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Ron Ruggless
DALLAS —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
Select signs and awnings now sport bold, chunky white-on-black lettering reading “The Hut” and a stylized red roof. —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
Chris Fuller, spokesman for the pizza subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc., said the new trade dress is being tested at restaurants in Dallas as well as several other markets. Several variations of “The Hut” have been in test since late fall, he said. —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
“We view it much like calling Coca-Cola ‘Coke,’” said Fuller. —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, based in Louisville, Ky., operates or franchises more than 10,000 units worldwide, including more than 6,000 in the United States. Systemwide, the company has already rolled out new red pizza delivery boxes that feature “The Hut” name. The new boxes, which are made from 40-percent recycled materials, were introduced in February when Pizza Hut said it would begin using all-natural ingredients in its pies. —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
Employees of units have long called their Pizza Hut units “The Hut.” Last year, the company briefly changed the name of the chain to “Pasta Hut” in a tongue-in-cheek marketing move intended to emphasize the introduction of its Tuscani line of pastas to the menu. In April 2008, Pizza Hut expanded its delivery menu to include five breadsticks and two baked pastas, Creamy Chicken Alfredo and Meat Marinara, delivered in pans intended to feed six people for $11.99. —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
The pastas were introduced at a time when Pizza Hut’s sales were slumping and costs for pizza ingredients were rising. Officials projected that pasta delivery could account for 15 percent of sales for the chain’s more than 6,000 U.S. outlets within a year, based on test marketing in Kansas City, Mo., and Tampa, Fla. —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
Scott Bergren, chief executive of Pizza Hut, said at the time that he anticipated annual sales of $1 billion for the Tuscani pasta line. —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
In October 2008, David Novak, chairman and chief executive of parent company Yum Brands, said during a conference call that Tuscani sales had already reached $500 million and that a whole line of different pastas would be introduced in the next two years. He did not disclose specifics. —After enjoying sales success with the addition of pasta to its delivery menu last year, Pizza Hut is trying on new signage in some test markets that truncates the restaurant concept’s name to “The Hut.”
