Claes Petersson has left his position as vice president of research and development and packaging at Sonic Corp. to join Yum! Brands Inc. subsidiary Pizza Hut as vice president of innovation, effective May 18.
“Yum and I have been talking for a while and we decided that I will start Monday as vice president innovation for Pizza Hut,” Petersson wrote in an email. “Sonic has been amazing and [so has] what we have been doing there the last three years. Yum is an exciting brand and I feel honored to be a part of their team and that they asked me to lead their future food creations.”
Petersson said the role is a newly created position for Pizza Hut. A Pizza Hut spokesman said Petersson was joining in advance of the planned retirement at the end of the year of Bruce Perkin, the chain’s chief food innovation officer. Perkin will remain responsible for food safety, supplier management and menu labeling while Petersson pursues culinary innovation.
Sonic has credited new product development as a key factor in its strong financial performance. It recently opened a 3,500-square-foot research and development center at its Oklahoma City headquarters that includes a kitchen for testing existing and new equipment and menu items, rooms for meetings and consumer research, and cameras to broadcast training and food demonstrations.
For his role in developing new menu items, ranging from a lighter line of sodas and slushes with real fruit, to pretzel dogs and upscale chicken sandwiches, Petersson was named one of the 50 most powerful people in foodservice by Nation’s Restaurant News.
Pizza Hut has implemented several menu changes in recent months, including its “Flavor of Now” platform that features premium toppings and an array of new sauce and crust options. It also was the first national quick-service chain to introduce a gluten-free pizza certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group.
This story has been revised to reflect the following update:
Update: May 11, 2015 This story has been updated with information about the planned retirement of Pizza Hut’s chief food innovation officer Bruce Perkin.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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