Pizza Hut Just Launched 2 New Spicy & Sweet Items
Something's heating up the Pizza Hut menu. The fast-food chain just announced the addition of two items drizzled with a sweet and spicy condiment du jour.
For a limited time, fans can get a taste of the new Hot Honey Pizza and Hot Honey Wings at Pizza Hut locations in Dallas and Cleveland.
The Hot Honey Pizza, complete with pepperoni "cups" that hold the sweet-spicy sauce, starts at $11.99. The Hot Honey Wings, coated in hot honey and double dipped in the sweet-heat flavor combo, start at $5.99 for six wings—available in bone-in and boneless form.
Hot honey, a sauce synonymous with the Brooklyn-based brand Mike's Hot Honey, is now available in partnership with Utz Potato Chips. However, Pizza Hut describes its sauce as "a signature hot honey infused with chili peppers" on its new menu items, meaning it will not use the boutique brand's sauce.
"The secret behind Pizza Hut's Hot Honey Pizza lies in its perfect balance of sweet heat from the honey and the savory-salty flavors of the pepperonis," the company said in a press release.
However, other well-known brands have already tested out the hot honey trend. Buffalo Wild Wings, Wingstop, and Slim Chickens each launched their own version of hot honey chicken wings.
This isn't the only recent change to Pizza Hut's menu. The company debuted popular single-serve handheld sandwiches called "Melts" in October 2022. And inspired by TikTok, the brand recently launched a Pickle Pizza for a limited time in New York City.
Pizza Hut's menu has always reflected popular culinary trends. In the 1970s, the chain introduced the "Stuffed Crust Pizza," while the 1980s saw the addition of pasta dishes and desserts like the Cinnamon Sticks.
As globalization became an integral aspect of fast food, international flavors influenced the menu, with Pizza Hut offering Thai and Mediterranean options. The restaurant even tested a "Beyond Meat Pizza," although it has since been discontinued.
During a recent interview with Nation's Restaurant News, Chris Turner, CFO for Pizza Hut's parent company Yum Brands, noted innovation and integration are essential to lifting the brand's sales, noting same-store store sales increased 8% last quarter.
"The menu innovation machine is alive and well with the Melts we introduced in Q4 that continued through Q1," Turner said. "A number of our strategies are working at Pizza Hut."
These spicy-sweet menu items are only available while supply lasts. It's also unclear if Hot Honey Pizza and Hot Honey Wings will debut at most Pizza Hut locations. (There are over 6,500 restaurants in the United States as of July 2023, via Scrapehero.)
More information regarding current menu offering are available on Pizza Hut's website.
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