I have a confession to make: I'm a pizzaholic. I love pizza, and I'm not alone; we are a nation not of apple pie, but of the Italian tomato-and-cheese variety. As Jerry Seinfeld might say, not that there's anything wrong with that. Unless, of course, you're watching your weight, which I should do more often -- I mean my weight, not yours.
Which brings me to Yum! Brands'
It's an affordable solution, too: The basic price is $9.99. Can you say smart on the part of Pizza Hut? Value pricing is not an original concept (neither is the large pizza -- anyone remember the Hut's Bigfoot?), to be sure, but I think Yum!'s timing in promoting such an item is fitting, with consumer sentiment possibly being tested by the day-in/day-out gloomy news of oil futures hitting record high after record high. Fast-food patrons love the marriage of cheap prices and generous portions (that's a wedding we all want to go to), and even though pizza isn't the fastest food, this still will afford a nice bit of competitive edge in Yum!'s quest to take customers away from McDonald's
New menu items drive the business of fast-food concerns just as new salty-snack edibles drive PepsiCo's
Here are some more Takes on Yum!, including the latest earnings report, which was solid:
Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns none of the companies mentioned.