Pizza Hut has announced a new pizza delivery system that is two years in the making and uses materials found in your home—and in space—to get customers’ orders to them in oven-fresh condition.

The system includes a thicker pizza box and “crisp sheet inserts” that the company said in a statement “dramatically improves the overall heat curve.”

There are also three layers to the new delivery pouches: the first made out of 3M Thinsulate Insulation, which is commonly used in ski jackets; the second is made out of a PET Aluminum Radiant Barrier that reflects heat and is usually found in astronaut space blankets; and the third is a polyester fiber padding that traps heat and is used in pink insulation in homes.

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“Over the past two years, we have taken engineering teams and studied in great detail what happens to a pizza when it comes out of the oven,” said Zipporah Allen, Pizza Hut’s vice president of brand marketing and consumer insights. Pizza Hut is a Yum Brands Inc. YUM, -1.70% chain.

To promote the new delivery system Pizza Hut is making a limited-edition “Pizza Parka” made out of the same materials as the pouch available. Anyone who tweets a pizza slice and flame emoji to the Pizza Hut Twitter handle or places an order online via the Pizza Hut website or app will be entered for the chance to win a parka.

Pizza Hut

Besides the box and pouch, the company says it has hired half of the new 14,000 delivery drivers that it plans to put on its roster by the end of the year, another aspect of getting customers their orders hot and fresh.

In a restaurant sector struggling to find growth, the demand for delivery is a bright spot, with many companies like McDonald’s Corp. MCD, -1.03% and Burger King-parent Restaurant Brands International Inc. QSR, +0.14% engaging third-party delivery providers and building out their apps to provide delivery services.

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Restaurants have recorded a string of consecutive traffic declines, according to data provided by The NPD Group. Delivery, facilitated by mobile apps, is an area of growth.

“Our focus is on the digital experience,” said Allen. “We know that’s where the growth is in the category.”

Taking advantage of the trend may be harder for some restaurant chains than others. Pizza and Asian food travels well, said Bonnie Riggs, NPD Group restaurant industry analyst, but burgers and fries, for instance do not.

“If this is going to grow, and I’m sure it is, coming up with packaging for foods that don’t travel well, is a challenge,” she said.

Riggs believes that delivery is an option open for everyone to try, but she suggests some strategies for making sure that diners aren’t disappointed with their meals once they’re received.

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“Maybe you don’t have the whole menu accessible for delivery,” she said. Instead, restaurants should focus on core items that the restaurant is known for, which customers have a higher tendency to crave.

“If you’re going to try to offer something that you don’t really specialize in and it doesn’t travel well, that won’t fly,” she said.

Certain foods, if they don’t arrive at maximum heat, can be tossed in the oven, like ribs and other Italian dishes, if customers are OK with a little prep. And the fixings for a fajita are compartmentalized and put together once it has reached its destination, which can be helpful.

And fast delivery is important. For companies using a third-party delivery service, there is the risk that slow delivery or cold food won’t reflect poorly on the delivery service, but on the restaurant.

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“Seventy-five percent of consumers think that when it’s being delivered, it’s being delivered by the restaurant,” Riggs said.

Even with this one in-demand area, the analyst outlook for the restaurant space is downbeat.

“We are cautious overall on the space,” wrote John Zolidis, president of Quo Vadis Capital in a September 12 note. “Monthly industry transaction data has been sequentially worse in July and August compared to the second-quarter, suggesting top-line headwinds are intensifying.”

Zolidis said the weakness comes from a few factors including competition from prepared foods at the grocery store, meal kits and more delivery options.

E-commerce, and the reduced store traffic that has resulted, is also hurting the restaurant sector.

“The bottom line of all this is that there is no reason, in our view, for industry traffic to improve in the near term,” the Quo Vadis note said.