Meat&Poultry - December 2011 - 56

PROCESSING FOR PIZZA

Pizza by the numbers
There are approximately 70,000 pizzerias in the United States, according to Jeremy White of Pizza Today and the National Association of Pizza Operators. Ready-to-eat pizza is a $38 billion industry. Pepperoni is by far the most popular topping in the US, followed by sausage. Independent pizzerias range in annual gross sales from $2.1 million to $20 million. They operate 393 units, opened 35 units last year, and were planning to open 48 more this year. With about 70,000 pizzerias throughout the US, the top-three companies are Pizza Hut (7,500 stores), Domino’s (4,927 stores) and Papa John’s (2,781 stores). These top three control more than 15,000 units in the US, and more than 10,000 units throughout the rest of the world. These top-three businesses generate almost $19 billion annually throughout the world, and $11 billion across the US. The top-10 pizza companies control approximately 19,500 stores and more than $12 billion in annual revenue in the US. As a group, independent pizza operators, as well as most of the chains, tend to buy their products from more than 100 specialty distributors throughout the US. Seventyfour percent of pizza shop operators have dining rooms, 94 percent serve appetizers, 56 percent serve pasta meals and salads, 48 percent offer beer and 38 percent serve wine. Types of pizza include barbecue chicken, cheese pairings, Pizza Margherita, deep dish, eggplant parmigiana, Greek, grilled, Hawaiian, meat lovers, Mediterranean, pesto, Pizza Arrebba, Pizza Insalata, pulled pork, San Giovanni, pork, sandwich, sausage, seafood, shrimp, Sicilian, take “n” bake, and three cheese Mexican brunch, among others. ■

The company was founded as an offshoot of Father and Sons Pizzerias in Chicago, and has been in business for more than 35 years. Alagna, a veteran of the frozen food industry, helped open the Schaumburg plant 20 years ago. Today, Nation Pizza is a co-packer and co-developer. “We’re a frozen retail pizza manufacturer, we do food service for quick service restaurants [QSRs], and major grocery store chains, but we also do a lot of research and development for the industry,” Alagna says. “A lot of ideas in expanding the industry come from us.” He says companies come to Nation Pizza and ask them to make products for them, so there is a lot of collaboration. In doing so, he says a lot of these products are manufactured with Grote equipment. Speaking about the benefits of working with Grote, Alagna says, “They deliver in a time frame that satisfi es my customers and feeds my business. Working with their equipment takes labor off the line. In the old days, pepperoni was put on by hand. No more. We also slice ham and vegetables.” He adds that Grote Company has always been innovative. “They listen to us and our needs. We don’t have to buy off their shelf. They just don’t say ‘take it or leave it.’ They’re very good people to do business with. Grote Company and Nation Pizza both thrive on people relationships, not just making decisions based on price. And their equipment also helps us comply with the new food safety standards.” In Alagna’s view, pizza has become much more of a commodity. “It’s less likely for people to stay loyal to a particular brand,” he says. “So you have to offer huge values for people to stay loyal, because the return on pizza is very small.”

and retail frozen pizza manufacturers. “We are the largest suppliers of pepperoni and pizza toppings to the foodservice industry,” says Worth Sparkman, Tyson Foods spokesman. “In fact, each year Tyson produces enough pepperoni slices to cover 23,000 acres.” The company has been in the pizza-topping business for the past 10 years, following its acquisition of IBP inc. in 2001. Customers for the company’s pizza-topping ingredients range from national quickservice restaurants to foodservice companies. To meet customer demand, Tyson has started a multi-million dollar renovation of its Council Bluffs, Iowa, plant in order to produce more pepperoni. Sparkman says the prepared foods business in the US is thriving, thanks in part to growth in the pizza toppings segment. “Those sales last year totaled about $3 billion, and 60 percent of those sales were in foodservice,” he says. “Customers are supplied with pizza toppings both directly by us and through foodservice wholesalers.” Shipment of toppings depends on the products, with some toppings requiring specific packaging, he adds. He also notes Tyson Foods is one of the nation’s largest makers of pizza crusts. TNT (Thick n’ Thin) Crust, a part of Tyson’s prepared foods unit, operates two Green Bay, Wis., bakeries, covering a total of 117,000 sq. ft. of production space, five to six days a week. “The plants make millions of pizza crusts each year,” Sparkman says. The crusts are either par baked or in self-rising form and are sold to frozen pizza manufacturers, chain accounts, foodservice distributors and specialty pizza distributors.” ■
Bernard Shire is a contributing editor based in Lancaster, Pa. He also works as a food safety consultant and writer for Shire & Associates LLC. We would like to hear from you – to comment on this story or to request reprints, contact us by email at meatpoultry@sosland.com.

Tyson’s toppings
Tyson Foods is a leading supplier of pizza crusts, pepperoni, sausage and beef toppings to national chains

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