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Pizza Hut takes a page out of Papa Johns' playbookPizza Hut takes a page out of Papa Johns' playbook

Pizza Hut's newest menu item is eerily similar to another famous brand's signature item

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

October 21, 2022

 

Welcome to First Bite, a Nation’s Restaurant News podcast, your daily source of news from NRN hosted by Holly Petre.

Today, we’re talking about Pizza Hut's newest menu item.

Pizza Hut announced Tuesday the launch of Melts: a new menu category for solo diners that looks similar to a pizza quesadilla. They also resemble the very popular Papa Johns Papadias, which launched in Jan. 2020 and have been a revenue-booster for the smaller pizza brand ever since.

The Pizza Hut Melts are available for $6.99 each and come in four varieties, each with a different dipping sauce. They are made with two slices of the brand’s signature thin crust pizza with toppings and cheese sandwiched between. (Here is where the comparison to Papadias diverge, because Papadias are one folded-over slice like a pita pocket, whereas the Melts are two slices sandwiched together).

This is actually the first time the Yum Brands chain has sold slices since a failed experiment in 2014, though this time they look a little different than your traditional slices.

The brand’s CMO even said in a statement, “We like to say – pizza is for WE, Melts are for ME.”

Let’s turn to Joanna Fantozzi with more on the story.

Plus, catch up on all the top news of the day with our daily news recap at the beginning of each episode.

Be sure to subscribe to First Bite wherever you get your podcasts or on Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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