U.S. pizza restaurant sales are expected to reach $44 billion by 2017, according to Mintel’s latest research. Traditional pizza options remain popular, but consumers’ pizza tastes are broadening when it comes to topping off their pies.
- Pizza customers like their meat. Pepperoni tops the list as America’s favorite pizza topping, with 65% of consumers ordering it on their pizzas. Sausage is next, at 54%.
- Runner-up toppings include mushrooms (51%), extra cheese (45%), onion (39%) and green pepper (37%).
- Pizza preferences vary by geographic region. Northeast consumers may be more open to innovative new combinations than other regions, with 7% saying they don’t order the usual toppings versus 3% on average.
- Consumers from the Midwest are more likely to select mushroom (58% Midwest, 51% on average), onion (44% Midwest, 39% on average) and green pepper (41% Midwest, 37% on average) than any other region, making the supreme pizza combination very popular.
- Southern pizza fans are more likely to order extra cheese (54% versus 45% on average), bacon (34% versus 31%), and ham (35% versus 29%), and consumers located in the West show a greater interest in olives (47% versus 34%) and pineapple (27% versus 21%).
- Men are more likely to order meats including bacon, pepperoni, sausage and ham to top their pizza, while women prefer vegetable options.
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