🔗 Share this article

In the past, the popular pizza chain was the go-to for parents and children to feast on its all-you-can-eat buffet, help-yourself greens station, and make-your-own dessert.

However not as many diners are visiting the restaurant currently, and it is closing 50% of its British restaurants after being bought out of administration for the second time this year.

“We used to go Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes one London shopper. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – make a day of it.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she comments “it's no longer popular.”

For 23-year-old Martina, the very elements Pizza Hut has been known and loved for since it opened in the UK in the seventies are now less appealing.

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

Because grocery costs have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become increasingly pricey to run. The same goes for its restaurants, which are being cut from 132 to 64.

The company, like many others, has also faced its costs go up. In April this year, labor expenses rose due to higher minimum pay and an increase in employer taxes.

Two diners say they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they choose a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

According to your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are close, says a culinary author.

Even though Pizza Hut does offer takeaway and deliveries through delivery platforms, it is falling behind to big rivals which solely cater to off-premise dining.

“Another pizza company has taken over the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and ongoing discounts that make shoppers feel like they're saving money, when in reality the base costs are relatively expensive,” explains the specialist.

However for the couple it is worth it to get their special meal sent directly.

“We predominantly have meals at home now rather than we eat out,” says the female customer, reflecting recent statistics that show a decrease in people frequenting casual and fast-food restaurants.

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

There is also another rival to restaurant and takeaway pizzas: the frozen or fresh pizza.

A hospitality expert, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, points out that not only have supermarkets been offering premium ready-to-bake pizzas for a long time – some are even offering pizza-making appliances.

“Shifts in habits are also having an impact in the popularity of fast-food chains,” comments the analyst.

The growing trend of high protein diets has increased sales at poultry outlets, while affecting sales of carb-heavy pizza, he notes.

As people dine out less frequently, they may look for a more high-quality meal, and Pizza Hut's classic look with vinyl benches and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more old-fashioned than luxurious.

The growth of premium pizza outlets” over the last 10 to 15 years, such as boutique chains, has “fundamentally changed the consumer view of what good pizza is,” notes the culinary analyst.

“A thin, flavorful, gentle crust with a few choice toppings, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's caused Pizza Hut's downfall,” she comments.

“What person would spend nearly eighteen pounds on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a chain when you can get a stunning, expertly crafted classic pizza for a lower price at one of the many traditional pizzerias around the country?

“It's a no-brainer.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs Smokey Deez based in Suffolk explains: “People haven’t lost interest in pizza – they just want better pizza for their money.”

The owner says his flexible operation can offer high-quality pie at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it was unable to evolve with changing preferences.

According to Pizzarova in Bristol, owner Jack Lander says the sector is diversifying but Pizza Hut has not provided anything new.

“You now have individual slices, London pizza, new haven, artisan base, wood-fired, Detroit – it's a heavenly minefield for a pie fan to try.”

He says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as younger people don't have any fond memories or attachment to the chain.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's market has been divided and spread to its more modern, agile competitors. To maintain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to increase costs – which commentators say is difficult at a time when family finances are tightening.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's global operations said the buyout aimed “to protect our dining experience and save employment where possible”.

It was explained its immediate priority was to keep running at the open outlets and takeaway hubs and to assist staff through the restructure.

Yet with large sums going into running its restaurants, it likely can't afford to spend heavily in its off-premise division because the sector is “complicated and using existing delivery apps comes at a price”, commentators say.

But, he adds, lowering overhead by withdrawing from crowded locations could be a effective strategy to adapt.