Quality, Variety Key for Pizza

The consumption of the savory pies is high, with people eating pizza around 3 times monthly.

April 02, 2014

CHICAGO – Pizza consumption is high: in fact, consumers told Technomic they eat pizza about 3.4 times a month. In addition to traditional pizza formats, today’s expanded retail options and the emergence of the trendy fast-casual pizza segment are giving consumers plenty of ways to satisfy their pizza cravings.

“Consumers are setting new standards for the quality and variety they expect,” said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, in a press release. “The fast-casual pizza segment is succeeding because it’s matching customers’ needs for quality, freshness and the ability to choose from among a broader selection of ingredients.”

Consumers say they want to see even more variety on pizza menus. They’re calling for more toppings and a wider assortment of offerings—such as pizza by the slice and portable pizza snacks they can eat on the go. Additionally, quality and freshness are factoring more strongly into today’s pizza purchasing decisions.

Tristano also says that for pizza operators to stay competitive and steal share, they’ll have to strengthen the quality perception by promoting freshness and customization opportunities, while giving guests a more interesting range of toppings, crusts and other options that emphasize variety.

In its Pizza Consumer Trend Report, Technomic found that fast casual is driving the evolution of the pizza landscape with 55% of consumers purchasing fast-casual pizza at least once a month. Diners want more variety with 74%, up from 70% in 2012, saying that a wide variety of toppings is important in creating a good pizza.

Quality and freshness continue to be crucial to pizza aficionados. Forty-three percent of consumers visit their preferred pizza concept because it uses fresh, high-quality ingredients while 84% say that fresh toppings are important.

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