting from the

kitchen with hot plates, children chasing balloons. "It's rocking," says 23-
year-old software engineer Nishant Gupta, squirting ketchup onto his pizza
before dipping it in a mound of mustard and taking a bite.

Welcome to Pizza Hut gone global. This one is in Bangalore, in

predominantly vegetarian southern India. And it's at the epicenter of a
heated battle for domination between two American pizza purveyors: Pizza
Hut and Domino's.
In the kitchens of a Domino's in
Bangalore (top) and a Pizza Hut:
Both chains say pizza sales in India
are hot.

Domino's, across the street from a

Pizza Hut in Bangalore, also offers
air-conditioned dining - and chili
flakes galore.

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In fact, there's a Domino's right across the street. And while Gupta swears
by his $3 Veggie Lovers personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut and says
Domino's is better at delivery than taste, the competition has its fans too.
Like Arvind Inalalli, another 23-year-old software engineer, who has just
ordered a medium-sized vegetarian pizza for $4.80 from a uniformed
Domino's waiter. "If you ask me to compare," he says, turning away from a
cricket match on a wall-mounted TV, "this is the best."

More on India

Apart from local adulteration practices - plenty of chili flakes, ketchup, and
other condiments - these pizzas at Domino's and Pizza Hut taste the same
as in the U.S. What's different is the intensity of the competition. Pizza Hut
has 134 locations across India (and 13,000 worldwide); Domino's, 149
(8,500). Both are adding about 50 stores a year - quadruple the average in
other markets.

In up-and-coming neighborhoods like this one in Bangalore, home to a

large number of tech workers, the stores are often across the street from
each other, something executives at both companies confirm is unusual.
Another Bangalore location, Commercial Street, also has Pizza Hut and
Domino's facing off. Bangalore alone has 20 Domino's outlets, with five
more planned by the end of this year. By
comparison,McDonald's (Charts, Fortune 500) has just three in Bangalore
and 105 in India.

The two pizza chains have been in India for about a decade, but the battle
started getting feisty only in the past few years when Pizza Hut, a division
of Yum Brands (Charts, Fortune 500), began a push to double its outlets
and Domino's (Charts) began adding in-house seating.
Both chains claim to be leaders: Pizza Hut for casual dining, Domino's for
delivery. But there's quite a bit of crossover. Domino's has been renovating
its takeout storefronts to add eat-in tables and now does up to 40% of its
business in some locations that way. Pizza Hut claims as much as 50% of
sales from delivery in some stores, and ten of its outlets are takeout only.
Pizza Hut boasts 30% year-over-year sales growth in India; Domino's says
its is 55%. (Neither chain breaks out sales figures for India.)

It's still early rounds, but the pizza fight is shaping up something like this:

Left jab, Pizza Hut: "We've been voted India's favorite food brand for each
of the last four years, over any other brand," says Graham Allen, who runs
the international division of Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco
Bell.

Counterpunch, Domino's: "Productwise we have no match. We are clearly

the market leader," asserts Domino's India CEO Ajay Kaul. "A Pizza Hut
across the road does not in any way dampen our spirits. Our competition is
elsewhere, from traditional Indian food."

Right hook, Pizza Hut: "We don't have any competition," says Anup Jain,
Pizza Hut's marketing director in India. "They [Domino's] are not a
restaurant player. You eat out of a box. At Pizza Hut you get table service.
You get to order appetizers, salads, and dessert as well. Everyone can
copy our product, but they cannot copy our culture. Delivery actually
follows eating out as a habit. We go and create the market first. We
introduce the concept of pizza, and then consumers bring it home. It's
great for competition to follow. I think they want to follow us."

Uppercut, Domino's: "We have some real die-hard Domino's eaters who'll
travel any distance to find us," says Kaul. "There's no doubt that Domino's
is better than anyone else in the market."

Who will emerge as heavyweight pizza champ is anyone's guess. But the
stakes are high. For Pizza Hut, India is one of the company's three
highest-priority markets. Its projections call for 300 stores by 2012. "While
it's relatively small now," says Allen, "we see it as a huge opportunity."

Domino's is equally enthusiastic: Kaul says he wants 500 Domino's outlets

in India by 2010. A recent McKinsey Global Institute study projected that
India's middle class, currently at 50 million, will grow, amazingly, to 583
million by 2025, and that India's masses of young people will spend more
outside the home than their parents' generation. They're the chains' target
population. Urban centers are also key to success, and India has 35 cities
with more than one million people, compared with just nine in the U.S.

It's not all that surprising that pizza is big business in India. The product
itself is similar to India's native cuisine. Unlike Chinese and Japanese,
Indians eat leavened bread (naan), and a popular traditional version
slathers it in butter and garlic - not unlike garlic bread, the most often
ordered side dish at both Domino's and Pizza Hut franchises in India.

India's retail revolution

Cheese (paneer) is ubiquitous in India's northern cuisine. Tomatoes and all

kinds of sauces are prevalent everywhere. Combine these ingredients into
one gooey, oily, tasty dish that you can eat with your hands - as Indians
traditionally do - and you have a hit.

It's estimated that 80% of Indians are vegetarians, so pizza suits that
Indian cultural aspect too. Both chains are scrupulous about keeping "veg"
from "non-veg" in their kitchens and invite people in to see the separate
prep areas. There are even pizza options for India's 5.2 million Jains,
followers of a religion that prohibits eating onions or garlic. And stores in
heavily Muslim areas don't offer pepperoni.

Mix in another aspect of Indian culture, and you begin to see why both
chains are excited about their growth prospects. "Indians are great
socializers," says Pizza Hut's Allen. "That plays right into what Pizza Hut
stands for as a brand." Indeed the chaos at Pizza Hut is a deliberate
marketing strategy. "We call it 'customer mania,'" says Jain. "All the crew
members do a dance during peak hours every day. It's a very local thing. It
kind of breaks the ice in what otherwise can be a standoffish atmosphere.
Customers just love it."

That's certainly true for Praveen Jaya - ram, 32, who occasionally eats at a
Pizza Hut in Bangalore on Sunday evenings with his wife and 4-year-old
son. "It's friendly here," he says over a $6.25 four-course meal for two that
includes a chicken tikka pan pizza, garlic bread, tomato soup, and mango
ice cream. "Once or twice a month eating here is okay," he says,
acknowledging that local dining options are much cheaper. But being able
to afford a night out at Pizza Hut is a mark of success in increasingly
affluent India.

For its marketing strategy, Domino's has revived a practice abandoned in

the U.S. in 1993: the 30-minutes-or-free-delivery guarantee. "I have a
Pizza Hut across the road, so I have to do it in terms of brand visibility,"
says Alok Pandey, Domino's regional manager for southern India. But, he
admits, traffic, monsoon rains, and new neighborhoods spreading out like
tendrils make meeting the delivery cutoff a challenge. Sometimes, Pandey
says, he has to give away as many as 70 pizzas in a weekend (about 2%
of total orders).

Meanwhile, the Pizza Hut across the street has counterpunched with an
offer of its own: 50% off for a delivery that takes more than 30 minutes.
Ladies and gentlemen, let the slugfest continue.

India Inc.

3 Pizza Hut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality
standards. Please improve this article if you can. The talk pagemay
contain suggestions. (May 2010)

Pizza Hut

Type Wholly owned subsidiary

Industry Restaurants

Founded Wichita, Kansas (1958)

Founder(s) Dan and Frank Carney

Headquarters Addison, Texas, U.S.

Key people David C Novak, Chairman

Scott Bergren, President

Products Italian-American cuisine

pizza · pasta · desserts

Employees 30,000+

Parent PepsiCo (1977–1997)

Yum! Brands (1997–present)

Website Pizzahut.com
Pizza Hut (corporately known as Pizza Hut, Inc.) is anAmerican restaurant chain
and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side
dishesincluding pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread.

Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (the world's largest restaurant
company[1]) with approximately 34,001 restaurants, delivery/carry-out locations,
and kiosks in 100 countries.

Currently based in Addison, Texas[2] (a northern suburb of Dallas), Pizza Hut is

relocating its headquarters to Legacy Office Park in nearby Plano when the lease
on its current building, which it has occupied since 1995, expires on December
31, 2010.[3][4]

Contents
[show]

[edit]Concept and format

Pizza Hut store (with distinctive roof) inAthens, Ohio typical of U.S. Pizza Hut restaurants

Pizza Hut is split into several different restaurant formats; the original family-style
dine-in locations; store front delivery and carry-out locations; and hybrid locations
that offer carry-out, delivery, and dine-in options. Many full-size Pizza Hut
locations offer lunch buffet, with "all-you-can-eat" pizza, salad, bread sticks, and
a special pasta. Additionally, Pizza Hut also has a number of other business
concepts that are different from the store type; Pizza Hut "Bistro" locations are
"Red Roof"s which offer an expanded menu and slightly more upscale options.

"Pizza Hut Express" and "The Hut" locations are fast foodrestaurants. They offer
a limited menu with many products not found at traditional Pizza Huts. These
type of stores are often paired in a colocated location with a sibling brand such
as Wing Street, KFC or Taco Bell, and are also found on college campuses, food
courts, theme parks, and in stores such as Target.

[edit]History

The plaque on the first Pizza Hut building which was sometimes seen on the box. It was
shown from 1970 to 1985.
Main article: History of Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 by brothers Dan and Frank Carneyin their
hometown of Wichita, Kansas.[5] When a friend suggested opening a pizza parlor,
they agreed that the idea could prove successful, and they borrowed $600 from
their mother to start a business with partner John Bender.[citation needed] Renting a
small building at 503 South Bluff in downtown Wichita and purchasing
secondhand equipment to make pizzas, the Carneys and Bender opened the first
"Pizza Hut" restaurant; on opening night, they gave pizza away to encourage
community interest. They chose the name "Pizza Hut" since the sign they
purchased only had enough space for nine characters and spaces.[6] Additional
restaurants were opened, with the first franchise unit opening in 1959 in Topeka,
Kansas. The original Pizza Hut building was later relocated to the Wichita State
University campus.[7]
Pizza Hut's prototype version of a restaurant (1958–1961) at Wichita State University. This
was only used at four prototype Pizza Hut locations. There are only a few menu items on this
version.

Dan and Frank Carney soon decided that they needed to have a good standard
image. The Carney brothers contacted Wichita architect Richard D. Burke, who
designed the distinctive mansard roof shape and standardized layout, hoping to
counter competition from Shakey's Pizza, a chain that was expanding on the
west coast.[8] The franchise network continued to grow through friends and
business associates, and by 1964 a unique standardized building appearance
and layout was established for franchised and company-owned stores, creating a
universal look that customers easily recognized.
By 1972, with 314 stores nationwide, Pizza Hut went public on theNew York
Stock Exchange under the stock ticker symbolNYSE: PIZ. In 1978, Pizza Hut
was acquired by Pepsico, who later also bought KFC and Taco Bell. In 1997, the
three restaurant chains were spun off into Tricon, and in 2001 joined with Long
John Silver's and A&W Restaurants to become Yum! Brands. The oldest
continuously operating Pizza Hut in the world is in Manhattan, Kansas, in a
shopping and tavern district known as Aggieville near Kansas State University.

Traditionally, Pizza Hut has been known for its ambiance as much as pizza.
Vintage "Red Roof" locations can be found throughout the United States, and
quite a few exist in the UK and Australia. Even so, many such locations offer
delivery/carryout service. This building style was common in the 1960s and
1970s. The name "Red Roof" is somewhat anachronistic now, since many
locations have brown roofs. Dozens of "Red Roofs" have closed or been
relocated/rebuilt. Many "Red Roof" branches have beer if not a full bar, music
from a jukebox, and sometimes an arcade. In the 1980s, the company moved
into other successful formats including delivery/carryout and the fast food
"Express" model.

[edit]Products

Pizza Hut sells "Stuffed Crust" pizza, with the outermost edge wrapped around a
coil of mozzarella cheese; "Hand-Tossed," more like traditional pizzeria crusts;
"Thin 'N Crispy", a thin, crispy 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.[9]

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", 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 ofcheese 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,[10] 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.

Buffalo wings

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).
Pizza Hut Bistro concept location located in Indianapolis.

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.[11]Instead of black,
white, and red, Bistro locations feature a burgundy and tan motif.[12] 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.

A new version of Pizza Hut pizza, named Pizza Mia which is lightly topped, was
introduced in 2007. The product is aimed at the cost sensitive consumer segment
and is priced similarly to the Domino's555 deal, where each pizza is priced at five
dollars if purchased in bulk of three or more. In comparison, a Pizza Hut medium
sized, hand-tossed pepperoni pizza is internationally priced at $10.24 (Dallas,
Texas 1/1/2009). The Pizza Mia comes in only one size (medium) and extra
toppings range from $1.25 to $1.49. One slice of Pizza Hut pepperoni Pizza Mia
weighs 83 grams, while one slice of Pizza Hut pepperoni hand-tossed pizza
weighs 96 grams.[13]

Pizza Hut on May 9, 2008, created and sold in Seattle, Denver, and Dallas, "The
Natural", a new all-natural multi-grain crust sweetened with honey, a red sauce of
organic tomatoes and topped all-natural cheese (or with all-natural chicken
sausage and roasted red peppers). A medium Natural pizza with one topping
sold for $9.99. This was discontinued on October 27, 2009 in the Dallas market.
[14]
It has since launched a nationwide advertising campaign. Also in 2008, Pizza
Hut created their biggest pizza ever, the Panormous Pizza. Pizza Hut introduced
the Big Eat Tiny Price Menu on June 21, 2009. It features new Pizza Rolls, the
P'Zone Pizza, new Personal Panormous Pizza, and the Pizza Mia Pizza, each
item starting at $5.00 or $5.99.
Pizza Hut introduced stuffed pan pizza on August 23, 2009 with $10.99 for one
toppings and specialty for $13.99. Unlike regular stuffed crust 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 for $12.00, on August 22, 2010.

[edit]Advertising

Longtime Pizza Hut logo (Early 1970s–1999). Many older locations started with an earlier
1965 logo but were soon upgraded.

Pizza Hut's very first ad was "Putt Putt to Pizza Hut". It starts with a man
apparently ordering take-out and driving his 1965 Mustang JR to Pizza Hut, while
some of the townspeople start chasing him. He picks up his pizza and goes to his
house, when all of the people who were chasing him start eating all the pizza
except the man who ordered it. Frustrated, he calls Pizza Hut again.

Until early 2007, Pizza Hut's main advertising slogan was "Gather 'round the
good stuff", and is currently "Now You're Eating!". Pizza Hut does not have an
official international mascot, but at one time, there were commercials in the
United States called 'The Pizza Head Show.' These commercials ran from 1993
to 1997 and were based loosely on the Mr. Bill shorts fromSaturday Night Live in
the 1970s. The ads featured a slice of pizza with a face made out of toppings
called 'Pizza Head'. In the 1970s Pizza Hut used the signature red roof with a
jolly man named "Pizza Hut Pete". Pete was on the bags, cups, balloons and
hand puppets for the kids. In Australia during the Mid to late 1990s, the
advertising mascot was a delivery boy named Dougie, with boyish good looks
who, upon delivering pizza to his father, would hear the catchphrase "Here's a
tip: be good to your mother".
Old in-restaurant ad for Pizza Hut's Pan Pizza.

Pizza Hut sponsored the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II, and offered a free
pair of futuristic sunglasses, known as "Solar Shades", with the purchase of
Pizza Hut pizza. Pizza Hut also engaged inproduct placement within the film
itself, having a futuristic version of their logo with their trademarked red hut
printed on the side of a mylardehydrated pizza wrapper in the McFly family
dinner scene, and appear on a storefront in Hill Valley in the year 2015.[15]

The 1990 NES game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, came
with a coupon for a free pizza. The game was filled with Pizza Hut advertising
and pizza that would refill the character's life.

In 1994, Donald Trump and ex-wife Ivana Trump starred in a commercial. The
ending of the commercial showed Ivana Trump asking for the last slice, to which
Donald replied, "Actually dear, you're only entitled to half", a play on the couple's
recent divorce.

In 1995, Ringo Starr starred in a Pizza Hut commercial which also featured The
Monkees. Rush Limbaugh also starred in a Pizza Hut commercial the same year,
where he boasts that "nobody is more right than me," yet he states that for the
first time he will do something wrong, which was to participate in Pizza Hut's then
"eating pizza crust first" campaign regarding their stuffed crust pizzas.

Talk show host Jonathan Ross, co-starred in an ad with American

model, Caprice Bourret. They were used to advertise the stuffed crust pizza, with
Jonathan Ross saying "Stuffed Cwust", to which is a play on Jonathan's
pronunciation of 'R's.
Pizza Hut ad featuring The Muppets (2003–2005).

Another UK ad shows British Formula One driver Damon Hill visit a Pizza Hut
restaurant and order a pizza, with famous F1 commentatorMurray Walker visiting
with him, and narrating as though it was a Formula One race. As Hill is about to
finish his meal, Walker, in a play on Hill's 1994 & 1995 seasons where he was
runner up in the Formula One World Championship both won by Michael
Schumacher, shouts "And Hill finishes second, again!" at which Hill grabs Walker
by his shirt and shakes him angrily, Walker proclaiming, in his usual tones, "He's
lost it! He's out of control!"

Following England's defeat to Germany on penalties in the semi-finals of Euro

96, Gareth Southgate,Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle featured in an advert. The
advert shows Southgate wearing a paper bag over his head in shame as he was
the one, who missed the crucial penalty against the Germans. Waddle and
Pearce, who both missed penalty kicks in Italia 90 are ridiculing him,
emphasising the word 'miss' at every opportunity. After Southgate finishes his
pizza he takes off his paper bag, heads for the door and bangs his head against
the wall. Pearce responds with, "this time he's hit the post".

In 1997, former Soviet Union Premier Mikhail Gorbachev starred in a Pizza Hut
commercial to raise money for the Perestroyka Archives. In recent years, Pizza
Hut has had various celebrity spokespeople, including Jessica Simpson, the
Muppets, and Damon Hill and Murray Walker. Recent commercials have Queen
Latifah providing the voiceover. Also in 1997, Pizza Hut, reunited "greatest of all
time boxer" Muhammad Ali with trainer Angelo Dundee in a sentimental made
for Super Bowlcommercial.

Pizza Hut sponsored the first space pizza delivery in 2001 to the International
Space Station (ISS), and paid for their logo to appear on a Russian Proton
rocket in 2000, which launched the RussianZvezda module.[16]
In Australia, 2006 saw the introduction of a mascot in Pizza Hut's advertising –
"Pizza Mutt", a small dog who delivers pizzas. The mascot was dumped after just
two ads.

Early 2007 saw Pizza Hut move into several more interactive ways of marketing
to the consumer. Utilizing mobile phone SMS technology and their MyHut
ordering site, they aired several television commercials (commencing just before
the Super Bowl) containing hidden words that viewers could type into their
phones to receive coupons. Other innovative efforts included their "MySpace
Ted"campaign, which took advantage of the popularity of social networking, and
the burgeoning user-submission marketing movement via their Vice President of
Pizza contest.

Pizza Hut is also advertised in anime such as Code Geass, Maria-sama ga

Miteru, Darker Than Blackand Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, though in the translated
versions of Code Geass the logo was removed, leaving only the red roof logo.

As of October 2009, Pizza Hut is advertising its WingStreet brand on a

nationwide basis, having met its internal requirement of 80% of stores having the
product available.
[edit]Pasta Hut

Pasta Hut logo (2008–present)

On April 1, 2008, Pizza Hut in America sent emails to customers advertising that
they now offer pasta items on their menu. The email (and similar advertising on
the company's website) stated "Pasta so good, we changed our name to Pasta
Hut!"[17] The name change was a publicity stunt held in conjunction with April
Fools' Day, extending through the month of April, with the company's Dallas
headquarters changing its exterior logo to Pasta Hut.[18] This name change was
also used to promote the new Tuscani Pasta line and new Pizza Hut dine-in
menu. The first Pasta Hut advertisement has the original Pizza Hut restaurant
being imploded, and recreated with a sign saying "Pasta Hut" placed on the
building.
[edit]United Kingdom
Pizza Hut in Warwickshire.

In the United Kingdom, Pizza Hut announced it would be changing its name to
Pasta Hut in October 2008, six months after the US 'April Fool' trial.[19] This was
announced as being a temporary name change to reflect the chain's new
emphasis on healthier foods[19] On January 19, 2009, Pizza Hut announced that
the Pasta Hut trial had ended and that the names of all stores previously
converted to Pasta Hut would be converted back to Pizza Hut, following an online
poll in which 81% chose to keep the Pizza Hut name.[20]
[edit]Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, aside from the Pizza Hut restaurants, there is another brand called
"PHD - Pizza Delivered Hot by Pizza Hut." This brand is only for food courts at
malls and for express delivery. This was created to compete on the "fast food"
market while restaurants will concentrate in casual food.
[edit]Southeast Asia

New Pizza Hut logo that in use in Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia, aside from Pizza Hut restaurants, there is a subsidiary brand
called "PHD - Pizza Delivered Hot by Pizza Hut," only for food courts at malls
and for express delivery. Pizza varieties are changed to suit local tastes; pasta
products with similarly Asian taste is only sold in Indonesia.[citation needed]
[edit]Sponsorship

 In the early 1990s, as part of PepsiCo's sponsorship of The NewsHour

with Jim Lehrer (and its former moniker, The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour),
 Pizza Hut was included in the acknowledgment alongside Taco Bell and KFC,
which PepsiCo owned at the time.
 In 2000, Pizza Hut was a part-time sponsor of Galaxy Motorsports'
#75 Ford in the then NASCAR Winston Cup Series, driven by Wally
Dallenbach Jr.
 Pizza Hut was the shirt sponsor of English football club Fulham F.C. for
the 2001–02 season.
 Terry Labonte drove selected events with Pizza Hut as the primary
sponsor of his #44 car in 2005.
 Pizza Hut purchased the naming rights to Major League Soccer club FC
Dallas' stadium, Pizza Hut Park, prior to its opening in 2005.
 In March 2007, Pizza Hut partnered with Verizon Wireless to offer a
free LG mobile phone with the purchase of a Cheesy Bites Pizza.
 Pizza Hut is a sponsor of the Newcastle Vipers ice hockey team for the
2007/08 EIHL season in the UK.
 Pizza Hut is a sponsor of Children's Joy Foundation In The Philippines.
 Pizza Hut Japan sponsored the anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the
Rebellion, with their mascot, Cheese-kun, making cameos throughout the
series.

[edit]Book It!
Pizza Hut has been a longtime sponsor of the "Book It!" program (started in
1984[21]), which encourages reading in American and Australian schools. Those
who read books according to the goal set by the classroom teacher are rewarded
with Pizza Hut coupons good for a free Personal Pan Pizza or discounted menu
items. In the late 1980s, Pizza Hut threw free pizza parties for classes if all
students met their reading goals. The program has been criticized by some
psychologists on the grounds that it may lead to overjustification and reduce
children's intrinsic interest in reading.[22]However, a study of the Pizza Hut
program, Book It!, found that participation in the program neither increased nor
decreased reading motivation.[22] The program's 25th anniversary was in 2009.
Book It! in Australia ceased in 2002 when Pizza Hut in Australia was removing its
dine-in stores as Australians opt for take away pizza instead of dine-in.
[edit]Nutrition
 This section requires expansion.

In the UK, Pizza Hut has been criticized for the high salt content of its meals,
some of which were found to contain more than twice the daily recommended
amount of salt for an adult. The meats that consumers demand for pizza toppings
(pepperoni, sausage, bacon, etc.) are, likewise, salty and fatty meats.[23] There
have also been concerns raised over food production practices as due to the
high level of frozen produce being used the end products are often cold and of
poor quality, lacking nutritional value.