Pizza restaurants are ubiquitous across the U.S. and that brings heavy competition, but Little Caesars' large footprint around the country has seen success, in part, through a special deal the chain has offered for years. That is about to change, albeit not by much, as CNN Business and Forbes report.
Little Caesars' famous Hot-N-Ready pizza held steady at the popular $5 price for years. The promotion was first offered in 1997 when the company began advertising the deal on shakerboards. It was also popular because it was always ready for pickup and didn't require a preorder. Now, the popular menu item will cost 11% more, increasing to $5.55 according to multiple outlets who spoke to company representatives. But, as reports note, the "new and improved" version will also come with 33% more pepperoni.
According to Forbes, 2021 was a record year in sales for Little Caesars as pandemic era purchases for the chain jumped. And with pizza pick-up being a key feature for the Little Caesars' fast and easy menu items, the company also launched a delivery component to their business in January of 2020. A year before that, the company began offering customers the ability to pick up pizzas via a portal by scanning a QR code, aptly named the "Pizza Portal."
In December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in their "all items index," which includes restaurant costs, that prices jumped 6.8% over the 12-month period before that, from December to November. It was the largest increase over any 12-month period dating back the one that ended in June of 1982.
The Dollar Tree also announced that it would be raising prices for a majority of items sold in all of its stores by early 2022.