Pizza Hut’s newest innovation is outside of the pizza box

Pizza Hut doesn’t want to be in a square box anymore. This out of the pizza box offering will have everyone wishing they lived in Phoenix.

Innovation and Pizza Hut are going hand in hand. From its NFL partnerships to its grab and go restaurant location, the iconic pizza brand is always looking to push boundaries. With today’s announcement, the pizza brand has finally giving pizza the right shaped container.

According to Pizza Hut, the new round box is innovative for multiple reasons. First, the round box is said to keep pizza crispier. Anyone who has brought home or ordered a pizza understands that the traditional pizza box can accumulate moisture. If this pizza box can keep the moisture away, that classic crust will be crisp and even tastier.

Additionally, this packaging is intended to be smaller than a traditional pizza box. Less overall packaging offers a smaller footprint, which is good for fridge space. More importantly, this box is industrially compostable, which is a huge positive.

Now this special round pizza box is only available in Phoenix. But, like any product launch, it could roll out at more locations. Of course, it would take a lot of logistics for a nationwide roll out. It makes sense that just a small test run is happening.

While the brand would never comment, it seems likely that a successful run in Phoenix would mean that a national rollout could happen in 2020. More than likely, consumers would want this new round pizza box. Given the potential, it seems highly likely that round pizza boxes will be in the future.

Continuing the idea of thinking outside of the box, Pizza Hut is offering another new innovation. Following the launch of the Cheez-It collaboration, another Kellogg collaboration is happening.

The Garden Specialty Pizza will feature Incogmeato, a plant-based sausage from Kellogg, While many people are familiar with plant-based foods, this Italian sausage version is different. It will be interesting to see how the seasoning, textures and flavors mimic a traditional Italian sausage.

The new plant based sausage will be available only in Phoenix for a limited time. On October 23, the “Pizza Hut restaurant located at 3602 E. Thomas Rd” will offer “the limited-run Garden Specialty Pizza, served in the new round box featuring Pizza Hut’s green roof logo, while supplies last” starting at 11 a.m. MT.

Similar to the pizza box launch, this small scale test will gauge the potential of a larger roll-out. If this test is similar to any other small scale launch, these pizzas will sell out quite quickly. If anyone was to speculate, it seems that a larger launch might happen in 2020, giving Kellogg plenty of time to roll out a large enough supply of its plant based sausage.

What do you think of these Pizza Hut innovations? Would you want a round pizza box or a plant based sausage?