Pizza in China facts for kids
Pizza has become super popular in China and Hong Kong! Big pizza restaurant chains helped make this happen. They also introduced cheese to many people in China. Before pizza, cheese was not a common food in Chinese cuisine. Pizza Hut opened its first restaurant in China in 1990. Today, many different pizza places are open across China.
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Pizza Chains in China
How Pizza Chains Grew
Pizza Hut opened its first store in China in 1990. Domino's Pizza followed in 1995. Both pizza chains grew a lot in China during the 2000s.
Before opening, Pizza Hut studied what Chinese people liked to eat. They looked at food tastes and dining habits. Domino's, however, just opened their usual stores.
Because of its planning, Pizza Hut was very successful. By 2014, they had over 1,300 stores in China. Domino's was not as successful. They had fewer than 40 stores in China in 2014.
Domino's promised to deliver pizza in 30 minutes or less. But they did not consider the heavy traffic in many Chinese cities. Domino's also did not have sit-down restaurants. Their stores were only for take-out and delivery. Also, their pizzas were very large. This made them hard to eat while walking or hanging out. These reasons made Domino's less popular in China.
Pizza Hut's Smart Changes
Experts told Pizza Hut that many Chinese people did not like cheese. They also said that many could not digest it well. Pizza Hut was also told that tomato was not a common food in China. Because of this, experts warned that Chinese people might not eat pizza.
Pizza Hut listened and changed their pizza recipes. They used less tomato sauce and cheese. They added local ingredients that Chinese people liked. These included tuna, crab sticks, soy sauce, chicken, and corn.
The company also created new pizzas just for China. One was the Homemade Sweet and Creamy. It was like an apple turnover. Another was the Thousand Island dressing pizza, which had no tomato sauce. By 2014, Pizza Hut had over 1,300 stores in China. They were especially popular in Shanghai.
Pizza Chains Today
As of 2019, Pizza Hut, owned by Yum Brands, had over 2,000 stores in China. Domino's had over 200 stores. They had plans to open 1,000 stores by 2025.
Other Pizza Places in China
Many other pizza chains also have stores in China:
- California Pizza Kitchen has some stores.
- Mr. Pizza is a South Korean chain. It had seven stores in China in 2005. Today, it has about 28 stores.
- Origus Pizza Buffet is a Chinese company. It had about 100 stores in China in 2011. These are usually in bigger cities.
- Papa John's has been in China since 2009. They sold part of their business in 2018.
- Peppes Pizza, from Norway, has some franchise stores.
- Pizza Corner was a chain that had stores in China. It was bought by Papa John's in 2014.
- PizzaExpress had eight stores in China in 2015.
- Pizza Factory is a U.S. chain with some stores in China.
- Yellow Cab Pizza is a Filipino chain with stores in China.
- Joe's Pizza has two stores in Shanghai.
- The Pizza Factory is China's first "build your own pizza" chain. It has three locations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Supermarket Pizza
Many supermarkets sell pizza by the slice. This pizza is made in their deli section. Sometimes, it uses a salad dressing like Miracle Whip instead of cheese. Toppings often include hot dog pieces.
Local Pizza Shops
Besides the big international chains, there are many growing local pizza shops. These are owned by both Chinese and international entrepreneurs. Some examples are Una's, Melrose, and Homeslice.
See also
