Burger Hut? Pizza Hut enters the burger business

Forget reinventing the wheel, how about reinventing the burger? Because that’s what Pizza Hut says it’s doing with its newest offering.

The restaurant and takeout chain has revealed its Cheeseburger Melt, calling it a “better way to burger” because there’s no “soggy” bun, but a thin crust instead.

The company is even trolling traditional burger chains by taking cars branded with promotional material through their drive-thru lanes.

"As a brand known for exceptional pizzas, venturing into the burger business is an exciting first for us," Lindsay Morgan, chief marketing officer at Pizza Hut, said in a press release.

"We thought we’d kick off our burger journey with something bold. That’s why we’re making waves in burger chain drive-thrus, serving up our delicious new Cheeseburger Melt for all you burger lovers out there."

Pizza Hut is asking customers to “cheat” on their favourite burger joint, with the promotional vehicles including a QR code which can be scanned to be entered into a draw for a free Cheeseburger Melt.

The catch is that the offer is only available in Miami, Florida, Chicago, and Illinois, where Burger King and McDonald’s are headquartered, respectively.

The pizza-turned-burger is filled with beef, applewood-smoked bacon, onions, mozzarella, and cheddar, with Burger Sauce on the side.

The “thin-n-crispy” concept isn’t new to the Hut with other versions already on the menu, including the Pepperoni Lover's served with marinara dipping sauce; Buffalo Chicken served with buffalo dipping sauce and ranch dipping sauce; Chicken Bacon Parmesan served with ranch dipping sauce and Meat Lover's served with marinara dipping sauce.

"For the first time ever, we packed everything you know and love about a cheeseburger into our craveable Thin N’ Crispy crust to develop the new Cheeseburger Melt," Rachel Antalek, chief food innovation officer at Pizza Hut, added.

"Unlike a traditional cheeseburger, the Cheeseburger Melt dips perfectly into what we would argue is the world’s best burger dipping sauce. We challenge you to find a better burger and sauce experience."