Pizza Hut is launching the Tuscani Pasta range on January 27 in conjunction with trialing the introduction of the Pasta Hut brand in the Sydney market, the first of four major initiatives this year. According to Pizza Hut chief executive officer, Albert Baladi, the move marks a new era for Pizza Hut and the beginning of the brand’s goal to regain market leadership.

“The launch of Tuscani Pasta, along with testing the Pasta Hut brand, is the first step in Pizza Hut reinventing itself. The company is investing in significant changes in every area of the business in an effort to double the business within five years.

“Pizza Hut has always been all about pizza and our much loved pizzas will remain on the menu. However we will now be the first national pizza chain to offer delivery restaurant quality pasta at very affordable prices. We want to be as famous for our pasta as we are for pizza,” Baladi said.

For the first time in its 39 years in Australia Pizza Hut will rebrand selected stores with Martin Place and Surry Hills in Sydney the first sites to trial the new name Pasta Hut.

Pizza Hut is also getting its customers involved with the future of the business, asking Australians to vote for their preferred name — Pizza Hut or Pasta Hut. Voting will be live for six weeks and the votes will be gathered via a digital campaign.

The introduction of the pasta element follows national research which revealed seven out of 10 Australians say that pasta is their favourite meal; product testing was then undertaken with 350 consumers.

The pizza company is making significant changes in four other key areas starting with a new lunch based concept later in the year. This concept is being tested in South Australia and is designed to extend the restaurant’s daytime trade. Secondly, Pizza Hut aims to become the leader in online ordering space and has aggressive plans in the digital and mobile arena, launching a new state of the art website later in the year.

A brand new pizza initiative will be unveiled later in the year to give the company an additional edge on its competitors. And finally Pizza Hut will aggressively expand its retail outlets and refresh the look of its stores.

“2009 will be Pizza Hut’s biggest marketing push this decade. With the addition of Tuscani Pastas, we aim to significantly increase our share of the pizza category,” added Baladi.

Big enough to serve four adults, Tuscani Pasta is available in two different flavours: Meatball Napolitana, and Creamy Chicken & Mushroom for the introductory price of just $14.95, including five foccacia breadsticks.

Pizza Hut is the world’s largest pizza restaurant company with 280 restaurants in Australia and more than 12,000 restaurants around the world, and it is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands.

Visit www.pastahut.com.au to vote or to find out further information