Image Courtesy of Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut Just Threw Shade at Domino’s for Its Delayed Stuffed Crust Offering. Here Are the Details
March 11, 2025
Pizza Hut recently criticized Domino’s for its new stuffed crust pizza. The pizza giant has been offering the item for a long time, even though its competitor just launched its own version. Let’s look at what we know.
Pizza Hut vs. Domino’s
Nation’s Restaurant News reports that after Domino’s introduced its first stuffed crust pizza ever, Pizza Hut responded by promoting its own stuffed crust pizza. In honor of Pizza Hut’s 30 years of serving the cheesy innovation, Domino’s Yum! Brands rival is giving 30% off the “OG stuffed crust.”
Domino’s announced its new item on March 3, and Pizza Hut soon after posted on X, “Cute! We’ve been stuffing our crust for 30 years.”
The following day, Pizza Hut jabbed again with another post announcing the discount: “Some innovate. Others replicate. Use code NOTLIKEUS to get 30% off the OG Stuffed Crust.”
Advertising jabs have become more witty and relevant thanks to internet marketing, even though foodservice rivals making fun of one another is nothing new — McDonald’s and Burger King have been doing this in their advertisements for years.
“Diss marketing works because it taps into something primal: competition,” Mike Vanelli, creative director at web design and digital ad agency Envy, told Nation’s Restaurant News. “Consumers love a good brand battle, and when a company calls out a competitor in a clever, timely way, it creates buzz, engagement, and often, sales. Social media has supercharged this tactic because platforms like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram thrive on quick wit and real-time reactions. It’s no longer just about running a well-planned campaign; it’s about staying agile and seizing the moment.”
“When Pizza Hut throws shade at Domino’s or Popeyes reignites the chicken sandwich war, it feels like a cultural event rather than just an ad,” he added. “Restaurants in particular, benefit from this approach because food choices are often emotional and tied to brand loyalty.”
Domino’s New Stuffed Crust Pizza
There is little doubt that the pizza wars are intensifying, and Domino’s is trying to regain some of the segment’s overall market share.
CNBC reports that on March 3, Domino’s launched its first stuffed crust pizza.
The rationale for the action? Domino’s is losing far too many sales to rivals, snatching up hungry consumers searching for a pie with a loaded crust.
“Nearly 13 million Domino’s customers each year are buying stuffed crust from our competitors, and these are our customers who have to leave our brand because we’re the only national pizza brand that doesn’t offer it,” Domino’s CMO Kate Trumbull told CNBC.
The Parmesan Stuffed Crust Pizza, which features a crust filled with mozzarella, coated with garlic flavor, and topped with parmesan cheese, will be available immediately at Domino’s. The pizza costs $9.99 and will be included in the carryout menu deals offered by the brand.
Before the stuffed crust pizza was formally introduced, Domino’s trained employees in 7,000 locations nationwide for three months to properly prepare and assemble it.
“It has been one of the longest development efforts in the company’s history,” Trumbull stated.
In 1995, Pizza Hut launched the stuffed crust pizza as we know (and adore) today. To promote the new menu item, the company enlisted Donald Trump, well-known at the time for his business endeavors and pop culture status (including appearances in the then-WWF, now the WWE), to appear in a commercial.
Pizza Hut’s risk would be profitable: According to CNN, the packed-crust pizza brought in $300 million in the first year after its release.
The question of “just how much cheese can one pizza hold” was eventually addressed in 2018 when Little Caesars introduced its loaded-crust pizza to restaurants nationwide. In 2021, Papa John’s introduced the Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza. So, the stuffed crust pizza is far from anything new.
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