by Bryan Salvage, Editor
In choosing pizza toppings, the only limiting factors facing pizza manufacturers are the wide range and continuing diversification of consumer taste preferences that must be satisfied-and the confines of one's imagination.
Despite the influx of vegetable and other trendy, non-traditional toppings, one thing is for certain-meat always has been (and will continue to be) a major topping for America's favorite convenience and indulgence food.
Pizza manufacturing represents a booming $30-billion business. Frozen packaged retail pizza sales at the supermarket level are around $1.4 billion, according to Chicago-based Information Resources Inc.
The vast majority of pizza sales are from several major national pizza franchises-and thousands of smaller regional chains and independent pizza operators.
"The problem in trying to get a real feel for what's happening [regarding pizza topping trends] in this country is that with the exception of the top pizza chains such as Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut and Little Caesar's, the remaining chains and franchises are regional," says Gerry Durnell, editor and publisher of Pizza Today.
Pizza Today, a monthly trade magazine with a circulation of 50,000 readers in 100 countries, is the official publication of the National Association of Pizza Operators, which has about 8,000 members, primarily consisting of pizza business owners, operators and manufacturers.
Since Domino's Pizza is the world's largest pizza delivery company with more than 5,200 units throughout the United States and in 37 international markets, Durnell says the tracking of the company's meat usage is a good indicator as to what's happening nationally in pizza topping consumption.
Last year in the U.S. market alone, Domino's sold more than 245 million pizzas. Pepperoni was the chain's most popular pizza topping with nearly 17 million pounds used last year. It also used more than 12 million pounds of sausage, 4.6 million pounds of beef, 4.3 million pounds of ham, and more than 2 million pounds of bacon.
Emerging trends
In addressing pizza topping trends, in general, Durnell says: "One pork commodity that has just come on the market is bacon bits. We also have exotic meats, including alligator, buffalo, ostrich and yak. A real growth meat is chicken, and [vegetable] toppings have grown significantly."
And coming on strong, according to Durnell, is breakfast pizza.
"These pizzas in their most popular form consist of an omelet topping with sausage or chunks of ham, or a fruit topping," he notes.
"Independents are picking up on this idea, and Domino's tested a version," Durnell adds. "They would deliver a breakfast pizza, a fresh flower and a copy of USA Today to the office."
New ideas and offerings are fueling pizza industry growth. Durnell cites McDonald's Corp. as an example of how breaking tradition can spur growth.
"The reason McDonald's had such stupendous growth during the past decade is not because it sold more hamburgers, but because it added the breakfast line, the dessert line, salads and [chicken] nuggets," he adds. "The pizza industry is now turning to semi-unconventional ideas [like breakfast pizza] to help drive growth."
Another "hot" pizza trend is the buffet pizza concept where restaurant patrons can buy pizza on the basis of an "all-you-can-eat special" at one set price.
Meat will continue to be an exceptionally popular pizza topping for several reasons, Durnell says.
"When you look at the overall costs of making a pizza, meat is not necessarily the leading ingredient cost," he adds. "And the advent of sauces like barbecue and white sauces will increase the likelihood of meat toppings because meat properly accents these sauces.
"You're going to see an increase in meat consumption as a pizza topping," he adds. "Poultry and breakfast meats-a la the bacon bits, diced ham and whatever other meats you'd find in an omelet-hold the greatest growth potential for meat toppings in pizza."
Durnell credits the meat industry for doing a "good job" of supplying products for the pizza manufacturing industry.
"As competition increases and times get tougher, the majority of pizza operators we represent will want to build relationships with their suppliers," he adds.
"Anything meat purveyors can do to enhance this relationship will take the market into a new dimension of synergistic cooperation."