There was a time when people would say that any pizza, even the worst takeout or frozen option, was pretty good. Consumers ate bad pizza (or decent pizza, depending upon how you look at it) because it was the best option.
Calling Domino’s (DPZ) for delivery, pulling a pizza from the back of the freezer, or even settling for microwaved pizza rolls may have been the best late-night choice. In some markets, it was the only choice.
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Bad pizza was better than cooking, especially if you had limited ingredients to work with.
Food delivery services change all of that. Now, Uber Eats and DoorDash will bring you sushi, Italian food, Chinese, and who knows what else until fairly late hours. You can also order pizza from local places, and the competition for your food dollar has increased.
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Delivery from Uber Eats and other services is expensive, however, and many consumers have been tightening their food budgets. People who used to order higher-end pizza might opt for Domino’s or Pizza Hut, while those chains may lose customers to frozen pizza.
Now, a leading player in the space wants to give people a mix of value and gourmet that may fit the current market really well.
The economy has joined The Noid in ruining pizza.
Image source: Domino’s/Shutterstock/TheStreet
Pizza giant goes upscale
DiGiorno has long used the catchphrase, “It’s not delivery, it’s DiGiorno.”
They saw that as a positive; some customers saw it as an apology.
Sure, I could have gotten delivery, but instead I opted for this frozen pizza. It’s either lazy or insulting, but no person actually needs to be told they’re eating a frozen pizza.
DiGiorno has marketed itself as premium frozen, which it is, but it’s all relative.
The company offered a superior product to much of what you see on grocery shelves. It’s better (to most people) than Elio’s, Red Baron, and many other offered brands.
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In most cases, it was equal to, say, California Pizza Kitchen and other premium frozen brands. DiGiorno may also be better than some freshly made or frozen in-house pizza brands, but many Publix and Fresh Market fans might dispute that.
DiGiorno was upscale in that it was a higher-quality product than what most of its rivals offered.
Now, the Nestle-owned company wants to put a flag in the sand. It does not want to just say it’s better.
It actually want to be better.
DiGiorno offers premium frozen pizza
Premium frozen pizza is a bit like saying, “That’s the best gas station sushi I have ever had.” Still, DiGiorno has made a real bid to offer something better.
The company has added a new line, Wood Fired Style Crust Pizza.
“This all-new pizza from DiGiorno features premium toppings and a perfectly crisp crust that serves up restaurant-quality taste fresh from your oven. Previously baking the crust at high temperatures to achieve a perfectly chewy and lightly charred texture, the DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Pizza elevates the at-home pizza experience, offering a dough with rich flavor, airy structure and the perfect bite,” the company shared in a press release.
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The U.S. pizza market is nearly $55 billion, but less than 20% is frozen pizza.
At a time when budgets are getting tighter, DiGiorno may be right to offer a mix of quality and value. The company will offer four flavors:
DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Four Cheese Pizza features a rich blend of cheeses — Romano, Asiago, Mozzarella, and Parmesan.DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Italian Meat Trio Pizza includes a curated blend of pepperoni, salami, and Italian sausage.DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Supreme Speciale Pizza is a vibrant celebration of flavors featuring generous layers of savory pepperoni and sausage and topped with a medley of colorful vegetables — green, yellow, and red peppers and onions.DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Premium Pepperoni Pizza is stacked with rich, zesty pepperoni on a crispy, lightly charred crust.
All four DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Pizza varieties will be available at retailers nationwide for an MSRP of $6.49 (prices may vary by store) starting in May.
Some have hailed this as a “first-in-a-decade” change.
Frozen pizza hasn’t seen a major innovation since stuffed crust hit the market a decade ago, Graves said. Before that, it was rising crust, which was developed by DiGiorno in 1995, FoodDive reported.
