Pizza trends – Taking the crust to the next level

KANSAS CITY — No matter how you slice it, the battles for dominance in the world of pizza are fought with toppings. But the war is won with what comes underneath the perennial top-selling mainstays of pepperoni, cheese and supreme varieties or a lesser-known hot honey barbecue or globally inspired tandoori pie.

“Crust type leads the decision-making process for consumers when shopping their local frozen pizza aisles,” said Maddie Essman, senior marketing manager for Schwan’s Consumer Brands Inc.

During the past few years, the Red Baron brand has introduced several different varieties, including its Stuffed Crust Pizza and Fully Loaded Original Pizza. Now, Bloomington, Minn.-based Schwan’s is in the process of launching Red Baron Fully Loaded Hand Tossed Style Crust Pizza, which is an extension of its Fully Loaded Original Crust Pizza that debuted in 2021.

“We noticed there are a significant number of consumers who seek out hand-tossed pizza within the restaurant pizza industry,” Ms. Essman said. “It is the No. 1 selling type of crust in pizzerias and quick-serve restaurants across the United States. However, the crust style accounted for less than 1% of frozen pizzas in the market.”

She added that the hand-tossed style pizza crust is soft and chewy but crisp enough on the bottom so there is no “flop” when holding a slice. It’s formulated to be an indulgent, restaurant-style experience that provides consumers with a distinct option from the brand’s original pizza crust, which Ms. Essman described as “crispy and airy — like a deep-dish pan-style pizza.”

From a market researcher’s perspective, “it’s all about the crust” when it comes to consumer preferences, according to Mintel’s 2022 report on the US pizza category.

“While a substantial portion of retail pizza consumers express interest in premium toppings and unique varieties, those concepts are likely to fall flat if the crust isn’t right,” the study concluded.

It has been a heck of a ride for the pizza category during the past three years. Mintel’s report said sales of retail pizza, including frozen pizza, refrigerated take-and-bake pizza, and pizza kits and components spiked in 2020 during the pandemic with a 24% surge that outpaced the gains by many other food categories. After sales eased in 2021, they rose again in 2022, driven by inflation, while unit sales fell back to pre-pandemic levels.

That’s still the situation in the freezer case this year. Frozen pizza sales rose 10.2% to nearly $6.9 billion while units slipped 3.1%, according to Circana data for the 52 weeks ended May 13. The average price per unit jumped 13.7%, more than making up for any unit decline.

“When you think about a 10% increase and losing 3% in unit sales, that’s incredible,” said Sally Lyons Wyatt, executive vice president and practice leader for client insights at Circana. “It shows that pizza still has staying power for the category in the stores.”

Convenience and affordability are the forces behind the frozen pizza segment’s strength.

“Consumers have it in a freezer in their own homes, and they can get it when they want it and bake it when they want it,” she said.

Meanwhile, deli department pizza is firing on all cylinders, rising 16.5% to almost $2.1 billion while unit sales climbed 8% during the past year, according to Circana. Whole pizza sales surged $17.1% to $1.2 billion with a 9.9% hike in units. Individual slices grew 16.1% to $532.2 million, while units rose 6.8% in the deli. The smaller all-other pizza segment also expanded at a double-digit rate while sales of deli calzones declined.

Ms. Lyons Wyatt suggested affordability provides another driver for deli pizza sales, especially for those consumers who are commuting to work more often.

“A deli slice is $2.63 on average and a full pizza is $7.51 in the deli on average, but a frozen pizza is $4.97, so it’s still more economical to buy frozen versus fresh,” she said. “However, when you’re ready to eat and you’re getting something for that ‘just now,’ fresh is winning.”

A world of difference

Many pizza manufacturers have been focusing on formulating different types of crusts in recent years.

“We see more innovation around the crust itself,” Ms. Lyons Wyatt said, “so you might have a filled crust or pretzel crust or flatbreads.”

Nestle USA, Arlington, Va., offers a variety of crusts under its brands, which include DiGiorno, California Pizza Kitchen, Jack’s, Lean Cuisine, Life Cuisine, Stouffer’s and Sweet Earth.

“As a category leader known for its crust, DiGiorno is constantly reimagining how to bring fan-favorite pizza styles to people’s kitchens,” a company spokesperson said. “The brand recently launched two new pizza varieties to address the ongoing debate of thick crust versus thin crust.”

Nestle is focusing its innovation strategy around three consumer trends. First, indulgent options like DiGiorno Fully Stuffed Crust Pizza provide “over-the-top taste,” the spokesperson said. Second, the company is looking at new eating occasions with the expansion of its DiGiorno personal pizza line, adding two new hand-tossed crust style varieties, including BBQ Recipe Chicken and Chicken Alfredo, to elevate snack time. The third includes dietary preferences with such varieties as DiGiorno Gluten Free Crust Pizza, Life Cuisine Carb Wise Keto-Friendly Veggie Pizza and Sweet Earth plant-based pizzas.

At Molinaro’s Fine Italian Foods, the world of pizza is not only round, but rectangular. Based in Mississauga, Ont., the company offers 6-by-12-inch stone-baked flatbreads that come in such varieties as Buffalo Style, Bruschetta or spinach and cheese, to name a few, along with other toppings for private label store brands.

“The flatbreads could be used for entertaining or sliced for an appetizer, but they can also be used as a pizza for dinner,” said Joe Delduco, vice president of sales and marketing. “You just take two or three out, and they all fit in the oven at the same time.”

The flatbreads also provide more portion control than conventional pizzas.

“Most people aren’t going to eat a 12- or 14-inch round pizza, but they may buy two flatbreads because they’re smaller portions and they’re cheaper,” he said.

For in-store bakery/delis and foodservice operators, New York-based Vandemoortele USA offers everything from thick focaccia, ciabatta and pizza crusts to pinsa, a light and airy sourdough formulated with a biga starter, made in its bakeries in northern Italy.

“Pinsa is definitely a trend,” said Johan Coppens, master baker and culinary/technical adviser for Vandemoortele Europe NV, Ghent, Belgium, during the recent 2023 International Dairy Deli Bakery Association’s show. “I see more pinsa being made both here in America and throughout Europe, and that’s because it’s naturally delicious. It’s just water, salt, flour, olive oil and biga, instead of yeast.”

Other pizza manufacturers are taking a crust-centric focus. Home Run Inn sells its frozen Nothing But Crust in a two-pack carton. In addition to placing menu ideas on the package, the Chicago-based company encourages consumers to create their own versions of the Windy City’s classic on its signature buttery crust. New York-based The Pizza Cupcake, which appeared on “Shark Tank” a few years ago, is expanding nationally with cupcake-shaped items that come in margherita and pepperoni flavors and in a brioche-style dough.

Such creativity is needed to elevate the experience and drive sales in this category.

“There’s room to enhance retail pizza’s image both as an indulgent treat and as a healthy meal option,” said John Owen, associate director, food and retail, Mintel, in the 2022 pizza report. “Innovation in both these directions will help the category attract more users and capture new-use occasions.”

Making pizza more value-able

With persistent inflation, Ms. Essman expects budget-conscious consumers to search for more frozen pizza options.

“We are seeing consumers trading out of restaurant pizza and into premium frozen pizza,” she said. “These consumers can still get a great pizza but at a fraction of the price by switching over.”

She also noticed an increase in value pizza consumption to reduce grocery expenses.

“Consumers can purchase a Red Baron pizza for around $5 and a Tony’s pizza for around $4,” Ms. Essman said. “These options present affordable and delicious pizzas that the entire family can enjoy.”

Mintel noted nearly three quarters of those surveyed reported that their household has eaten pizza from a supermarket in the past three months.

But here are two key observations to consider. More than three quarters of retail pizza consumers agreed delivery pizza tastes better. Mintel said this suggests delivery remains the standard for judging retail pizza quality.

Secondly, the report pointed out that nearly half of retail pizza consumers said they would like to see more refrigerated and frozen pizza with extra toppings, indicating some believe retail pizza may be “skimpy” on toppings. Mintel mentioned products that promise and deliver extra cheese or toppings are likely to have a more receptive audience. Perhaps that’s why many brands offer “loaded” or extra toppings options.

Unpredictable ingredient costs, however, make value-added a tricky proposition.

“We have to find ways to defray additional price increases because we’re going to price ourselves out of consumers’ pocketbooks if we keep increasing double digits, so the way to do that is through penetration, buy rate and frequency,” Ms. Lyons Wyatt said. “We need to find a way to get into new homes and/or to get the households that are purchasing pizza to buy it more often or buy more when they purchase it. That may require buy-one-get-one or buy-three-get-one promotions, or another type of promotion to drive incremental units.”

Ms. Essman said the peak seasons for frozen pizza bookend the year.

“Each calendar year starts strong as large sporting events in football and basketball create moments where consumers look to frozen pizza to feed their families and friends,” she said. “As students return to school in late summer or early fall, families look to frozen pizza as a delicious, convenient option. This uptick in consumption continues through (the fourth quarter) as frozen pizza consumers look for options to cut down on meal prep and have crowd-pleasing options as they gather with their loved ones during the holidays.”

In such a competitive market, Mr. Delduco said the private label segment needs to differentiate itself.

“The challenge is that national brands are acting like private label brands,” he said. “These national brands are on promotion 70% to 80% of the time so you can get a national branded pizza anytime on sale.”

He added slightly smaller sizes, such as a 10-inch pizza, provide about the same net weight as a 12-inch variety and allow retailers to charge a more affordable, everyday low price.

Moreover, Molinaro’s now offers a Neapolitan crust that’s fluffier and softer than what’s in the market as well as spicy Tandoori, Korean BBQ and other niche varieties that cater to regional preferences.

“We like to say, ‘We’re not here to duplicate anything. We’re here to fill that void,’ but the customer needs to tell us what that void is,” Mr. Delduco said.

Fresh and custom made

In the deli, freshly made pizzas cater to consumers who plan to eat them immediately or heat them after they get home from work. For British Columbia-based Pace Processing & Product Development, a part of Toronto-based Bond Bakery Brands, take-and-bake remains a key focus area with its Artisan Hand Panned Pizza products at the forefront.

“Consumers are looking for quality products in the HMR (home meal replacement) set that provide value when compared to the products that can be purchased within the restaurant or foodservice space,” said Sean Darrah, president of Pace Processing.

Atoria’s Family Bakery, Gilroy, Calif., focuses on using simple ingredients to bake its pizza crusts, naan, lavash and other flatbread that are convenient for putting together a pizza, meal or snack, said Lilea Eshoo, chief operating officer.

“People have busy schedules and are often looking for the quickest and easiest meal to throw together,” she said. “Our pizza crust is perfect for that while also delivering on taste. We’ve also noticed that making pizza at home is on the rise. All of our flatbreads make a perfect crust for an easy, homemade pizza night.”

Atoria’s offers a Cauliflower & Coconut Mini Lavash that became so popular among low-carb consumers that the company created a Cauliflower & Coconut keto-friendly pizza crust. For making personalized pizzas, it’s rolling out Mini Naan that is available in Traditional and Upcycled Multigrain, which is made from grains rescued from the end of the beer brewing process.

Additionally, its Cinnanaan, a cinnamon and sugar variety, can be transformed into dessert pizzas topped with fresh fruit.

“Upcycling is a newer idea around the US, giving it plenty of opportunity to rise,” Ms. Eshoo said. “Food waste is something that concerns 99% of Americans, and choosing upcycled products is one small way to divert food waste and reclaim high-protein, high-fiber grains by giving them this second life. Pizza in itself is a resourceful way to use up odds and ends in the fridge and prevent waste, so this item is truly a win-win for consumers looking to lessen their footprint.”

The better-for-you segment may incrementally grow the category, but it’s a constantly shifting landscape.

“In the frozen aisle, interest in no-carb pizza products continues to see higher traction among consumers, while select offerings, such as gluten-free, for example, seem to have slowed down and have potentially reached a peak,” Mr. Darrah said. “Better-for-you pizzas remain a small category segment for Pace Processing. One barrier we see to the category, in our experience, is the perception of consumer value relative to the higher price point for select customers.”

By rolling out new products that pique consumers’ curiosity, pizza makers can not only win the battle but also the war in the pizza market.