When you’re hungry, too busy to cook, and on a budget, what is more enticing than a frozen pizza? If you’ve wandered down the frozen food aisle recently, you will have noticed how many frozen pizza options are available. There are pizzas for every dietary restriction and price point.
Frozen pizza manufacturers have embraced emerging food and lifestyle trends. Most now offer gluten-free crusts, plant-based vegan options, protein-packed pizzas, and more. There are pizzas that can be quickly heated up in the microwave and oven-baked options to offer a more homemade taste.
Pizza is one of the world’s most popular foods, but most especially in the United States. The global market for frozen pizza in 2020 was 16.2 billion dollars. By 2027 it is estimated to reach over 23 billion. While all frozen foods saw a surge in 2020 with lockdowns and most people spending more time at home, the demand for frozen pizza was so great it created a national pizza shortage. Even with restrictions now lifted, frozen pizza’s popularity is still growing.
Factors Contributing to The Frozen Pizza Boom
More Healthy Options and Clean Ingredients
Pizza is not historically associated with healthy food. Still, with more consumers expressing a desire for natural and organic ingredients, lower carb options, extra vegetables, plant-based foods, and higher protein, frozen pizza manufacturers have gotten on board the health train. In 2020 and 2021, vegetarian pizzas made up most of the new frozen pizza launches.
While the COVID pandemic encouraged the mass consumption of pizza and other comfort foods at home, consumers started pivoting towards healthier alternatives as stores and restaurants opened back up. Frozen pizza had to pivot with them to keep up with the trend. As one example, the market saw an increased demand for cauliflower crusts.
Another healthy trend recently taking off is the rise of thin-crust pizza. Thin crusts allow consumers to enjoy the pizza and toppings they love with fewer calories than regular or deep dish options.
Frozen Fits a Busy Lifestyle
The growing global population lives a hectic lifestyle. With so many people working busy jobs, there is an increased worldwide need for convenient food options that do not take too much time to prepare. Frozen pizza fits the bill.
Even as the world goes back to normal, the past few years have seen an increase in adults working from home and children doing remote learning. These factors as well require quick and convenient meal solutions. If you have to prepare more meals at home, frozen foods can help facilitate. Frozen pizza is a popular option not just for dinner but for quick lunches as well. There has also been a recorded correlation between the increase in at-home snacking and frozen pizza sales.
For consumers looking for more homemade appeal, many brands now offer the option of purchasing frozen pizza dough or assembly-required pizza kits. Restaurants and grocery stores are also jumping on the frozen pizza bandwagon, introducing their own branded versions of take-and-bake premade pizzas.
Higher Quality Pizza
Innovations in pizza products and frozen food technology have transformed the cardboard-reminiscent discs of years passed into enticing dishes that are as good as delivery or even homemade pizza pies. When people are too busy or budget-conscious to go out to a favorite restaurant, having high-quality options in their freezer is a comforting and convenient treat.
Fresh used to always be best, but that is no longer the case. Food freezing technology has changed the public’s perception of frozen food. Frozen pizza has a higher shelf life and lower price point, with the same great taste and extreme convenience.
The quality of any pizza, fresh or frozen, comes down to the dough. Dough made for frozen pizza by today’s pizza dough suppliers has improved so much over the years that some restaurants and pizzerias don’t even make dough in-house but instead order wholesale pizza dough from commercial bakeries.
It is possible to get frozen, bake-at-home pizzas from your favorite pizzeria in many places. With consumer expectations raised for high-quality pizza, buying frozen pizzas from a well-known and well-loved pizzeria is very tempting. Local pizzerias will specialize in local pizza styles, and offering frozen options of these specialties can be hugely popular.
Innovations in Technology
Technological advances have not only been made in food freezing but in food distribution as well. There has been a noticeable increase in the demand for frozen pizza with the convenience of online food ordering and the digitization of food services. Contactless pick-up at grocery stores makes stocking the freezer even easier.
Frozen pizza has seen a boom in popularity due to a few significant factors, and the rise is expected to continue. With more people working from home and maintaining hectic schedules, the convenience factor alone makes frozen pizza an easy buy. Advances in food technology and the introduction of more health-conscious offerings should continue to tempt consumers to bite into frozen (after baking, of course).
