Hell Pizza is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-based

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

chain. It was established in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

(Kelburn) in 1996 and has since expanded around New Zealand. Franchises have also operated at various times in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

History

Hell Pizza was founded by Warren Powell, Callum Davies, and Stuart McMullin in 1995, as a pizza shop in

Kelburn, Wellington Kelburn is a central suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, situated within of the central business district. Kelburn sits on the hills just west of the capital's central business district and is bordered by the Botanic Garden a ...

next to

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. The founders sold the New Zealand Master Franchise rights to Tasman Pacific Foods (the New Zealand master franchisee for

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

) for $15 million in 2006. They purchased the rights back in 2009. In 2009, Hell had 61 stores in New Zealand. It had 6 stores in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and was planning nine more around

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...

. It was also trialing stores in

Fulham, London Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth, ...

and

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

. In July 2010, after

hackers A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

attacked the Hell Pizza customer database, 230,000 customers were advised to change their passwords. In 2012, Hell had 65 stores in New Zealand. It had three stores in

and was planning seven more. It had two stores in Queensland, but eight others had closed. A pizza bar in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

and its stores in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

were still operating. In 2016, Hell Pizza had 66 outlets, all in New Zealand. , Hell Pizza had 77 outlets across New Zealand, with 61 in the North Island (including 28 in Auckland) and 16 in the South Island.

Marketing

The

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

theme is used in the menu. Hell Pizza offers seven standard pizzas which are named after the

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

. The chain also offers discounted pizzas on

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

. The company is known for its controversial advertising and for being the first company in New Zealand to offer online pizza ordering, in 1996. They sponsored a segment on the television show ''

Pulp Sport ''Pulp Sport'' was a New Zealand television show that mixed sport with various styles of comedy. The hosts Jamie Linehan and Ben Boyce acted under their respective pseudonyms Bill and Ben, performing a half-hour of various sports based skits. T ...

''.

Condoms

On 31 October 2006 Hell announced through a press release it would be promoting its "Lust" pizza by distributing 170,000 branded

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

s. The Family First Lobby said Hell has "crossed the line of what is decent and acceptable advertising material to be put in letterboxes of families". It was later revealed that the condoms failed to comply with New Zealand labelling and packaging requirements, and remaining stocks were destroyed.

Mocking of Christianity

A radio advertisement that featured a conversation about

attracted one complaint in New Zealand. The Advertising Standards Authority ASA did not uphold the complaint since "it did not reach the threshold to be likely to cause serious or widespread offence".

"Selling your soul"

Hell Pizza used the expression "sell your soul" in mass advertising in 2013 in New Zealand. It received one complaint from the ASA. The ASA ruled that there were no grounds to proceed, since "sell your soul" is a common saying and recognized the saying as dark and satirical. Hell also purchased the soul of a 24-year-old

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

man for $5,001, after the online auction website

Trademe Trade Me is New Zealand's largest online auction and classifieds website. Managed by Trade Me Ltd., the site was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneur Sam Morgan (entrepreneur), Sam Morgan, who sold it to John Fairfax Holdings, Fairfax in ...

withdrew his attempt to sell it there.

Halloween dead celebrities

In November 2008, while under management from Tasman Foods, Hell Pizza New Zealand apologized for an advertisement featuring the skeletal remains of Sir

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached t ...

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

, and the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

, dancing on gravestones. The apology was made to Hillary's family, which complained the ad was in "extremely poor taste". The ad was withdrawn from the company's website on November 3.

Pizza Roulette

In 2012, Hell Pizza marketed 'Pizza Roulette', in which one unidentified slice of a pizza is doused with chili. Marketing called it the "hottest chili known to mankind".

Real Rabbit Campaign

In April 2014, Hell Pizza released a rabbit-flavored pizza for Easter and advertised it in New Zealand on billboards covered in rabbit pelts. The billboard has received both criticism and praise; the ''New Zealand Vegetarian Society'' criticized the billboard.

Greta Thunberg advertisement

In October 2021, Hell Pizza drew media attention and controversy after launching an advertisement campaign telling Swedish climate change activist

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...

"to go to Hell" in response to her remarks criticizing New Zealand's efforts to

address climate change Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels b ...

. Hell Pizza CEO Ben Cumming confirmed he has sent a personal invitation to Thunberg to witness the company's efforts to address climate change, environmental pollution, and reduce waste. The company had attempted to secure a large billboard for the advertisement in Thunberg's hometown of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, but local authorities had deemed it offensive.

Charitable donations

In 2009, Hell Pizza owner Warren Powell verbally pledged to pay all proceeds from a Hell takeaway van at the Big Night In Telethon to the charity

KidsCan The KidsCan Charitable Trust (trading as KidsCan) is a New Zealand based charitable trust. It was founded in 2005 in Greenhithe, New Zealand, Greenhithe, Auckland, New Zealand by Julie Chapman and works to help address Child poverty in New Zeala ...

, amounting to about NZ$10,000. Julie Nelson, chief executive of the charity, said "after seeing reports that some of the money raised was failing to reach needy children, Powell reneged on the deal." On 14 August 2011, the Hell Pizza Facebook page stated "We can confirm that we have now contributed $10,000 to the KidsCan Charitable Trust."

Labelling

In June 2019, the fake meat of a burger pizza, made by

Beyond Meat Beyond Meat, Inc. is a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. History Founding Ethan Brown founded the company in ...

, met food standards but caused controversy as it was labelled as a "burger" pizza but contained vegan burger patties.

References

External links

Hell SystemsHell IrelandHell New ZealandHell India
{{Retailers in New Zealand Pizza chains Restaurants established in 1996 Fast-food chains of New Zealand Theme restaurants New Zealand companies established in 1996