Food & Beverage
Pizza Hut brings back 'The Edge' to lighten things up a bit
With a crisp, light crust and slightly sweet sauce, The Edge pizza — first introduced nearly a quarter century ago — returns to Pizza Hut stores nationally today.
June 1, 2021 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group
In a nation of pizza lovers, where everything seems to be trending toward the deepest, cheesiest and maybe even the heaviest, Pizza Hut is entering a counterpoint by bringing back it's lighter, crispier The Edge pizza, first introduced in those heady days of 1997.
Now, a lot of water has — as they say — gone under the bridge since those days of platform shoes and military garb, but a lot of it is also coming back around again, too. That is the case for this "cracker-crust" style pie that gets its name from the way it's made, so that toppings go quite literally from one edge to the other, with no crusty edge to interrupt things.
Today, the light and crunchy pie is back on the menu at Pizza Hut stores nationally, but restaurant business reporters got a sneak-peak of a couple of weeks ago. During the virtual preview — accompanied by samples of the pies sent to reporters' respective workplaces (yes, it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it) — Pizza Hut General Manager David Graves joined the company's Senior Director of Culinary Innovation and Strategy Penny shaheen and Pizza Hut CMO Lindsay Morgan to relay why the brand brought back the pie first introduced in the late 1990s.
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| Shown left to right are Pizza Hut's Lindsay Morgan, Patty Shaheen and David Graves at Pizza Hut's "Return of the Edge" media event in May. (Photo: S.A. Whitehead) |
Throughout the preview of the pie, the aforementioned trio repeatedly used descriptors of it that relayed the idea that The Edge is is an upscaled pie with a special lightness that's well-suited for its summer 2021 return. Or, as Graves said in the meeting, The Edge was designed as an "elevated" menu item, that features "premium" ingredients all around. Their tone begged the question of whether these "upscale" references might be part of a brand strategy to elevate this offering above that of its competitors like Domino's and Papa John's, while also perhaps putting Pizza Hut's offering more on equal footing with the proliferation of pies served at higher-priced fast casual pizza brands.
"What we saw as we headed into COVID (in 2020) was customers really wanted heavier crusts like pan and stuffed," Graves told reporters, referring to those thicker pizza styles. "And this is the first time we're (Pizza Hut) talking about this pizza in 10 years really … and we know that they (thin-crust pizza lovers) eat more heavily topped pizzas than other (pie type) customers."
So just as when the nation entered the so-often frightening realities of the pandemic, customers craved heavier comfort food. Now, as we emerge from the many restrictions the virus put in place, maybe we're seeking something a little on the lighter side, both literally and figuratively.
An interesting addition to the recent virtual press conference with Pizza Hut was the firsthand walk-through of the making of The Edge pizza with shaheen, which, like the best cooking shows, featured an overhead camera and talk-as-you-prep narration from shaheen. In the demo, shaheen took time to explain some of the stand-out features of the offering, including its "slightly sweet" sauce and the proprietary garlic and herb seasoning used to distinguish much of the flavor of the pie.
On the subject of that savory shake-on seasoning, it was clear several in the press corps that day had fallen hard for the garlic-y combo, which Pizza Hut had also sent with their pies to reporters. In fact, one reporter asked whether Pizza Hut was selling the seasoning separately, which shaheen said there were no plans to do so. Considering this reporter spent the rest of the day with the seasoning bottle next to my keyboard for periodic quick "hits," that might be an opportunity missed.
shaheen explained that in order to actually get the toppings on The Edge to literally stretch from edge-to-edge, the dough is cut to the exact size of the bottom of a pizza pan, allowing the sauce to go nearly to the edge and the toppings to run up against the short sides of the pan. shaheen pointed out that when baked, although the crust comes out cracker thin and crisp, the dough remains sturdy enough to carry that extra dose of toppings. She said the brand's research has revealed that those who like lighter pizza crust also like more toppings.
All this said though, this 2021 version of The Edge has been modified a bit, according to the marketing team, from its earlier rendition. Still, the brand is not throwing it's full commitment behind The Edge as a permanent menu item. At this point, the pizza — debuting at Huts nationwide today — is being brought back merely as a limited time only item.
Another somewhat surprising fact of The Edge's return is that this pie cannot really be ordered fully customized, but instead comes in four versions that Graves said customers could "remove toppings from" but not add them. The versions available, include the Ultimate (with pepperoni, sausage, green peppers onions and tomatoes), as well as The Carnivore (with pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, ham and bacon). Two less indulgent varieties include the Pepperoni and The Vegetarian with green peppers, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes.
The prices for all of the above start at $12.99. Pizza Hut has more than 18,000 stores globally and is based in Plano, Texas.
About S.A. Whitehead
Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.
