Nearly 25 years after it first launched, Little Caesars is upping the price and adding more pepperoni to its classic $5 pepperoni and cheese Hot-N-Ready large pizza.
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The large pizza — built on being ready and waiting with no preordering necessary for customers to zip in and grab — will now cost $5.55 nationwide.
Prices for the Hot-N-Ready have always varied by market, said Little Caesars spokeswoman Annie McGraw. In some markets, including some Detroit stores, the price increase hit weeks ago. In other markets, customers saw the increase to $5.55 months ago, according to posts across social media.
The $5.55 cost is a nationwide promotional cost. After the rollout promotion, prices will again vary by market, according to McGraw. .
But there is also a change to the hometown chain’s flagship product itself. Little Caesars, according to a news release, says its Hot-N-Ready will be new and improved with more 33% more pepperoni.
“Change is good when it comes to giving our customers more of what they love and we’re changing our iconic HOT-N-READY Classic, adding 33% more savory, meaty pepperoni still at the country’s most affordable price,” said Jeff Klein, chief marketing officer at Little Caesars, in a news release.
Little Caesars’ iconic Hot-N-Ready has a long history. The pizza promotion made its debut in 1997. In 2004, Hot-N-Ready launched nationwide. Little Caesars was noted as one of the 10 brands with the best value in 2019 by Nation’s Restaurant News.
In a 2013 Free Press story, David Scrivano, now the president and CEO of Little Caesar Enterprises Inc., talked about the pizza company’s success as well as how they and the franchisee make a profit selling a $5 pizza.
“You have to have great pizza and sell a lot of them. You need a lot of people coming to buy, so we can keep our overhead low,” Scrivano said.
Ed Gleich, Little Caesars chief innovation officer, in an email to the Free Press said that innovations such as its conveyor pizza oven in 1977 and its Pizza Portal a few years ago allow the chain to operate more efficiently.
“Little Caesars has built its brand on affordability, convenience, and quality, which keeps customers coming back to us time and time again,” Gleich wrote. “This brings us the stability and high customer counts necessary to keep our extreme value sustainable.
“We are happy we can give customers so much at what remains the nation’s lowest price. In terms of national brands, nowhere can you get a lower-priced pizza for carry out OR delivery. As we add 33% more pepperoni to the HOT-N-READY Classic, we (are) so proud to continue to bring the best value in America to folks looking to feed their families at an affordable price.”
Headquartered in Detroit, Little Caesars is the third-largest pizza chain in the world. The chain has stores in all 50 states, 27 countries and territories.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
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