Pizza Hut celebrates opening of restaurant in Tanzania with special delivery to summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro

In recognition of entering its 100th country, Pizza Hut, a division of Yum! Brands, Inc and the world’s largest pizza restaurant company, marked the milestone with a special pizza delivery to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

General Manager of Pizza Hut Africa, Randall Blackford, who resides in South Africa, a team of Pizza Hut employees and several professional guides, hiked for six days to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Blackford and the team shared a large Pepperoni Pizza at the top of the mountain in celebration of the Company’s continued global expansion. The Pizza Hut team raised R103 663.73 (15 million shillings) for the Msasani Primary School in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania as a way to show its commitment to supporting the communities where it operates. The money will provide desperately needed upgrades to the school for the 1300 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 raising money to support communities in Tanzania.’

Pizza Hut, has more than 16 000 restaurants worldwide and 2015 sales totalling over $12 billion, is the first and only pizza restaurant company to have locations in 100 countries. Pizza Hut entered South Africa in September 2014 and it has been a great stepping-stone into the rest of Africa.

‘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 the 8th country to open their doors in Africa, it is an exciting emerging market 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.’ Blackford added, ‘There are plans to open in more African countries by the end of this year and four more restaurants in Tanzania.’

The new Pizza Hut is in Dar Es Salaam and features a modern design, digital menu boards, a children’s play area and provides seating for 90 people. In addition to Pizza Hut’s International favorites, the menu features popular items that appeal to local taste preferences like the Peri-Peri Chicken, Paneer Vegorama and Tandoori Paneer pizzas.

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