Inside Pizza Hut’s brand reset

The brand also came up with three limited-edition recipes for its new range.

Before Pizza Hut UK & Ireland unveiled its brand reset, the company invested in training over 400 employees through 19 practical workshops, resulting in the creation of 23,000 practice pizzas.

This investment reflects Pizza Hut’s commitment to its new “Together We Pizza” campaign.

In a brief interview, Nicolas Burquier, Managing Director of Pizza Hut UK & Ireland, shared the brand’s goals for this new positioning.

What prompted Pizza Hut to undertake this significant brand re-set at this time?

Pizza Hut has delivered for millions of people for decades – but you only stand the test of time if you keep doing things differently, so we wanted to do something new and exciting. 

Our main priority is to continue showing up for our customers. For us, that means making sure we are there for every occasion, and relevant in everyday life – whether it’s a lunchtime treat at a Pizza Hut restaurant or dinner with family and friends – we want to be easily accessible and provide the best quality product for that occasion.

We have a clear vision – to be the number one choice in pizza; for communities to order our pizza, for employees to choose to be a part of our business and for franchisees to join us. We are passionate about what we do and the communities that we serve, connecting people through the shared joy and magic of pizza.

How does the new Handcrafted sourdough style dough align with Pizza Hut’s long-term brand strategy?

We are pizza fanatics, and everything we do is about great-tasting pizza. It’s why we’re so proud of this new, handcrafted pizza dough – and we can’t wait for everyone to taste it.

Our colleagues have been stretching dough collectively for 3,500 years, however, we have retrained every single one of our managers and franchisees in the art of handcrafted so we hope this will be the best pizza people have tasted. 

Brands need to offer something that people can trust. In our case and for our long-term brand strategy, it’s about bringing people delicious pizza at great value and that familiar, comforting experience every single time.

What key consumer insights did you gather that influenced the development of the new Handcrafted range?

Our research tells us that consumers want a modern, more everyday brand that taps into different occasions and moments in everyday life. As much as people want brands to be relevant, convenient and good value, they also look to brands to offer something unique and special. 

Pizza is for everyone, and this new Handcrafted range has been designed for existing fans to enjoy but to also attract a new generation of pizza lovers with its delicious new taste.

Listening to our communities is really important to us, and we wanted taste to be the focus of this new brand re-set, with our Handcrafted dough front and centre. So, we wanted to put our pizza to the test and partnered with research company Welwyn Research Limited to get an idea of how the product would be received. It showed that 75% said it tasted better than Pizza Hut’s current classic dough base and 92% said they’d buy the pizza over the current classic dough range, so we knew we were onto something good!

What was the scope of the retraining program for your team members to ensure the successful rollout of the Handcrafted range?

To prepare for this launch, we retrained every single one of our managers and franchisees in the art of handcrafted. This was made up of 19 practical workshops with over 400+ staff this includes every single RGM and franchisee across our business. Over 23,000 practice pizzas were stretched all together – so we feel very confident that every single Hut across the UK is well-equipped to create the perfect pizza.

How did market research influence the specific toppings chosen for the new Handcrafted pizzas?

We have launched three limited edition modern recipes – Spicy GOAT, Pepperoni and Nduja and Chicken Fajita. Listening and responding to consumer needs is very important to us as a brand, which is why we tested around 20 new recipe concepts with UK consumers, and these came out as favourites! Our Handcrafted base is also available with all our popular toppings and best sellers. 

In what ways did consumer feedback shape your marketing strategy for the Handcrafted range?

We know that people crave pizza, connection and fun – so this was at the centre of our marketing strategy, as connecting people through the joy of pizza is at the heart of our brand.

We are excited to launch our “Together We Pizza” campaign, which is a celebration of the togetherness, connection and fun that pizza brings - we wanted to make sure that our marketing reflected this!

How do you plan to position the new Handcrafted range within the competitive landscape of the QSR industry?

We need to keep in mind that consumers remain very value-conscious. This means we need to focus on providing the best quality product, for the best possible value. 

Consumers want to engage with brands that offer a great-tasting product, as well as those that continue to deliver value and provide comfort whilst staying true to core values. Pizza Hut has always been one of those brands, and our new Handcrafted range is no different. We’ve seen that people, particularly the younger generation, crave that shareable moment and connection with one another through the joy of pizza. 

Pizza is unique in that it is universal and personal – it is loved by all, but customisable for individual preferences. It brings people together from different backgrounds and different generations, and not many foods can do that. This positions us well as a brand with a product that brings so much magic and joy – who doesn’t love pizza?

What are your expectations for the performance of the Handcrafted range, and how do you see it impacting Pizza Hut’s brand in the coming year?

We are incredibly proud of our Handcrafted range and feel confident that it will strengthen our brand even more over the coming year. We know it tastes great – it is an infinitely craveable, light and airy pizza, so what’s not to like? 

At the heart of our success and longevity is our passion for listening to our communities – customers, employees, partners and franchisees – who come to us for our signature flavours and that familiar, comforting experience. We have listened, and we have delivered with our new Handcrafted pizzas.