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What Pizza Hut’s Radical New Menu Actually Tastes Like

5 minute read

The half-dozen servers were dressed in all black, down to the sleek leather gloves they wore as they doled out slices of Pretzel Piggy, Old Fashioned Meatbrawl and Cherry Pepper Bombshell. On the side: balsamic, buffalo, BBQ and honey sriracha sauces, or in Pizza Hut’s new parlance, “drizzles.” All of it was surrounded by a new logo, new delivery boxes, new casual-looking uniforms, and a new motto: “The Flavor of Now.”

This is the new, at times unrecognizable, Pizza Hut. Or, at least, it was the one shown to members of the media Monday afternoon to mark what David Gibbs, the company’s newly installed CEO, calls “one of the biggest moves we’ve ever made in our history.”

On Nov. 19, Pizza Hut will essentially relaunch its entire brand, changing the food it serves, the way its ordered and even the company logo. There are 11 new signature pizzas, six new sauces, 10 new crust flavors and four drizzles — enough options to allow for 2 billion unique pizza combinations. For the company known for trencherman staples like Stuffed Crust, Meat Lover’s and Supreme, the new menu is the fast-food equivalent of a Hail Mary pass.

“It’s a fear of irrelevance,” says Darren Tristano, a food industry analyst at Technomic. “But the potential to negatively influence their current customer base is certainly there.”

Photos: An Inside Look at a Sriracha Factory

Chilies are ground in a mixing machine.
Jalapeno peppers, grown in nearby Ventura County, are crushed inside the Huy Fong Foods factory in Irwindale, Calif.Peter Bohler for TIME
Lids for Sriracha bottles flow into a large container.
Sriracha sauce is bottled on site and topped with distinctive bright green caps.Peter Bohler for TIME
The bottles for Sriracha are made and printed on site. Here, new bottles come off the conveyer belt.
Sriracha’s trademarked look includes clear bottles printed with white text.Peter Bohler for TIME
A forklift moves barrels of chili around the warehouse where they are stored until needed for processing into Sriracha, Chili Garlic and Sambal Olek—ground chilis with no added ingredients.
A forklift moves barrels of crushed chilies stores in the on-site warehouse.Peter Bohler for TIME
Uncapped barrels of chili are pumped into the mixing room.
Crushed chilies are eventually mixed with sugar, salt, garlic and vinegar to make Sriracha.Peter Bohler for TIME
Sugar and powdered garlic are added to the mixture, which is ground again into Sriracha.
Sugar and powdered garlic are added to the mixture, which is ground again into Sriracha.Peter Bohler for TIME
Bottles of Sriracha being filled. When CEO and founder David Tran started making chili sauce in Vietnam, he and his family hand-filled bottles with spoons.
Bottles of Sriracha being filled. When CEO and founder David Tran started making chili sauce in Vietnam, he and his family hand-filled bottles with spoons. Peter Bohler for TIME
Filled and capped bottles of Sriracha come off the assembly line and are organized for boxing.
Filled and capped bottles of Sriracha move along an assembly line on their way to be boxed and shipped.Peter Bohler for TIME
A machine boxes Sriracha for shipping.
A machine boxes Sriracha bottles that will end up in restaurants and on grocery store shelves.Peter Bohler for TIME
A worker adds steel supports to a pallet of barrels. The supports allow Huy Fong to stack the barrels on top of each other without the weight of the chili crushing the barrels.
A worker adds steel supports to a pallet of barrels. The supports allow Huy Fong Foods to stack chili-filled barrels five layers high. Peter Bohler for TIME

It’s a risk Pizza Hut is willing to take, though they’re hedging bets by keeping those old favorites on the menu. Sales at the nation’s largest pizza chain have been dropping for two years, as Domino’s, Little Caesars and Papa John’s—the No. 2, 3 and 4 chains, respectively—have cut into Pizza Hut’s business. Regional build-your-own pizza chains like Blaze and Pieology and customization-heavy fast-casual brands like Chipotle are also luring diners from the pan pizza depot.

“America’s tastes are changing,” Gibbs says. “People are interested in bold new flavors. It’s a pretty natural move to be the one to take the pizza category where nobody’s taken it before with all these new flavors and ingredients.”

Domino’s offered a template in 2009, when the company admitted that its sauce and crust weren’t that great and invited customers to taste the new version. They bolstered their campaign with an updated social media presence and smoother online ordering to cater to millennials. Sales have soared since, which is as much a reason for Pizza Hut drizzling hot sauce on garlic crusts as anything.

So what does the “flavor of now” taste like? Thankfully, better than it sounds (The Cock-a-Doodle Bacon. Why?).

We started with Pizza Hut’s new asiago breadsticks alongside four dipping sauces: balsamic, BBQ, buffalo and honey sriracha. They’re miles from your basic marinara or cheese sauce, but not necessarily for the better. Whether dipping in the sweet but mild balsamic, tangy, molasses-heavy BBQ, unmemorable buffalo or lightly spicy honey sriracha, my asiago sticks longed for a red sauce.

The newfangled pizzas tended to come together better. The Cock-a-Doodle Bacon pie is spread with a creamy garlic parmesan sauce topped with grilled chicken and bacon. The riff on Alfredo is rich enough that you don’t miss the marinara.

The Old Fashioned Meatbrawl is a reasonably restrained update on the classic topping: the meatballs are small enough not to dominate each bite, and a garlic crust adds an extra salty pop.

Cherry Pepper Bombshell is also better than it sounds. The cherry peppers and balsamic drizzle add a sweet punch that goes well with meaty salami. But the shower of fresh spinach on top didn’t add much. It felt similarly unnecessary on the Pretzel Piggy, which is one of the most convoluted combinations on the new signature menu. A salted pretzel crust with the creamy garlic parmesan sauce from the Cock-a-Doodle is topped with bacon, mushrooms and spinach and then finished with a balsamic drizzle. It worked, kind of, though you’d need to be in a particular kind of mood to take one down solo.

The custom crusts are Pizza Hut’s attempt to make choosing your dough as common as picking your toppings. Of the two new ones I tried, the Ginger Boom Boom crust—with regular cheese and marinara—was subtle, a bit garlicky, with only a mildly taste of ginger. The honey sriracha crust (with a pepperoni topping), meanwhile, was sticky and a bit too overpowering.

So is this really what millennials crave? Maybe. Pizza Hut will likely cast off a kicked-up drizzle, flavor-dusted crust or meatbrawl pie if it turns out it isn’t selling. Besides, it’s not as if Pizza Hut is a sauce and dough purist.

“We’ve always been the one taking the category to new places,” says Gibbs, Pizza Hut’s CEO. “Yes, the younger customers are more interested than the older demographics in experimenting with flavor. But I think across all demographics, there’s something on the menu for everybody.”

QUIZ: Should You Eat This or That?

Which is better for you: A 1/2 cup of ice cream or 3 scoops of sorbet?
Which is better for you: Half cup of ice cream or 3 scoops of sorbet?Getty Images (4)
Answer: A 1/2 cup of ice cream
Answer: A half cup of ice cream If you eat what you’re craving, you’re more likely to feel satisfied and eat less. And scoop for scoop sorbet contains twice the sugar with none of the filling dairy protein and fat.Getty Images (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Real butter or spray on fake butter?
Which is better for you: Real butter or spray on fake butter?Getty Images; Tara Johnson for TIME
Answer: Butter
Answer: Butter Serving size for spray butters (even low-calorie ones) are around a 1/3 second spray. What on earth does that mean? You're better off using a small amount of real butter as opposed to guessing how much you're using of the mystery melange of up to 20 ingredients.Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: A sirloin burger or a turkey burger?
Which is better for you: A turkey burger or a sirloin burger?Getty Images (2)
Answer: Sirloin burger Restaurant turkey burgers are often made with dark meat and the skin, so they’re not necessarily better for you (and for the record, they aren't low-fat). You can get a sirloin burger that’s 95% lean meat and gives you 20 g of protein. Just be careful with the toppings.Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Almonds or pretzels?
Which is better for you: Almonds or pretzels?Getty Images (2)
Answer: Almonds
Answer: Almonds Almonds are high in protein, fiber and fat and will keep you feeling fuller longer. Give high-sodium pretzels about an hour and you'll feel hungry again thanks to the high-carb no-fat or protein content.Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Eggs or Special K?
Which is better for you: Special K or eggs?AP; Getty Images
Answer: Eggs
Answer: Eggs In the morning, you want a meal that will fill you up. Eggs offer protein and fat for satiety, but Special K cereal really only offers carbs and, well, air. If you want carbs to kick off the day, you're better off pairing eggs with a slice of 100% whole grain toast. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
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Which is better for you: Fat free salad dressing or regular salad dressing?Tara Johnson for TIME
Answer: Regular salad dressing
Answer: Regular salad dressingTo absorb fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins E and K in vegetables you need to consume them with a fat to aid nutrient absorption. Fat-free dressing, meanwhile, is low-calorie but gets its flavor from added sugar and salt.Tara Johnson for TIME (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: A low fat cookie or dark chocolate?
Which is better for you: A low fat cookie or dark chocolate?Getty Images (2)
Answer: Dark chocolate “People tend to believe fat free is calorie free,” says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian in New York City. “Go for the real thing.” Fat free cookies may be lower in fat, but higher in other ingredients like sugar. Try a nice piece of dark chocolate for those antioxidants.
Answer: Dark chocolate “People believe fat free is calorie free,” says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian in New York City. “Go for the real thing.” Fat free cookies tend to be high in carbs, sugar and fake sugar. Try a nice piece of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate instead.Getty Images (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Low fat Greek yogurt or 100 calorie Yoplait yogurt?
Which is better for you: Low fat Greek yogurt or 100 calorie Yoplait yogurt?Tara Johnson for TIME
Answer: Low fat Greek Yogurt
Answer: 2% Greek YogurtA little fat is good in the morning to keep you full—plus it has upwards of 17g of protein per container. Fat-free "fruit" yogurt is high in sugar—7 to 10 g per serving—and lower in protein.Tara Johnson for TIME (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME

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