Pizza Hut revamps its menu

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Pizza Hut is letting customers play mad scientist, giving them the freedom to make pies with honey Sriracha sauce or add curry flavor to the crusts.

The reworked menu is one of several major moves at old-standby restaurant chains, including Red Lobster and Olive Garden, as they try to adjust to changing tastes.

Many customers, especially millennials, have turned their backs on chain restaurants and are demanding more variety, exotic flavors and higher-quality food.

Pizza Hut’s atypical flavors and new ingredients are part of a menu overhaul announced Monday set to hit stores Nov. 19. Executives are hoping the revamp — which includes an updated logo and more relaxed uniforms for workers — will be the trick that finally jumpstarts sales.

Pizza Hut, which is owned by Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc. and based in Plano, Texas, has reported sales declines for eight-straight quarters at established locations, even as rivals Domino’s and Papa John’s have enjoyed gains.

To regain its footing, Pizza Hut is turning to a growing trend in the industry: giving people greater flexibility to tailor orders exactly to their tastes. The popularity of places such as Chipotle that let people select toppings has prompted a variety of chains to play up their own customization options.

Pizza Hut is still keeping its most popular pies on the menu, such as the Meat Lover’s and Veggie Lover’s, while adding 11 new specialty pizzas and a section of “Skinny” pies that are lower in calories.