Pizza Hut began in Wichita, Kansas in 1958 when two college students were approached by a family friend with the idea of opening a pizza parlour restaurant. This was a new concept in America at the time and they quickly went about making the dream come true. For this they borrowed $600 from one of their mothers, rented a small building on a busy intersection of Wichita, bought some second-hand equipment, and went about becoming the biggest and most successful pizza chain in the world.
Pizza Hut franchisees were launched in 1958. Through this the Pizza Hut chain was able to develop both in the United States and overseas. Today, franchisees and joint venture partnerships account for nearly half of the Pizza Hut's total resturants.
Their first international restaurant was opened in Canada in 1968, after that Pizza Hut restaurants quickly appeared in Mexico, Australia, Europe, the Far East and Africa.
In 1977 Pizza Hut was acquired by PepsiCo, Inc. As part of PepsiCo, Pizza Hut shared its position with products like Pepsi-Cola® brand soft drinks and Frito-Lay® brand snack foods. In October, 1997, PepsiCo spun off the restaurant businesses (Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell) and Tricon Global Restaurants was founded, making it the world largest resturant group.
For a fully comprehensive history of Pizza Hut, see www.pizzahut.com |
