What began as a simple message from a Facebook fan has turned into an International olfactory phenomenon. “I love the smell of a fresh Pizza Hut pizza so much, I wish I could bottle it,” a customer posted in late 2012. The brand that lives to “Make it Great” answered the charge by working with a world renowned Aromachologist to develop the one and only Eau de Pizza Hut.
The new, highly exclusive scent is available for the first time globally, but will only be awarded to the biggest Pizza Hut fans on a limited country-by-country basis. More than ten global markets will begin awarding fans the delicious scent today, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
“The Eau de Pizza Hut is perhaps the most unique scent we’ve ever developed,” said Ashlee Firsten of Aromachology, a NY-based custom perfumery. “The cologne has a slightly sweet base scent of freshly rising dough, but finishes decidedly savory with hints of Italian spice like oregano, vine-ripened tomato sauce, the crispness of fresh-sliced vegetables and all wrapped by wafts of cheesy goodness. It’s really a quite complex combination of aromas that results in the hunger-inducing smell of a fresh Pizza Hut pizza.”
A prototype of the Eau de Pizza Hut was released with less than 100 bottles in Canada late last year, but demand quickly built from consumers around the world prompting Pizza Hut to increase production and release the cologne globally.
“In many ways, we feel like a celebrity launching our signature scent,” said Alan Gravely, CMO, Yum! Restaurants International. “We had no idea that the notion of a cologne that smells like our fresh pizzas would generate this level of passion from people who want to get their hands on a bottle. In an effort to Make it Great, we are producing 1,000 more bottles and awarding them to our fans – this time with a scent that’s even more distinctively evocative of a Pizza Hut pizza.”
The new .5oz Eau de Pizza Hut will be awarded to social media fans around the world beginning today. Of course customers who want to enjoy the delicious smell, but are not lucky enough to get their own bottle, can always order the real deal from their local Pizza Hut restaurant.
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with over 39,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #213 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of nearly $14 billion in 2012. The Company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened approximately five new restaurants each day of the year, making it a leader in international retail development.
