🔗 Share this article

At one time, the popular pizza chain was the go-to for groups and loved ones to indulge in its unlimited dining experience, endless salad selection, and make-your-own dessert.

However fewer diners are visiting the brand currently, and it is reducing a significant portion of its British outlets after being rescued from insolvency for the second time this calendar year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says a young adult. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” But now, aged 24, she states “it's not a thing anymore.”

According to a diner in her twenties, the very elements Pizza Hut has been known and loved for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now less appealing.

“How they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad station, it feels like they are cutting corners and have inferior offerings... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

As food prices have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become quite costly to maintain. As have its locations, which are being sliced from over 130 to a smaller figure.

The company, similar to other firms, has also experienced its costs increase. In April this year, staffing costs increased due to increases in the legal wage floor and an higher rate of employer social security payments.

Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29 explain they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they order in Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

According to your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are similar, says a food expert.

Even though Pizza Hut provides off-premise options through delivery platforms, it is falling behind to major competitors which specialize to off-premise dining.

“Domino's has taken over the off-premise pizza industry thanks to aggressive marketing and constantly running deals that make customers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the original prices are relatively expensive,” notes the expert.

However for Chris and Joanne it is acceptable to get their date night delivered to their door.

“We definitely eat at home now instead of we eat out,” comments one of the diners, matching latest data that show a decline in people frequenting informal dining spots.

Over the summer, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a 6% drop in diners compared to the previous year.

Moreover, another rival to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

Will Hawkley, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, explains that not only have retailers been selling premium prepared pies for a long time – some are even promoting pizza-making appliances.

“Evolving preferences are also playing a factor in the success of casual eateries,” says Mr. Hawkley.

The increased interest of low-carb regimens has driven sales at chicken shops, while affecting sales of carb-heavy pizza, he adds.

Since people dine out not as often, they may look for a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with vinyl benches and traditional décor can feel more dated than upmarket.

The rise of artisanal pizza places” over the last decade and a half, such as boutique chains, has “completely altered the general opinion of what good pizza is,” explains the culinary analyst.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a select ingredients, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's led to Pizza Hut's downfall,” she says.

“What person would spend nearly eighteen pounds on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a chain when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made Margherita for under a tenner at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who operates Smokey Deez based in a regional area says: “People haven’t lost interest in pizza – they just want better pizza for their money.”

Dan says his mobile setup can offer high-quality pie at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it could not keep up with evolving tastes.

From the perspective of Pizzarova in a UK location, owner Jack Lander says the industry is diversifying but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“You now have by-the-slice options, London pizza, new haven, fermented dough, Neapolitan, Detroit – it's a wonderful array for a pie fan to explore.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as the youth don't have any sense of nostalgia or attachment to the brand.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's market has been fragmented and allocated to its trendier, more nimble rivals. To sustain its high labor and location costs, it would have to charge more – which industry analysts say is difficult at a time when family finances are decreasing.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's international markets said the buyout aimed “to safeguard our customer service and retain staff where possible”.

He said its first focus was to maintain service at the surviving locations and off-premise points and to help employees through the restructure.

But with large sums going into running its restaurants, it probably cannot to allocate significant resources in its delivery service because the sector is “complex and partnering with existing delivery apps comes at a cost”, commentators say.

However, it's noted, lowering overhead by exiting oversaturated towns and city centres could be a smart move to adjust.