Aug 4, 2008

Business - Pizza Hut goes " All Natural"

Pizza Hut, the world's largest pizza restaurant chain, announced this week it will soon begin serving healthier pies.

Dubbed as "the Natural," the new pizza for health-conscious consumers will combine a multigrain crust, organic tomato sauce and preservative-free toppings. It will be introduced initially in Tampa, Fla., and Dallas in coming weeks, and rolled out nationally later this year.

Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut's CMO, said the new pie was a response to an emerging consumer need: the desire to eat pizza and still remain healthy. "That's why we're offering the Natural," Niccol said in a statement. "It allows us to stay on the cutting edge of food trends while delivering on the amazing Pizza Hut taste our customers expect and demand."

A campaign for the Natural includes TV spots, which will air across the country. One 30-second spot, titled "Loft," shows a chef named Elizabeth serving the new pizza at a tasting event. One customer takes a bite and declares: "This is like the best pepperoni I've ever had." "Look at this crust. Love multigrain," others exclaim. The spot concludes with the host professing that the pizza was actually created by Pizza Hut. Tagline: "So pure. So real. We had to call it the ‘Natural.'" BBDO, New York, handles.

As part of its "all natural" theme, Pizza Hut will box the new pie—which will retail for $9.99—using packaging made from 75% recycled material. Spending for the campaign was not revealed.

Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of Yum Brands, which owns 6,200 restaurants in the U.S. and 4,000 in other countries. The restaurant chain spent $244,719 on advertising last year and $67,633 through March of this year (excluding online), per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

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