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Once, Pizza Hut was the favorite for groups and loved ones to indulge in its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, unlimited salad bar, and self-serve ice-cream.

But fewer customers are choosing the brand currently, and it is reducing half of its UK restaurants after being bought out of administration for the second time this calendar year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains one London shopper. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she comments “it's not a thing anymore.”

For a diner in her twenties, the very elements Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it started in the UK in the mid-20th century are now outdated.

“The way they do their buffet and their salad bar, it seems as if they are lowering standards and have inferior offerings... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

As grocery costs have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become increasingly pricey to maintain. Similarly, its restaurants, which are being sliced from 132 to just over 60.

The chain, similar to other firms, has also experienced its operating costs rise. This spring, employee wages rose due to higher minimum pay and an increase in employer social security payments.

Two diners say they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they order in Domino's and think Pizza Hut is “very overpriced”.

Based on your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are similar, says a food expert.

Even though Pizza Hut does offer pickup and delivery through third-party apps, it is falling behind to major competitors which specialize to off-premise dining.

“Another pizza company has taken over the delivery market thanks to aggressive marketing and constantly running deals that make customers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the base costs are relatively expensive,” explains the analyst.

But for Chris and Joanne it is justified to get their special meal sent directly.

“We definitely eat at home now more than we eat out,” explains Joanne, matching current figures that show a decrease in people frequenting casual and fast-food restaurants.

In the warmer season, informal dining venues saw a notable decrease in diners compared to the year before.

Additionally, one more competitor to ordered-in pies: the cook-at-home oven pizza.

Will Hawkley, global lead for leisure at an advisory group, explains that not only have supermarkets been offering premium prepared pies for quite a while – some are even offering countertop ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also playing a factor in the popularity of casual eateries,” says Mr. Hawkley.

The growing trend of protein-rich eating plans has boosted sales at poultry outlets, while affecting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he notes.

Since people visit restaurants less frequently, they may prefer a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's classic look with comfortable booths and nostalgic table settings can feel more retro than luxurious.

The growth of high-quality pizzerias” over the last 10 to 15 years, for example new entrants, has “dramatically shifted the consumer view of what quality pizza is,” says the culinary analyst.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a carefully curated additions, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what's led to Pizza Hut's decline,” she says.

“Who would choose to spend nearly eighteen pounds on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a franchise when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made Margherita for under a tenner at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who owns a pizza van based in a county in England says: “It's not that fallen out of love with pizza – they just want improved value.”

The owner says his mobile setup can offer high-quality pie at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it was unable to evolve with evolving tastes.

From the perspective of Pizzarova in Bristol, the founder says the pizza market is expanding but Pizza Hut has failed to offer anything fresh.

“There are now individual slices, regional varieties, new haven, fermented dough, wood-fired, Detroit – it's a wonderful array for a pizza-loving consumer to discover.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as the youth don't have any sense of nostalgia or allegiance to the brand.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's customer base has been sliced up and distributed to its fresher, faster competitors. To maintain its costly operations, it would have to charge more – which industry analysts say is difficult at a time when personal spending are decreasing.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's international markets said the acquisition aimed “to safeguard our guest experience and retain staff where possible”.

He said its first focus was to keep running at the remaining 64 restaurants and off-premise points and to assist staff through the change.

But with significant funds going into operating its locations, it may be unable to allocate significant resources in its takeaway operation because the sector is “complex and working with existing external services comes at a expense”, analysts say.

However, it's noted, lowering overhead by leaving oversaturated towns and city centres could be a good way to adapt.