One pizza company is on the precipice of dethroning a major franchise.
Which one is it, you may ask? Don’t go anywhere, because the answer awaits!
The pandemic and its related lockdowns have upended the
restaurant industry in ways that continue to reveal themselves.
But there's one type of restaurant that is thriving: the pizza place.
In 2020, U.S. pizza consumption accounted for almost one-third of pizza sales worldwide,
with $46.24 billion worth of pizzas sold in America. That's a lot of pizza!
"I'm in love. I'm having a relationship with my pizza."
So, what kind of pizza are Americans eating? Well, that depends largely on where you live.
According to Thrillist, standard cheese pizza is the runaway favorite in 29 states. Surprisingly,
only two states, Montana and Oregon, listed pepperoni as their preferred pizza topping choice.
Making the play for the second-favorite pizza topping in America was actually barbecue chicken,
which took seven states. Add in other chicken varieties, like buffalo chicken,
chicken bacon ranch, and grilled chicken white pizza, and poultry beats beef by a wide
margin — even when you throw in the three states where meat lovers' pizza is the go-to choice.
Regardless of toppings, though, not all pizza is created equal.
A chicken pizza from one chain may not taste anything like a
chicken pizza from another. So which pizza chain is number one in America?
That answer depends on whether you're looking at the best-selling chain, or the best-loved chain.
A February 2021 Zippia report listed the 10 largest pizza chains in the U.S. by
gross sales and found that the three top sellers were Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut,
and Little Caesars. Rounding out the top 10 list were Papa John's Pizza, California Pizza Kitchen,
Papa Murphy's, Sbarro, Marco's Pizza, Chuck E. Cheese/Peter Piper Pizza, and Cici's Pizza.
However, if you flip the script to focus on consumers' favorite pizza chain rather than
gross annual sales, Little Caesars takes the number one spot. TOP Data found that Little
Caesars came in first place in 24 out of the 48 states, performing especially well in the
central states. Coming in second place was Papa John's, which took the lead in just 10 states.
Pizza has turned out to be particularly resistant to the effects of the pandemic,
as it's perfect for quick, easy, and affordable delivery. As a result,
while many restaurants permanently shuttered due to COVID-19,
pizza sales didn't change much. According to Franchise Chatter, around 300 new pizzerias
opened up across America in 2020, with the need to eat at home driving sales.
And while customers love Little Caesars, experts believe Pizza Hut and Domino's
racked up bigger profit margins thanks to their revamped transaction systems.
Domino's bettered its digital ordering infrastructure during the pandemic and
greatly improved both its online ordering system and app, which were already known for… let's call
it innovation. This proved to be crucial, as app orders make up 60% of pizza sales,
and a full 88% of customers use some form of delivery app to receive their food orders.
Smaller chains, like &pizza, ensured that this style of ordering maintained a human
touch by instituting a text-based system that lets
customers chat with pizza chefs and delivery people.
There are also some signs that 2022 might just prove to be the year Little Caesars pulls ahead
of Pizza Hut to rank as the number-two national pizza chain in sales. Franchise Chatter reports
that the largest Pizza Hut franchisee declared bankruptcy in 2021 and closed 300 locations.
As a result, other national chains may have a chance to fill that space and close the gap.
By its nature, pizza chains like Little Caesars also cater to vegetarian and
flexitarian diets — a growing market in the restaurant sector. According to a 2020 survey,
about 60% of Americans are eating more plant-based foods, which suggests that
pizza chains that embrace this trend may have a leg up on their competitors going forward.
Pandemic or no pandemic, big or small,
pizzerias continue to rank among the most popular and reliable types of restaurants.
And who knows what new innovations are in store from major pizza chains in the coming year!
"Yes friends! The new turbo ginsu!
It dices, it slices, and it makes French fries in three different… whoops!"
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