Retail pizza innovation moving in the right direction
The frozen pizza industry has a problem on its hands: in the face of health and "real food" trends, frozen pizza may be suffering from a processed food stereotype. The bottom line is that during 2010-2014, the percentage of households eating frozen pizza in the past 30 days has dropped slightly, while the percentage eating 10+ pizzas per month has dropped 15%. The trend is particularly troubling because it involves demographics that have been core users, such as consumers living in households with an income under $25K, married households with children with an income under $50K, and Hispanics, according to “Pizza Market in the U.S.: Foodservice and Retail, 2nd Edition,” a report by market research publisher Packaged Facts (packagedfacts.com).
But against the backdrop of an improving economy—and signs that the middle class may finally be benefitting from it—this is only half the story. Restaurant pizza chains offering the promise of higher quality increasingly beckon, and pizza delivery and takeout provide very strong ammunition in the form of simplicity and convenience.