Hungry? Pizza Hut launches cheeseburger crust pizza.
Hot on the heels of the much-discussed 鈥淗ot Dog Stuffed Crust鈥� pizza from a few weeks ago, Pizza Hut has once again proven itself the leader in the world of pizza crust innovation.
The 鈥淐rown Crust Burger Pizza,鈥� in fact, makes the United Kingdom's聽"Hot Dog Stuffed Crust Pizza" look tame by comparison. The crust on this self-described masterpiece is made up of tiny cheeseburger patties encased in nests of pizza crust (Pizza Hut calls these 鈥渕ini cheeseburger gems鈥�). The cheese pizza center comes topped with beef, iceberg lettuce, tomato, melted cheese, and 鈥淧izza Hut鈥檚 special sauce, inviting comparisons to yet another junk food staple: the taco salad.
The 鈥淐rown Crust Burger Pizza鈥� also has a sister entr茅e, the 鈥淐rown Crust Chicken Fillet Pizza,鈥� It comes bordered by, you guessed it, tiny chicken "gems."
鈥淩elish a first of its kind deliciousness,鈥� a Middle Eastern television ad for the Crown Crust Burger boasts.
The new pizzas are available in 12 countries across the Middle East, including Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Egypt. Coupled with the hot dog crust pizza and Japan鈥檚 鈥淲inter Double King鈥� pizza (that crust is stuffed with shrimp and mayonnaise), the Crown Crust Burger Pizza is just the latest slight to adventurous stateside pizza lovers. Does Pizza Hut think we鈥檙e not ready to venture too far outside the box (or the crust) when it comes to our pizzas?
Probably not. After all, Pizza Hut鈥檚 parent company is Yum Brands, which also owns Taco Bell and KFC. Neither of those chains have been shy about testing outlandish entrees on American palates. KFC gave us the 鈥淒ouble Down鈥� a few years ago 鈥� a chicken sandwich in which two fried chicken breasts serve as the 鈥渂read鈥� holding together a mound of melted cheese and bacon. Over 10 million 鈥渟andwiches鈥� have been sold in the US since the Double Down鈥檚 release two years ago.
In March, Taco Bell released the Doritos Locos Taco, with a hard taco shell made from the same stuff as Doritos chips. The rollout was 鈥渉ugely successful鈥� propelling Taco Bell, and Yum brands, to a huge spike in first quarter earnings after a yearlong slump. Sales at Taco Bell rose 6 percent in the first quarter of 2012, with higher sales expected in the current quarter because of the Doritos Locos Taco鈥檚 late rollout date. Net income for Yum Brands spiked 73 percent in the first quarter due to Taco Bell鈥檚 strong performance and success in overseas markets, such as the Middle East.
That means the outrageous menu items are working. And if hot dog and cheeseburger crusts find success overseas, expect the unexpected in pizza crusts to be making its way to the US pretty soon.
