“Real, Classic Pizza” Is Still a Favorite
With so many cauliflower pizza launches, one may think that a well-kneaded, long-proofed dough has fallen out of favor with pizza lovers. Nothing could be further from the truth, as Romanian frozen pizza (and not only) producer Edenia explains in this interview about how the market has changed in the past years. Camelia Manoil, Senior Brand Manager for Edenia, details how the company developed the pizza range and why they believe the frozen pizza market is on the rise.
The global frozen pizza market reached a value of US15.5bn in 2021, according to Research and Markets. The analysts expect the market to reach US22.6bn by 2027, with a CAGR of 6.38% during 2022-2027.
Increasing urbanization and growing demand for convenience food products are the key factors driving the growth of the market. Due to changing lifestyles, dietary patterns and hectic schedules, consumers are increasingly opting for easy to cook and ready-to-eat meal options. This trend, coupled with the increasing working population, is favoring the growth of the market. Additionally, growing health consciousness amongst consumers has led to the launch of gluten- and dairy-free product variants, which are gaining rapid popularity among consumers. Innovative toppings, organic ingredients, and vegan options are also contributing to the extensive demand for frozen pizzas.
Some of the other factors such as a rapid increase in the number of retail outlets and Quick Serving Restaurants (QSRs), along with the utilization of advanced technologies for production, storage and supply of the products for minimal wastage of food and resources is also driving the market further.
Last but not least, another driver for frozen pizza market expansion is price. A good quality pizza in a restaurant is more expensive than a frozen one the consumers can cook by themselves at home, and that makes it a sensible choice, especially when so many consumers are affected by inflation.
First, tell us a few words about your frozen pizza portfolio. When did you launch it and how did it find its place among your portfolio of frozen foods?
In 2016 we first launched a stone-baked frozen pizza range, under the Masterbrand Edenia – a multi category brand with a wide range of premium ready meals products. Therefore, introducing a high quality frozen pizza into the portfolio was quite a natural extension of our ready meals category. Later on, we extended the pizza line with two more ranges/types of pizza: Edenia fluffy pizza and Edenia Verace pizza, covering the entire range of the category.
How did the market evolve since you first launched frozen pizza?
Our products can now be found in both modern trade and traditional trade. The assortment on the retail shelves depends very much on the type of the store and the shelf space availability. But the market overall stays on an increasing trend with regard to this category.
Did you notice local preferences for certain flavors?
If we are looking at the global pizza market, we can observe that the flavor ranking does not vary too much from one country to the other. The main preferences of the toppings go for: salami, cheese and ham, on different types of dough. Our portfolio well covers all of those preferences. The newly developed range of premium frozen pizza – Edenia Verace – brings in a superior dough and precious ingredients, straight from Italy, addressing the most sophisticated pizza lovers.
Considering the new consumer trends, such as gluten-free and plant-based, how do they influence your product development decisions?
Those trends towards gluten-free or plant-based show up on most of the markets and categories and they have to be considered. However, for the moment, when it comes to pizza, almost the general choice still goes for the real, classic pizza, due to its’ authentic taste and eating experience.
You can read the rest of this article in the January-February issue of European Baker & Biscuit, which you can access by clicking here.