Knead-to-Know Pizza Trends

Regional styles, unique flavors, premium proteins, and more make this an exciting segment

IT’S NO MYSTERY that Americans love pizza. From pan to deep dish to Chicago tavern, each region of the United States has its own style. And as classic Italian styles like margherita, Neapolitan and pizza al taglio move up the Menu Adoption Cycle, they are slowly growing in awareness and becoming seen as more American.

According to Datassential’s FLAVOR database, 70 percent of convenience store consumers love pizza — that’s high! Pizza is one of the most-loved dishes and can be customized for every consumer’s preference of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings. As the category unfolds, we can dive deeper into regional styles, unique flavors, premium proteins, and more.

Ubiquity With a Twist

There are some toppings that people can’t agree on, like pineapple or anchovies, but pizza is a ubiquitous dish that has endless possibilities for personalization.

Pizza has experienced some upgrades in the past few years, such as premium proteins appearing as toppings. According to Datassential’s MenuTrends, operators are incorporating meats like short ribs (up 46 percent in menu penetration in the past four years), brisket (up 26 percent), and Italian deli meats like soppressata (up 13 percent).

Even adding a level of crunch or creamy texture with vegetables such as pickled onion, avocado and kale can elevate a pizza. Lastly, sauce isn’t just tomato-based. Beyond the addition of sauces such as pesto and alfredo, restaurants are using specialty sauces like hot honey and aioli.

Health Forward

As shelter-in-place is extended — like our waistlines, unfortunately — consumers are looking for more healthful options for comfort food. With one in five consumers saying they’re tired of pizza and looking for some innovation, an easy swap is cauliflower crust in place of the traditional flour crust. Cauliflower crust has grown 37 percent on menus in the past four years. Of consumers who have tried cauliflower pizza crust, 22 percent of them love it. Cauliflower makes this universal dish approachable for gluten-free and lowcarb diets, such as keto, paleo and Fodmap.

Regional Trends

We could run the gamut when it comes to all the different styles of pizza, but there isn’t one clear winner when it comes to regional varieties.

Each style has its own unique twist, from Detroit with brick cheese and fluffy focaccia-inspired crust (15-percent growth on menus in the past four years, according to MenuTrends), to Quad Cities pizza with the addition of malt or molasses to the crust.

Other varieties like grandma-style pizza were a staple for many Italian households that didn’t have pizza ovens. Eleven percent of c-store consumers love grandma-style pizza. The Sicilian-like variety is often baked in a pan and cut into squares, making it perfect to eat on the go. CSN

Pizza has experienced some upgrades in the past few years, such as premium proteins appearing as toppings.

Datassential, a Chicago-based food and beverage industry research and consulting firm, brings clients real-world insights on flavor trends, foodservice and consumer packaged goods, globally. Learn more at datassential.com.