When Pizza Hut began in 1958, pizza boxes were square and the round pies within were topped with meat. Now the international pizza chain will debut round delivery boxes holding pizza topped with plant-based sausages.
This isn’t a nationwide change, though. Pizza Hut is introducing these new features exclusively at one location in Phoenix, Arizona. At the location on 3602 E. Thomas Road, the customers will get to eat the new Garden Speciality Pizza topped with Incogmeato by MorningStar Farms, a food service company that has been creating plant-based alternatives for 40 years.
The new Garden Speciality will feature the Incogmeato Italian Sausage, onions, mushrooms, and banana peppers. It will be served in environmentally friendly, compostable round boxes for $10, available in-store only. All proceeds from this one-day promotion on October 23 will be donated to Arizona Forward, a Phoenix-based sustainability organization.
Pizza Hut partnered with Zume, a California-based pizza technology company, to create the delivery boxes. This project took two years, and the packaging is considered the most innovative for the pizza chain. The round boxes are comparably efficient on space and are industrially compostable. They also interlock easily for delivery drivers.
“The round box was engineered to make our products taste even better by delivering hotter, crispier pizzas,” said Nicolas Burquier, chief customer and operations officer at Pizza Hut. “This box is a win-win. It will improve the pizza-eating experience for our customers and simplify the operating experience for our team members.”
Following this event in Phoenix, Pizza Hut will look into a wider roll-out of the round pizza boxes.
“Incogmeato is a new-to-the-world brand created to challenge convention on delicious plant-based food,” says Wendy Davidson, Kellogg Away from Home President. “Pizza Hut is the innovation leader in its category, and we are excited to partner with them to develop a tasty, first-ever plant-based pizza to satisfy what flexitarians are seeking today.”