Consumers Identify the Foundation of a Good Pizza
MINNEAPOLIS — Pizza fans across the country agree: crust is the make-or-break pizza component. Ninety-one percent of Americans say that a bad crust can ruin a pizza, according to the results of a nationwide survey commissioned by General Mills Foodservice and conducted by The Harris Poll.
Additionally, 80% say they would pay more for a pizza with a high-quality crust.
"The survey demonstrates that the crust is truly the heart of the pizza," said Paras Bansal, who analyzes consumer insights for General Mills Foodservice. "We learned that consumers are passionate about pizza crust, which indicates pizzerias and operators want to make sure they get it right to please their pizza-loving patrons and be more profitable with pizza."
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The survey also found that consumers are more likely (87%) to eat pizza when dining out or ordering takeout if they know the pizza has a good crust. The top attributes of their favorite crust include having just the right taste/flavor (58%), thickness (51%), texture (38%), golden brown color (35%) and char (12%).
Other key findings include:
- Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) named pizza crust as the top reason they like their favorite pizza place;
- 72% of Americans would be more interested in eating pizza at breakfast or lunch if they knew it had a good crust;
- The most preferred texture of good pizza crust is dual texture-crispy on the outside, airy on the inside (33%), followed by crispy (32%), thin (29%), thick (26%) and airy/chewy (15%);
- Hand-tossed/traditional is the top-listed style of pizza crust when ordering/eating away from home (34%); and
- New York-style is the most popular regional-style pizza (listed by 36%), followed by Chicago deep-dish style (20%).
"A good crust is the heart of any great pizza, yet it can be a challenge for many pizza makers to get consistent and quality results," said Tom Santos, senior technical training specialist at General Mills Foodservice. He also serves on the Doughminators team and specializes in helping pizza makers find the best crust solution to meet their needs. "We are here to help operators find the flour, dough or crust to give them peace of mind and help them serve pizza they can be proud of every time."
Minneapolis-based General Mills Foodservice serves the foodservice and bakery industries. Its brand portfolio includes Big G Cereals, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Gold Medal, Pillsbury, Chex Mix, Bugles, Gardetto's, Annie's and TNT Crust.