What size is Little Caesars $5 pizza

Little Caesars pizza lovers are in for a rude awakening. The long-time $5 price of its Hot-N-Ready pizzas is going up for the first time in 25 years.

The nation's third-largest pizza restaurant has announced that its $5 Hot-N-Ready pizza will now cost $5.55. This is an increase of 11%.

The Hot-N-Ready, however, will be better than ever, according to the restaurant chain. The new version will have 33 percent extra pepperoni.

The increased price is permanent, according to Little Caesars.

The pizza first went on sale in 2001, and it set itself apart from competitors by being prepared for take-out without the need to purchase ahead of time.

Despite the price hike, Little Caesars claims that its big pepperoni pizzas are still the "country's most inexpensive price" when compared to its competitors. A comparable pie at its competitors, such as Domino's and Pizza Hut, costs between $13 and $16, depending on location.

Prices nationwide have risen in nearly all sectors, including at restaurants, where prices increased 5.8% in the year ending November 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The dramatic hikes show that restaurants and food producers are not immune to supply chain and labor challenges.

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The classic pepperoni pie will now cost $5.55, the pizza chain announced in a press release Monday, and customers will get 33 percent more pepperoni in the "new and improved" dish.

"Change is good when it comes to giving our customers more of what they love," Jeff Klein, chief marketing officer at Little Caesars, said of what is planned to be a permanent menu change.

Despite the price increase, Klein added that Little Caesars' Hot-N-Ready is still sold at the "country's most affordable price."

CEO Dave Scrivano shared in a recent interview, per Forbes, that the boosted price is an effort to help cover steadily increasing labor and product costs.

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"There are all kinds of pressures on businesses these days, but we still want to deliver the best product at the best value to our customers," Scrivano said, according to the publication. "They have told us they want more pepperoni. While other companies are decreasing their portions and increasing their prices, we decided to make our pizza even better. It still remains the lowest price in the business, but we're adding more to it."

He added that he doesn't think the increase will push away customers. "We think that customers are going to be attracted by 33% more pepperoni," he said.

Little Caesars first coined the term Hot-N-Ready in 2001, becoming the first national chain to regularly sell pizza for immediate carry-out. It was later named one of the top 100 fast food items sold in U.S. history.

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Little Caesars isn't the only franchise that has recently announced a notable increase. In November, Dollar Tree revealed that "a majority of" its items will cost $1.25 instead of the traditional $1.

"The $1.25 price point, which will apply to a majority of Dollar Tree's assortment, will enhance the Company's ability to materially expand its offerings, introduce new products and sizes, and provide families with more of their daily essentials," the chain shared in a press release, adding that it will "have greater flexibility to continue providing incredible value that helps customers get the everyday items they need and celebratory and seasonal products Dollar Tree is best known for."

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"Lifting the one-dollar constraint represents a monumental step for our organization and we are enthusiastic about the opportunity to meaningfully improve our shoppers' experience and unlock value for our stakeholders," president and chief executive officer Michael Witynski said at the time. "Guided by Dollar Tree's same founding principles, we will be relentless in our commitment to offer our customers the best value possible."

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The pizza chain Little Caesars is bumping the price of its famous Hot-N-Ready pizza above $5 for the first time in a quarter-century, according to reports. 

The price of the promotional pie, which was first introduced in 1997 through advertising shaker boards, is increasing by 11% to cost $5.55. Up from its longstanding $5 price point, the new and improved version of the Hot-N-Ready pizza will now also come with 33% more pepperoni, Forbes reported. 

Little Caesars CEO Dave Scrivano said the increased price is meant to balance rising labor and commodities costs, as the price of pepperoni has soared by more than 50% over the pandemic.

“Our franchisees were highly accepting of this proposition. They want to treat their customers like gold and make sure they get the best product possible and they love the idea of more pepperoni,” he told Fortune. “We think we’ve got something good here with delivery and our Pizza Portal and our Hot-N-Ready pizza. We’ve got a good structure to really drive overall growth.”

The chain saw a record year in sales in 2021, due in part to the fact Little Caesars instituted changes in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic, that allowed a contactless experience for customers early on. 

Customers can scan a QR code to pick up their pies through the chain’s Pizza Portal. In January 2020, the chain also launched delivery for the first time, just before the pandemic struck. 

Scrivano said Little Caesars has been able to skirt some supply chain pressures because it owns Blue Line Foodservice. The company also has sought to mitigate labor shortage and retention issues seen at other brands by increasing wages across the board and offering flexible schedules and growth opportunities. 

Little Caesars’ addition of more pepperoni also comes as it seeks to stay competitive as delivery and contactless delivery grows across the food industry.

It’s pushing its marketing strategy through TikTok and sponsoring the upcoming movie “The Batman.” The chain is also rolling out a new cloud-based point-of-sale system and new menu offerings and is targeting certain markets in 2022, including the Northeast, parts of Texas, the Southwest, Russia, the UK, Latin America and Canada, Scrivano said. 

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