How Sweet It Is: Pizza Hut® And The Hershey Company Announce Plans To Broaden Partnership, Offer More Desserts

PLANO, Texas and HERSHEY, Pa., July 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pizza Hut, the world's largest pizza company, and The Hershey Company HSY, the leading manufacturer of quality chocolate in North America, have announced plans to team up and bring a portfolio of quality, great-tasting desserts to Pizza Hut.

First up: The Ultimate Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie. The cookie, cut into 8 slices and measuring 8 inches, will feature an average of 165 Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips per cookie, offering a delicious and sweet dessert to the Pizza Hut menu. The cookie debuts nationwide for $4.99 with the purchase of a pizza or $5.99 as a single item.

"When it came time for us to expand our dessert offerings, there was only one partner that could offer our customers the kind of quality and delicious taste experience they demand and that was Hershey's," said Carrie Walsh, Chief Marketing Officer, Pizza Hut. "Hershey makes some of the world's most delicious treats and our Pizza Hut chefs are ecstatic to use iconic Hershey products on our dessert menu.  Our fans are in for an amazing, and great-tasting, experience as a result of this expanded partnership."

Available for delivery, dine-in or carryout, the 8-inch cookie dessert is freshly-baked with 100 percent Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels that is sure to satisfy the whole group, including pizza, cookie and chocolate fans alike.

"Our genuine Hershey's chocolate chips deliver a warm and gooey dessert that Pizza Hut customers will be sure to love," said David Onorato, Vice President/General Manager Global Convenience Stores, Specialty Retail and Foodservice, The Hershey Company. "We've been offering unique and delicious chocolate experiences in a variety of ways for over 120 years and we're pleased to expand our relationship with Pizza Hut beginning with the Ultimate Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie."

To highlight the launch of The Ultimate Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie, Pizza Hut and Hershey will host "The Ultimate Bake Sale" on Wednesday, July 16. To accomplish this, Pizza Hut will turn every single Pizza Hut restaurant in America – that's more than 6,300 locations – into mini bake sale shops to benefit The World Food Programme. Pizza Hut will donate 10 percent of each cookie sold that day, up to $50,000, to the World Food Programme, the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger, and the benefactor of the Pizza Hut World Hunger Relief program each year. Hershey has pledged to match the total funds raised, up to $50,000.  

"We're hoping everyone in America will enjoy our delicious new cookie on this day as well as help a great cause," said Walsh.

Fans are encouraged to join the Ultimate Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie conversation by using hashtag #PizzaHutHersheys. The Ultimate Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie is an addition to the current dessert offering, Hershey's® Chocolate Dunkers®.  Chocolate Dunkers are made with freshly-baked dough and topped with a touch of white chocolate and blended with Hershey's Milk Chocolate. 

To order the Ultimate Hershey's Chocolate Chip Cookie from Pizza Hut, visit PizzaHut.com, which was recently redesigned to enable faster and more intuitive ordering than ever before. Pizza Hut has the largest suite of ordering channels, including apps for iPhone, Windows and Android, as well as Xbox 360, iPad and a slick mobile site.

World Food Programme is the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.wfp.org.

More information about Pizza Hut can be found on the company's Facebook  and Twitter pages.

More information about Hershey's, please visit hersheys.com or facebook.com/hersheys

About Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM, delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in the world. In 2014, Pizza Hut was named the Harris Poll Equitrend® Pizza Brand of the Year and was the recipient of the Innovation and Leadership in Advertising Award from the American Advertising Federation, 10^th District. The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2013 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 56 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, and today operates more than 14,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. Pizza Hut also is the proprietor of the BOOK IT!® Program, which is a long-standing children's literacy program used in more than 620,000 classrooms nationwide. To order online from Pizza Hut, visit PizzaHut.com.

Twitter: @Pizzahut
Facebook: Facebook.com/pizzahut
Instagram: Instagram.com/pizzahut

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company HSY, headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey has approximately 13,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company, which has more than 80 brands around the world that drive over $7.1 billion in annual revenues, includes such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers. Hershey is focused on growing its presence in key international markets while continuing to build its competitive advantage in North America. Additionally, Hershey is poised to expand its portfolio into categories beyond confectionery, finding new ways to bring goodness to people everywhere.

At Hershey, goodness has always been about more than delicious products. For 120 years, Hershey has been committed to good business by operating fairly, ethically and sustainably to make a positive impact on society.  This means contributing to a better life for its employees, consumers, communities, and, ultimately, creating a bright future for children in need.  This commitment is exemplified by Milton Hershey School, established in 1909 by the company's founder and administered by Hershey Trust Company. The children who attend the school receive education, housing, and medical care — thriving as direct beneficiaries of The Hershey Company's success.

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SOURCE Pizza Hut