Pizza: packed with possibilities - Macphie

Pizzas are a foodie favourite that have stood the test of time. According to Dataessential‘s Pizza Keynote Report (2022), they remain the highest-ranking craveable foods in the foodservice landscape and with good reason; they’re packed with possibilities. They can be easily adapted, customised, premiumised and delivered, meaning customers get exactly what they want and when they want it.

Driven by popular ingredients, seasonal produce, consumer habits and global food trends, pizzas are creative crowd-pleasers that can be reinvented time and time again.

Pizzas make it easy to keep your menu fresh but with so many creative options, where do you start?

The base-ics

When building a house, you need strong foundations and the same premise applies to making pizza (albeit a lot less work!). From tried and tested options like deep pan and stuffed crust to newer concepts like sourdough and cauliflower crusts, there’s a never-ending list of options to choose from.

Recipe inspiration: Chicago deep-pan pizza

Over the years, gluten-free bases have risen in popularity, appearing on 11% of menus and this is expected to rise another 27% in the next four years.

And we’re seeing more and more indulgent and unusual alternatives popping up in pizza parlours, trucks and restaurants. Focaccia pizzas have been all the rage, creating a filling and flavourful pizza base. While other operators have been adding secret ingredients like beer, charcoal and beetroot to create talking point bases.

Top ‘n go

Tomato-based sauces remain a popular pizza starting point as does blonde and BBQ. However alternative base sauces are coming to the fore such as pesto, creamy alfredo, herb and almond purees.

Vegan is the fastest-growing pizza preference by far, climbing 187% on menus in the last three years, meaning there’s been a leaning towards vegan-friendly toppings.

And with 42% stating they are prepared to pay more for lots of pizza toppings, make sure you don’t scrimp!

Recipe inspiration: blonde truffle pizza

Innovation in pizza continues with global regional classics and toppings with unusual flavour pairings. Operators are drawing inspiration from already popular cuisine, creating the ultimate flavour combination. Think fish & chips, nachos or a roast dinner but topped on a pizza.

Recipe idea: Sunday roast dinner pizza

Get a slice of the action

With social media bringing the world to life through our phones and a global pandemic throwing our daily routines out of kilter, what people eat, and when they eat it, is changing.

While pizza remains a firm favourite, the pandemic pivoted how pizza is sold. Prior to the pandemic, more than half of all operator pizza sales were sold on premise for dine-in occasions, takeout pizza represented a third, and delivery just 12% on average. But over the past year, delivery grew to 19% on average, and takeaway made up the majority of sales to comprise nearly half (48%) of all pizza sales, according to Datassential’s Pizza Keynote report.

And the shift doesn’t stop there – Breakfast pizza, currently on 2.9% of menus, is expected to grow 15% in the next four years. And sweet dessert pizzas are also popping up on menus.

Recipe inspiration: breakfast pizza

Because of their snack-like suitability, pizzas lend themselves well to being paired with on-trend side dishes so don’t forget to consider the opportunity to upsell. More and more pizza operators are extending their menus to include wings, fries, wedges and even desserts. For side dish inspiration, our chefs have pulled together some ideas here, so if you are looking for inspiration for the National Pizza Awards look no further!

Because of their outstanding adaptability, a single Macphie product can be the starting point of an extensive range of different creations whether morning, noon or night.

Whether customers choose our pizza toppings, burger sauces, dessert parlour staples, or biscuit mixes, our products can help you to create as many different flavour combinations and adaptations as you wish.