Little Caesars latest LTO is taking the novel idea of combining its pizza with one of Canada’s favourite dishes in mac and cheese.

The Crazy Puffs KD Mac & Cheese LTO is available at the company’s locations across the country, and is being promoted with a campaign that emphasizes the freshness and preparation of the snacks. The new product includes four pieces of house-made pizza dough, filled with macaroni and cheese and topped with KD cheese powder.

Little Caesars’ director of global product development and menu management Jessica Foust tells strategy that the launch is a natural step for the brand, which has done well with its Crazy Puffs snacks. Launched in March last year, the Puffs were created to allow Canadians to enjoy the company’s pizza flavors on the go, and the new LTO falls into the same fast-food category, Foust says.

The new products also build on the popularity of the Hot-N-Ready offer Little Caesars launched in 2004 to meet the customers’ need for a hot, fast take-home pizza.

But the brand’s goal with the LTO isn’t only to expand its quick-to-go offering. Foust says they are also looking to reach a defined audience of potential consumers – macaroni and cheese consumers – who may not know about the brand already.

“We are also targeting pizza lovers across Canada, including families and Gen Z, with the goal to grow market share in the pizza category and brand affinity,” she says.

Foust adds that the team saw an opportunity after market researcher Maru/Blue conducted a survey on behalf of the company, revealing how popular macaroni and cheese is in Canada, with 82% of respondents enjoying the dish. Around 1,521 Canadian adults participated in the survey, conducted between April and May of this year.

“With this campaign, the goal was to tap into the comfort and nostalgia of two Canadian favourites: pizza and mac and cheese,” Foust says. The product is also part of the company’s broader goal to connect with Canadians with pizza-based offerings in different ways, she adds.

The company had already launched another combination of Crazy Puffs with shredded cheese and pepperoni in May last year.

The campaign is supported by TVC, digital media and public relations. Little Caesars marketed the new offer on social media two weeks before its debut and held an event at its Detroit, Michigan headquarters to secretly unveil the product to seven influencers. On the day of the launch, an ad was also shown on all channels and influencers ran promotional content. Citizen Relations handled creative and public relations, while Jungle Media was in charge of media buying.