PLZ HELP I WILL GIVE U All of the pizza boxes you have seen over the years are probably pretty similar. They're likely some combination of red, white and green, and maybe feature an Italian-looking chef with a swirly mustache. They're bulky, and you struggle to fit them in your fridge or in your trash can.

Pizza boxes have been this way for decades. Meanwhile, cars have gone electric and phones have become pocket-size ways of accessing all of human knowledge, or at least cat videos. Changes in pizza boxes have consisted of adding miniature plastic platforms that keep the top of the box from sticking to the cheese below and maybe a vent to keep air moving around. There also might be little cupholders for garlic butter or ranch dressing.

So it might seem like a small step that Pizza Hut announced October 22 that it's trying a high-tech, new, round box, instead of square. However, it feels like a giant leap for pizza-makers and pizza-eaters alike.

Better For The Environment

"For the most part, only marginal changes have been made to pizza boxes through the years," Nicolas Burquier, who works for Pizza Hut, said in an email. "This round box leverages new technology."

The pizza chain has many claims about the new box. Some of its new features are meant to improve its use. The round shape means there's less waste, so it's better for the environment, and it's made of plant fiber. That means it can be composted. It takes up less space on the shelves at Pizza Hut and in your fridge.

The box has ridges on the bottom and grooves in the top, so boxes can lock together. That means there's no slipping during delivery or when you're carrying a stack into a party. They don't require folding by employees, and they break down easily. You can fold them over until you have something compact enough to drop into your trash can.

There are taste claims, too. Grooves along the bottom help catch grease and move air to prevent soggy crust, said Pizza Hut. The latch closure keeps heat in.

Thinking Outside The Box

Burquier thinks that one day, people will look back on the idea of round pizzas in square boxes and laugh.

Burquier said the box was the result of two years of work. Pizza Hut worked with Zume, a California company. Its pizza-delivery changes include robots making the pizzas and trucks that bake them en route to your home to speed up the process. Their method, he said, involved eating "a LOT of pizza."

Zume introduced a round pizza box, which it called the Pizza Pod, in 2017. Apple also has a patented circular pizza box that it uses for the pizzas served in its cafeterias.

Cardboard Versions Are Cheap To Make

However, Scott Wiener, a pizza-box collector and author of "Viva la Pizza!: The Art of the Pizza Box," said it could be significant for a big company like Pizza Hut to use a new box. "That could be huge," he said. Cost is the primary factor slowing pizza-box innovation, he said. Most pizza places are happy with the cheap cardboard versions. There was a "cool pizza box" from India that allowed steam to escape while keeping the heat in, he said. "But it didn't take off because it's expensive to produce."

Burquier didn't say how much the new box costs compared to the standard version. He said that improved manufacturing processes would keep it from raising prices. Pizza Hut is testing the new design in Phoenix, Arizona, with plans to roll it out to other areas in the future.

It's a big change for the company, which has been using standard boxes since the 1970s. Designs have included a 1972 version that looked like a newspaper called the Pizza Hut Gazette. Before boxes, the company used the "Sack and Circle," which was just a pizza on a round of cardboard inside a bag.

The Reviews Are In

Pizza Hut shipped a few samples of the new box to The Washington Post newspaper. The newspaper staff reported the new box felt sturdy and lightweight. They thought it was easy to open and close and stacked on top of each other well.

Then they compared the new box to the traditional one with pizzas inside. They reported the new box felt more secure and easy to handle. It didn't seem to slide around on the seat of the car.

They found few differences between the two pizzas, although the pizza from the traditional box was 2 degrees warmer. The crusts and the toppings tasted the same.

When it was time to clean up, they appreciated how the new container easily folded up for disposal.

Wiener thinks that even with new options, the traditional pizza box will always be an icon.

People will always have that idea, he said. "It's such a classic."

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