Brand collaborations on mashup menu items are making a comeback with the latest concoction coming from Pizza Hut and Cheez-It.
The companies have joined forces to create The Stuffed Cheez-It Pizza, jumbo cheesy crackers stuffed with classic pizza toppings.
“We’ll pause to let it sink in,” the Plano, Texas-based chain said.
The four baked Cheez-It squares, introduced systemwide today, are stuffed with either cheese or pepperoni and cheese and served with a side of marinara dipping sauce. The product, from the outside, looks exactly like an iconic Cheez-It — from the texture to the tiny hole in the middle.
Pizza Hut did not provide the exact dimensions of the cracker-pizza, only stating that each one is larger than the average Cheez-It cracker and takes about two to three bites to polish off.
“We pride ourselves on being the go-to for unexpected pizza innovations, and I can’t think of a more badass partner than Cheez-It to bring our next original menu item to life,” Marianne Radley, chief brand officer at Pizza Hut, said in a statement.
The two companies partnered for the first time on this limited-time mashup item after learning that both brands have a die-hard college student fan base.
“Armed with that insight, the Pizza Hut culinary dream team worked with Cheez-It to create a product that ties the best of both pizza and Cheez-It worlds into one new innovation that’s delivering exactly what customers want,” the company said.
Wendy Davidson, president of Kellogg’s U.S. specialty channels, said: “The Stuffed Cheez-It Pizza is an example of two great companies leveraging their strengths to delight guests with a new experience on a classic favorite.”
The Stuffed Cheez-It Pizza is available for $6.49. Starting Sept. 24, the item can be found as an option on the chain’s $5 N’ Up lineup. At that time, it will be available for $6 with the purchase of two or more $5 N’ Up menu items.
The over-the-top menu item is among a line of innovative products Pizza Hut pledges to introduce as it become a bolder brand.
“We have to be a little braver, a little bolder in our choices,” Radley told Nation’s Restaurant News when the chain introduced a throwback logo over the summer.
Pizza Hut has about 7,500 units in the U.S.
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