By Charlie Pogacar
Pizza Hut has released its second annual Pizza Trends Report, which is a look at emerging industry trends for the new year. Among findings that will interest pizzeria operators: 32% of consumers said they plan on eating more pizza this year than they did in 2024—good news for top-line sales.
For Pizza Hut, the report is perhaps a way to position itself as a thought leader in the category. The brand also says the report is a way to drive pizza innovation forward, both for chains and indie shops.
“Our passion for innovation has been at the heart of Pizza Hut for decades, shaping everything we do,” said Rachel Antalek, Pizza Hut’s chief food innovation officer, via a press release. “As we dive into 2024, we’re uncovering a thrilling evolution in pizza culture—where bold, global-inspired flavors meet creative, modern toppings and perfectly paired sides. From reimagined classics to entirely new taste experiences, we’re committing to deliver moments of joy and delicious discovery that redefine what it means to share pizza with friends and family.”
Related: As Papa Johns’ Sales Keep Falling, CEO Thinks He’s Identified the Problem
The report was conducted as an online study: 5,000 American adults, split evenly by state, were polled by market research company Talker Research, as commissioned by Pizza Hut. The report’s findings are broken down into categories. Up first, how Americans consume pizza (and how much Americans consume pizza):
- Americans eat an average of 288 slices of pizza per person each year. Pizza Hut added that this is the equivalent of 480 gallons of pizza per person, or 95 billion slices nationwide. That is enough pizza to fill 240,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools—quite the image.
- North Dakota consumes more pizza on average than any other state, eating 9.9 slices per sitting per month. They’re followed closely by South Dakota (9.4), West Virginia (9.3), Wisconsin (9.3) and Kansas (9.2)
The next bit of data had to do with wings—a natural pairing with pizza.
- Bone-in versus boneless wings remains a “hotly debated” topic, according to Pizza Hut. Forty-six percent of consumers preferred boneless, while 43% opted for bone-in wings. The states with people who most enjoy boneless wings include Kansas (64%), Maine (60%) and Montana (62%). The states with people who most preferred bone-in wings included North Carolina (54%), Maryland (53%) and Delaware (53%).
- Over half of Americans (59%) agree that pizza and wings are “the ultimate pairing,” while 52% said they believe wings with pizza makes the overall experience better.
- Seventy-one percent of people have at least occasionally ordered chicken wings with their pizza, while only 8% said they always order wings with their pizza. The states where people are most likely to always order wings with pizza include California (17%), Delaware (16%) and Missouri (14%).
Ranch with that? Pizza Hut found that more than half (58%) of Americans enjoy dipping their pizza into sauces, with ranch (38%) being the most popular choice. Kentucky was the state where respondents were most likely to prefer pairing pizza with a dipping sauce. States following Kentucky included Idaho (28%), Mississippi (27%), New Mexico (27%), Oklahoma (28%) and Tennessee (28%).
As for preferred pizza toppings, styles and flavors, the report found:
- In terms of unique toppings that Americans love, mushrooms (57%), garlic (41%) and, yes, pineapple (38%) top the list.
- When it comes to stuffed-crust pizza, many (47%) prefer it stuffed with unique cheeses, while 34% said they prefer meat, 31% said garlic, 19% said ranch, and 18% said jalapeños.
- As far as pizza styles go, New York-style pizza led the way, winning 29% of the vote. Chicago Deep Dish (22%), Sicilian (8%) and Detroit-style pizza (4%) also received a portion of the vote share. It was unclear which other pizza styles were on the list.
- Thirty-seven percent of consumers said they are “eager to try globally inspired options,” such as Mexican- and Greek-style pizzas (21%). Consumers said they would also try French (12%), Korean (11%) and Thai-style pizzas.
The report also dove into how people prefer to eat pizza. Half of respondents said eating a slip “tip first” (rather than folding it) was the correct way to eat a slice. It is unclear how many other options were given and what the other half of the respondents said.
- Additionally, 44% of respondents said eating pizza with a fork is a “food crime.”
- More than half of the respondents (57%) said they like eating cold pizza the day after.
- In a stat that will not be a shock to any pizzeria owner, Friday (43%) was by far the most popular day to eat pizza. Saturday (23%) and Wednesday (11%) were the next most popular days.
Finally, 18% of people said they would give up social media for a year if they could have free pizza every day. Others said they would give up alcohol (28%), coffee (20%) and sweets (14%) for free pizza for a year.
