It’s Friday night: who wants to cook? Not many of us, apparently. Pizza night is a weekly tradition for two-thirds of consumers, and unlike most foods, pizza is primarily sourced away from home instead of purchased at retail or made from scratch. Regardless of whether consumers reach for their phones or fire up the oven, the usual suspects typically hold court: pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and marinara sauce. However, more upscale ingredients are finding their way onto pizza crusts as well, and a sizeable number of consumers appear ready to pay more for them, according to Datassential’s Pizza Power Keynote Report.
Pizza itself is America’s best-loved foods, according to Datassential’s Flavor database, which tracks familiarity and affinity of foods and ingredients. Nearly 70% of consumers love pizza, ranking it above even burgers and French fries.