Pizza Hut targets ‘Nando’s generation’ with cocktails

Restaurant chain Pizza Hut plans to build cocktail bars in its London venues as part of a £60 million strategy to win back “the Nando’s generation”.

Pizza Hut is building cocktail bars into its London venues as part of a 360m refurbishment plan

The move comes following more than 10 years of declining market share in the UK as new high street chains such as Nando’s and Pizza Express take the lead.

Cocktails are set to include Mojitos and Southern Punch, which the firm hopes will entice adults in their twenties and thirties to return to Pizza Hut which is often associated as a child-friendly eatery.

“In the 80s we were the only show in town in pizza and now we’re not,” Mike Spencer, operations director, told the Evening Standard. “A lot of people came as young children by moved on to places like Pizza Express when they grew up and never come back to us.

“We want to make Pizza Hut relevant to those young adults who would have been reluctant to come to us.

“We have to break down that perception that our pizzas are not fresh, not particularly healthy and not food quality.”

Last week, Pizza Hut on the Strand unveiled its £500,000 makeover, with establishments in Marble Arch, Piccadilly and Queensway scheduled to be completed later this year.

Trial runs of open kitchens to allow consumers to watch their food being prepared have apparently already resulted in a 35% increase in sales.