PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In recognition of entering its 100th country, Pizza Hut, a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) and the world’s largest pizza restaurant company, marked the milestone with a special pizza delivery to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The delivery set the Guinness World Records® title for the highest altitude pizza delivery on land at a height of 19,341 feet.
General Manager of Pizza Hut Africa, Randall Blackford, a team of Pizza Hut employees and several professional guides hiked for six days to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to set the world record delivery. Blackford and the team shared a large pepperoni pizza at the top of the mountain in celebration of the Company’s continued global expansion. An adjudicator from Guinness World Records was on-site in Tanzania to verify that Pizza Hut in fact set the record for the highest altitude pizza delivery on land.
Not only did the team set a Guinness World Records title, they also raised money for the Msasani Primary School in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, as a way to show their commitment to supporting the communities where they operate. The money will provide desperately needed upgrades to the school for the 1,300 students and provide training for their teachers.
“We are extremely proud to be the first pizza restaurant company to be serving in 100 countries,” said Milind Pant, President, Pizza Hut International. “There has never been a more exciting time to be working at Pizza Hut. We are the most-loved and fastest-growing pizza restaurant company in the world and look forward to continuing to share our high-quality, affordable pizzas made by our passionate team members with consumers everywhere.
“We are thrilled to bring Pizza Hut to Tanzania and believe there is no better way to celebrate our 100th country milestone than by setting a Guinness World Records title for the highest pizza delivery on land to Mt. Kilimanjaro.”
Pizza Hut, which has more than 16,000 restaurants worldwide and 2015 sales totaling over $12 billion, is the first and only pizza restaurant company to have locations in 100 countries. Pizza Hut sees tremendous opportunity for growth over the next several years in Africa and is investing and working with franchisees to expand its presence across the Continent. Pizza Hut, which includes company and franchise restaurants, is currently present in nearly 10 countries on the Continent with more than 100 restaurants and expects to be in more than 20 countries with more than 500 restaurants by 2020.
“We are excited to celebrate our 100th country milestone with the opening of our restaurant in Tanzania,” said Randall Blackford, General Manager, Pizza Hut Africa. “Tanzania is an exciting emerging market in Africa and we believe there is great potential for accelerated growth. We are grateful for our franchise partnership with Dough Works, Ltd., who has worked tirelessly to bring the Pizza Hut vision to life in this country and we are looking forward to years of success.”
The new Pizza Hut is located in Dar Es Salaam and features a modern design, digital menu boards, a children’s play area and provides seating for 90 people.
Pizza Hut markets around the world also joined the celebration of the 100th country milestone by making special deliveries to historical landmarks in other countries where Pizza Hut operates. You can follow the journey of the memorable pizza deliveries at #PizzaHut100.
The first Pizza Hut restaurant outside the United States was located in Canada. The next international market was Costa Rica. The busiest Pizza Hut restaurant in the world is located inside the Sao Paulo Airport in Brazil. The Pizza Hut menu has been translated into more than 35 languages.
The five biggest markets for Pizza Hut outside the U.S. are China, UK, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. The most popular Pizza Hut pizza in the world is pepperoni. Pizza Hut employs more than 300,000 team members worldwide.
Other fun facts about Pizza Hut include:
- The original Pizza Hut opened May 31, 1958, in Wichita, Kansas.
- More transactions are received via PizzaHut.com than any other pizza website in the world.
- A Pizza Hut pizza was the first product ever purchased over the internet (in 1994).
- Pizza Hut once delivered pizza to space.
ABOUT PIZZA HUT
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in the world. The company began 58 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, when two brothers borrowed $600 from their mom to start a pizzeria.
What started out small has become the biggest pizza company in the world and today operates more than 16,000 restaurants in 100 countries serving innovative pizzas, traditional favorites like the signature Pan Pizza, and much more. For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com.
ABOUT YUM! BRANDS
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has nearly 43,000 restaurants in more than 130 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #228 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of over $13 billion in 2015 and is one of the Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders in North America. The Company's restaurant brands - KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell - are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Worldwide, the Yum! Brands system opens over six new restaurants per day on average, making it a leader in global retail development.
