Financial Times:
Pizza Hut’s UK business is set to throw aside more than 35 years of history today by changing its name to Pasta Hut.
In spite of a £17m investment updating many of its restaurants only this year, the group will spend a further £100m over the next six years to revamp its more than 700-strong UK chain, extend the number of outlets and launch a new, expanded menu.
Alasdair Murdoch, chief executive, said the group was changing its name to better reflect the nutritional changes to its menu, and it would still continue to sell pizzas as well as newer pasta-based dishes.
“We’re doing it to try to attract customers who probably haven’t been for a few years,” he said, adding that the focus would be on customers looking for value for money.
Mr Murdoch said the name change reflected significant changes to the nutritional content of most of its meals. Salt has been cut and will be reduced a further 10 per cent in the next three years to meet Food Standards Agency targets.
All traces of hydrogenated vegetable oils will be removed from Pizza Hut menus, while some children’s menu items will contain hidden vegetables.
“Customers definitely still want to go out, they still want small treats,” said Mr Murdoch. “The first few weeks of September have been tough but we’re looking at a good weekend this weekend.”
