🔗 Share this article

Once, the popular pizza chain was the favorite for groups and loved ones to feast on its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, unlimited salad bar, and make-your-own dessert.

However a declining number of diners are frequenting the chain these days, and it is reducing a significant portion of its British locations after being rescued from insolvency for the second time this calendar year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says a young adult. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she comments “it's not a thing anymore.”

For young customer Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it launched in the UK in the 1970s are now less appealing.

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

Because ingredient expenses have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become quite costly to maintain. As have its outlets, which are being reduced from a large number to a smaller figure.

The company, similar to other firms, has also experienced its expenses increase. Earlier this year, employee wages rose due to increases in the legal wage floor and an increase in employer taxes.

Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29 mention they would often visit at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they choose Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

Depending on your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are comparable, notes a food expert.

Even though Pizza Hut does offer takeaway and deliveries through third-party apps, it is falling behind to major competitors which solely cater to this market.

“Domino's has succeeded in leading the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and ongoing discounts that make consumers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the base costs are relatively expensive,” explains the analyst.

However for Chris and Joanne it is justified to get their special meal brought to their home.

“We definitely eat at home now instead of we eat out,” comments one of the diners, echoing latest data that show a decrease in people frequenting quick-service eateries.

In the warmer season, informal dining venues saw a six percent decline in customers compared to the previous year.

There is also a further alternative to ordered-in pies: the cook-at-home oven pizza.

A hospitality expert, head of leisure and hospitality at an advisory group, notes that not only have grocery stores been selling good-standard oven-ready pizzas for years – some are even offering countertop ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also contributing in the popularity of quick-service brands,” comments the expert.

The increased interest of protein-rich eating plans has increased sales at grilled chicken brands, while affecting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he continues.

Since people dine out less frequently, they may prefer a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's retro theme with comfortable booths and nostalgic table settings can feel more dated than upmarket.

The growth of artisanal pizza places” over the last several years, for example popular brands, has “dramatically shifted the consumer view of what quality pizza is,” notes the industry commentator.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a select ingredients, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's led to Pizza Hut's decline,” she comments.

“Who would choose to spend nearly eighteen pounds on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a chain when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made Margherita for less than ten pounds at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

Dan Puddle, who operates a pizza van based in Suffolk says: “People haven’t lost interest in pizza – they just want better pizza for their money.”

He says his mobile setup can offer premium pizza at affordable costs, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it was unable to evolve with evolving tastes.

From the perspective of an independent chain in Bristol, the proprietor says the pizza market is broadening but Pizza Hut has failed to offer anything fresh.

“You now have individual slices, artisanal styles, New Haven-style, sourdough, wood-fired, rectangular – it's a wonderful array for a pizza enthusiast to discover.”

He says Pizza Hut “must rebrand” as the youth don't have any sense of nostalgia or attachment to the company.

Over time, Pizza Hut's customer base has been sliced up and distributed to its fresher, faster competitors. To keep up its costly operations, it would have to charge more – which experts say is difficult at a time when household budgets are tightening.

The leadership of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the rescue aimed “to safeguard our guest experience and protect jobs where possible”.

The executive stated its immediate priority was to continue operating at the surviving locations and takeaway hubs and to support colleagues through the change.

Yet with significant funds going into running its restaurants, it may be unable to spend heavily in its delivery service because the market is “difficult and partnering with existing external services comes at a expense”, experts say.

But, he adds, lowering overhead by exiting crowded locations could be a smart move to adjust.