Pizza Hut, one of the biggest pizza chains in the United States, added an chocolate chip cookie - measuring 8 inches in diameter - to its regular dessert menu.
The cookie is served divided into eight triangular pieces, similar to how pizza pies are served and is overloaded with Hershey's chocolate chips. The first Hershey-branded dessert on its menu was the Chocolate Dunkers. Currently, Pizza Hut also offers cinnamon sticks, which is yet to be branded.
The pizza restaurant chain decided to add a cookie on its menu after finding out that 70 percent of their diners prefer dessert after eating pizza and that their top preference is cookies.
Pizza Hut had been struggling with its menu trends. In May, the chain began offering barbecue pizza but it failed to become a major hit. David Novak, Chief Executive of Yum! Brands commented that this hand-tossed pizza was an underperformer. He told Businessweek that Pizzahut's barbecue pizza was not good enough to compete with California Pizza Kitchen, Domino's and Papa John's which offers the "Papa John's Mega Chocolate Chip Cookie."
Still, Pizza Hut believes their entry into the cookie war is unique. "We entered into a partnership with the premier chocolate company in the world," said Dough Terfehr, spokesman for Pizza Hut, to Businessweek.
Pizza Hut plans to introduce more Hershey's-branded desserts in the coming months. Sales estimates are not yet available.
