US frozen pizza market led by Di Giorno and private label brands

The United States frozen pizza market experienced solid revenue growth during the recession, but struggled against new obstacles in 2011 and 2012. As a result, revenue increased 0.8% per year on average to $3.1 billion in the five years to 2012.

When consumers had less disposable income during the recession, they tightened food budgets and bought frozen pizza as a cheap and convenient meal to eat at home, boosting demand. However, as the economy recovered, consumers returned to eating at expensive restaurants instead of buying frozen foods.

Additionally, health-conscious Americans perceived fresh food as nutritionally superior to frozen, hampering demand for industry products.

97% of US adults eat pizza, and 93% have gotten food from a pizza restaurant in the past 12 months. On a monthly basis, 27% get pizza through restaurant delivery/pickup (which translates to about 410 million pizzas a year), 26% through restaurant dine-in, and 24% from the frozen food cases.

These levels of penetration underscore why pizza has been called its own "food group," but also the difficulty in growing sales in this commoditised market.

Consumers' desire to spend less on food also made generic brand products' low prices more enticing to purchase. However, because major players control the majority of the market, their brand-loyal customers were willing to pay higher prices for pizza, even when firms raised prices in response to expensive inputs. In addition, firms used more machinery to automate processes for efficiency, lowering per-unit production costs.

Di Giorno was the top ranked brand within the US frozen pizza market with approximately $722.1 million worth of sales in 2011. In second position were private label brands with $332.10 worth of sales and in third place was Red Baron with $263.90 worth of sales.

In the next five years, the industry is forecast to grow slowly, but steadily. As the economy continues to recover, consumers will have more money to spend, allowing them to afford to eat out at restaurants. Nevertheless, more Americans will be busier as they return to work, prompting demand for convenient meals to prepare at home.

For more information on the US frozen pizza market, see the latest research: US Frozen Pizza Market

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