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At one time, Pizza Hut was the favorite for families and friends to feast on its unlimited dining experience, unlimited salad bar, and make-your-own dessert.

But a declining number of diners are visiting the brand these days, and it is reducing a significant portion of its British outlets after being acquired following financial trouble for the second time this year.

It was common to visit Pizza Hut when I was a child,” notes a young adult. “It was like a family thing, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” Today, as a young adult, she comments “it's fallen out of favor.”

For a diner in her twenties, certain features Pizza Hut has been known and loved for since it started in the UK in the seventies are now less appealing.

“The way they do their buffet and their salad bar, it feels like they are cutting corners and have lower standards... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

As ingredient expenses have increased significantly, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become increasingly pricey to run. As have its locations, which are being cut from 132 to just over 60.

The chain, similar to other firms, has also experienced its expenses increase. Earlier this year, labor expenses jumped due to higher minimum pay and an higher rate of employer social security payments.

A couple in their thirties and twenties say they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “occasionally”, but now they get delivery from another pizza brand and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

Depending on your selection, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are comparable, notes an industry analyst.

While Pizza Hut has off-premise options through external services, it is losing out to larger chains which specialize to off-premise dining.

“Another pizza company has taken over the takeaway pizza sector thanks to intensive advertising and constantly running deals that make customers feel like they're finding a good deal, when in reality the base costs are on the higher side,” explains the analyst.

But for the couple it is worth it to get their date night delivered to their door.

“We definitely eat at home now rather than we eat out,” comments the female customer, echoing current figures that show a drop in people frequenting casual and fast-food restaurants.

In the warmer season, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a notable decrease in patrons compared to the year before.

Additionally, another rival to pizza from eateries: the frozen or fresh pizza.

A hospitality expert, senior partner at a leading firm, explains that not only have retailers been selling good-standard ready-to-bake pizzas for years – some are even offering pizza-making appliances.

“Shifts in habits are also having an impact in the success of casual eateries,” states Mr. Hawkley.

The increased interest of protein-rich eating plans has driven sales at grilled chicken brands, while reducing sales of high-carbohydrate options, he adds.

As people go out to eat more rarely, they may prefer a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's classic look with booth seating and traditional décor can feel more retro than premium.

The growth of premium pizza outlets” over the last 10 to 15 years, including boutique chains, has “fundamentally changed the general opinion of what good pizza is,” says the food expert.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a select ingredients, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's struggles,” she states.

“Why would anyone spend £17.99 on a tiny, mediocre, unsatisfying pizza from a chain when you can get a gorgeous, skillfully prepared Margherita for under a tenner at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

Dan Puddle, who operates a small business based in a regional area comments: “People haven’t lost interest in pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

The owner says his flexible operation can offer high-quality pie at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it failed to adapt with changing preferences.

According to a small pizza brand in a city in southwest England, the founder says the sector is diversifying but Pizza Hut has not provided anything innovative.

“Currently available are by-the-slice options, London pizza, thin crust, fermented dough, wood-fired, Detroit – it's a heavenly minefield for a pie fan to discover.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “must rebrand” as younger people don't have any sense of nostalgia or attachment to the company.

Gradually, Pizza Hut's customer base has been fragmented and allocated to its more modern, agile alternatives. To maintain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to raise prices – which industry analysts say is difficult at a time when personal spending are tightening.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's global operations said the buyout aimed “to safeguard our dining experience and protect jobs where possible”.

He said its immediate priority was to keep running at the remaining 64 restaurants and takeaway hubs and to help employees through the change.

Yet with significant funds going into operating its locations, it probably cannot to invest too much in its takeaway operation because the sector is “difficult and partnering with existing third-party platforms comes at a cost”, analysts say.

Still, experts suggest, cutting its costs by withdrawing from crowded locations could be a good way to evolve.