Brisbane returns to Hell Pizza as cheeky New Zealand brand relaunches Australian operations

New Zealand restaurant chain Hell Pizza opened its new Australian venue in Brisbane this week, as the edgy brand attempts to cut a slice out of an estimated $21 billion-a-year industry.

Hell Pizza now counts a venue in Newmarket, exposing hungry consumers to a chain which built its name on bold ad campaigns, free-range ingredients, and a sizeable menu of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.

The new venue is the first of four new stores Hell Pizza intends to open in Australia over the next year, adding to the 77 venues already dotted across New Zealand.

Despite big-name pizza chains adopting plant-based options, Australian consumers conscious of animal welfare are still under-served by current offerings, said Hell Pizza CEO Ben Cumming.

“We’re not a mainstream offering, and we don’t make any apologies about that, which is why the time is right for us to enter Australia,” he said in a statement.

“People are looking for sustainable food choices that don’t compromise on size or service and are most importantly delicious.”

Yet to be seen is whether Hell Pizza’s Australian operations will adopt the same marketing techniques adopted over the ditch — including an online ranking of methods to reheat pizza, which measures clothes dryers and heated blankets against traditional cooking techniques.

The Brisbane outlet does not mark Hell Pizza’s first foray on Australian shores, with the brand counting five restaurants in Brisbane in 2015.

But head of Australian operations Steve Willis said this particular venture is different, with leadership bolstered by lessons learned through COVID-19 setbacks.

“Expanding into a new market during a pandemic, with supply chain issues, inflation and limited labour, has been challenging, but it’s meant we’ve had to work hard to get the brand set up,” he said.

“And at every point, it’s allowed us to make sure we’ve got things right.”