🔗 Share this article

At one time, Pizza Hut was the go-to for parents and children to indulge in its unlimited dining experience, help-yourself greens station, and make-your-own dessert.

Yet a declining number of patrons are choosing the restaurant nowadays, and it is closing 50% of its British outlets after being acquired following financial trouble for the second occasion this year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains a young adult. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” But now, in her mid-twenties, she comments “it's fallen out of favor.”

According to 23-year-old Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been famous for since it opened in the UK in the seventies are now not-so-hot.

“How they do their buffet and their salad bar, it appears that they are cutting corners and have inferior offerings... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

As food prices have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become quite costly to run. The same goes for its outlets, which are being cut from 132 to a smaller figure.

The company, like many others, has also faced its costs rise. This spring, staffing costs increased due to increases in the legal wage floor and an increase in employer taxes.

Two diners explain they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they order in Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

Based on your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are comparable, says an industry analyst.

Even though Pizza Hut has pickup and delivery through third-party apps, it is falling behind to big rivals which focus exclusively to this market.

“Domino's has taken over the off-premise pizza industry thanks to strong promotions and frequent offers that make shoppers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the original prices are quite high,” explains the expert.

Yet for Chris and Joanne it is justified to get their special meal brought to their home.

“We absolutely dine at home now more than we eat out,” explains one of the diners, reflecting current figures that show a decline in people going to informal dining spots.

Over the summer, informal dining venues saw a notable decrease in diners compared to the previous year.

There is also another rival to pizza from eateries: the frozen or fresh pizza.

Will Hawkley, global lead for leisure at a major consultancy, explains that not only have retailers been offering high-quality prepared pies for years – some are even promoting countertop ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also having an impact in the popularity of quick-service brands,” says the analyst.

The rising popularity of low-carb regimens has boosted sales at chicken shops, while hitting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he notes.

Because people visit restaurants more rarely, they may look for a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's classic look with comfortable booths and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more retro than luxurious.

The “explosion of artisanal pizza places” over the last decade and a half, for example new entrants, has “completely altered the general opinion of what good pizza is,” explains the food expert.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a carefully curated additions, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's caused Pizza Hut's downfall,” she says.

“What person would spend nearly eighteen pounds on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a franchise when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made traditional pie for under a tenner at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs a small business based in a county in England explains: “The issue isn’t that lost interest in pizza – they just want improved value.”

He says his mobile setup can offer high-quality pie at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it was unable to evolve with changing preferences.

From the perspective of a small pizza brand in a UK location, owner Jack Lander says the industry is expanding but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything fresh.

“There are now by-the-slice options, artisanal styles, new haven, sourdough, traditional Italian, deep-dish – it's a delightful challenge for a pie fan to try.”

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

Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been sliced up and allocated to its fresher, faster rivals. To keep up its high labor and location costs, it would have to charge more – which commentators say is difficult at a time when family finances are shrinking.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the buyout aimed “to ensure our dining experience and protect jobs where possible”.

He said its key goal was to maintain service at the surviving locations and delivery sites and to help employees through the restructure.

Yet with large sums going into operating its locations, it probably cannot to allocate significant resources in its off-premise division because the market is “complicated and partnering with existing external services comes at a expense”, commentators say.

Still, experts suggest, lowering overhead by leaving competitive urban areas could be a effective strategy to adjust.