At one time, the popular pizza chain was the favorite for parents and children to enjoy its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, help-yourself greens station, and ice cream with toppings.
Yet a declining number of patrons are visiting the restaurant these days, and it is shutting down a significant portion of its British outlets after being acquired following financial trouble for the second time this year.
I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains Prudence. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” But now, as a young adult, she states “it's no longer popular.”
For a diner in her twenties, the very elements Pizza Hut has been known and loved for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now outdated.
“How they do their buffet and their salad bar, it appears that they are cutting corners and have reduced quality... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How?’”
As food prices have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's unlimited dining format has become quite costly to maintain. As have its restaurants, which are being cut from 132 to 64.
The chain, like many others, has also experienced its costs go up. In April this year, employee wages rose due to rises in minimum wages and an increase in employer social security payments.
A couple in their thirties and twenties explain they would often visit at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they choose Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.
Based on your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are close, says an industry analyst.
Even though Pizza Hut has off-premise options through external services, it is losing out to larger chains which specialize to this market.
“Domino's has taken over the delivery market thanks to strong promotions and frequent offers that make consumers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the standard rates are relatively expensive,” says the specialist.
But for these customers it is worth it to get their evening together delivered to their door.
“We predominantly have meals at home now instead of we eat out,” says one of the diners, echoing latest data that show a decrease in people going to informal dining spots.
Over the summer, quick-service eateries saw a notable decrease in patrons compared to last summer.
There is also one more competitor to restaurant and takeaway pizzas: the cook-at-home oven pizza.
An industry leader, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, notes that not only have retailers been offering good-standard oven-ready pizzas for quite a while – some are even offering pizza-making appliances.
“Lifestyle changes are also having an impact in the popularity of fast-food chains,” states the analyst.
The rising popularity of protein-rich eating plans has boosted sales at chicken shops, while hitting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he continues.
Because people go out to eat more rarely, they may seek out a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's classic look with vinyl benches and traditional décor can feel more retro than premium.
The “explosion of artisanal pizza places” over the last several years, such as popular brands, has “completely altered the general opinion of what quality pizza is,” notes 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 resulted in Pizza Hut's downfall,” she says.
“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 Margherita for a lower price at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?
“The decision is simple.”
A mobile pizza vendor, who runs Smokey Deez based in Suffolk explains: “People haven’t fallen out of love with pizza – they just want improved value.”
The owner says his adaptable business can offer high-quality pie at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it was unable to evolve with new customer habits.
According to Pizzarova in Bristol, owner Jack Lander says the industry is diversifying but Pizza Hut has failed to offer anything fresh.
“Currently available are individual slices, regional varieties, new haven, artisan base, wood-fired, deep-dish – it's a delightful challenge for a pie fan to try.”
Jack says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as younger people don't have any emotional connection or allegiance to the company.
Gradually, Pizza Hut's share has been sliced up and allocated to its fresher, faster alternatives. To maintain its high labor and location costs, it would have to raise prices – which industry analysts say is challenging at a time when personal spending are tightening.
A senior executive of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the acquisition aimed “to protect our guest experience and retain staff where possible”.
It was explained its first focus was to continue operating at the surviving locations and off-premise points and to assist staff through the transition.
However with large sums going into running its restaurants, it probably cannot to allocate significant resources in its takeaway operation because the sector is “difficult and using existing external services comes at a expense”, commentators say.
Still, experts suggest, lowering overhead by exiting competitive urban areas could be a smart move to adapt.
