Pizza Hut is getting into another fast food popular with Americans: hamburgers.
The Plano, Texas-based chain introduced the Cheeseburger Melt to its menus nationwide on Tuesday.
While it has all the ingredients you can find in a McDonald’s or Wendy’s burger, the Cheeseburger Melt is actually a hybrid of a burger and pizza.
It’s stuffed with beef, bacon, onion, mozzarella, and cheese like any regular cheeseburger.
The difference is that they are inside a folded pizza base instead of a bun, and the meat comes in smaller pieces instead of a patty.
But it is served with the brand’s ‘burger sauce’ on the side, which is believed to be inspired by McDona’d’s famous Big Mac sauce.
Pizza Hut’s Cheeseburger Melt is a hybrid of a burger and pizza. Instead of a bun, a pizza base is folded and filled with beef, cheese, bacon, and onion like a regular burger.
The Pizza Hut hamburger is different from the traditional hamburgers that we Americans are used to, like this one
“We are delighted to embark on this new adventure in the burger business, especially as a brand recognized for its exceptional pizzas.” Lindsay Morgan, CMO of Pizza Hut, said in a statement..
‘We wanted to start our burger journey with a bold statement. That’s why we’re making waves at burger chains by offering our delicious new Cheeseburger Melt to all burger enthusiasts.”
To promote the new melt, Pizza Hut is offering vouchers for free coupons to customers waiting in line at select burger chain drive-thrus for a limited time.
Cheeseburger Melt is also part of the new My Hut Box deal, which starts at $6.99 at participating restaurants.
The deal allows customers to choose between Melts or a two-topping Personal Pan Pizza, plus a side of fries or four boneless wings and a 20-ounce drink.
The pizza chain markets this new addition to the menu as a better way to eat a takeout cheeseburger than a traditional one, thanks to its folded exterior that prevents soggy buns and toppings from spilling out.
“For the first time, we’ve distilled everything you love about a cheeseburger into our irresistible Thin N’ Crispy crust to create the new Cheeseburger Melt,” said Rachel Antalek, director of food innovation at Pizza Hut.
‘Unlike a traditional cheeseburger, the Cheeseburger Melt pairs perfectly with what we believe is the best burger sauce in the world.
“We challenge you to find a better burger and dip experience.”
In addition to the Cheeseburger Melt, Pizza Hut now offers a total of five different Melts. The other four options were added to the menu in 2022.
To promote the new melt, Pizza Hut is offering vouchers for free coupons to customers waiting in line at select burger chain drive-thrus for a limited time.
Pizza Hut, owned by Yum Brands, suffered a 7 percent drop in comparable sales during the first quarter of this year.
This move into burgers isn’t the first time brands not typically associated with burgers have tried to enter this lucrative market.
In 2018, IHOP attracted significant attention with its “rebranding” to IHOb to promote its new line of burgers.
There is also a long-standing collaboration between Donatos Pizza and Red Robin, where the burger chain added pizza to its menu, benefiting both companies.