Pizza Facts
We’ve taken a deep-pan-alysis of the world’s love of pizzas here with a wide range of facts and stats below.
Pizza – A UK Favourite
Every year UK consumers spend over £5 billion on pizzas. Of these, over 80% are purchased from restaurants and takeaways, with more than a quarter delivered piping hot to consumers at home.
Pizza is one of the foods that most of us will agree on. Granted there are toppings and base preferences though – and according to Papa John’s, a member of the PAPA association it’s clear what Brits like when it comes to the cheesy, gooey, glory of pizzas.
The American pizza restaurant franchise has revealed orders of Double Pepperoni is the firm favourite in 2021 with those that eat meat, whereas its topping titled Garden Party, which includes tomato sauce with mozzarella, sliced onions, green peppers, chopped tomatoes, juicy sweetcorn and chestnut mushrooms takes the top spot for Vegetarians. Vegans have been biting-up The Vegan Works, which includes vegan cheese, slices of smoky jackfruit “pepperoni” and vegan sausage across the country – with the pizza-delivery company also stating that its orders of Vegan pizzas have risen by 81% in a year alone.
Papa John’s, which has 500 stores across the country, also revealed that when consumers got creative on the Create Your Own option, they went for Chargrilled Chicken over any other topping. Furthermore, when pizza lovers look to dip, Special Garlic Dip is the nation’s favourite.
Veganism
Far from a fleeting fad, veganism has taken the UK by storm in recent years – and according to Papa John’s it’s not slowing down any time soon. The American pizza restaurant franchise has revealed orders of (completely) plant-based pizzas from their stores have risen by a massive 81%.
Papa John’s now has 500 vegan-friendly stores across the country, with four vegan pizza options, with this total continually rising due to demand. According to the pizza company, the city with the most vegan orders (as a proportion of their total orders) is Southend.
The data also revealed, the vegan trend isn’t just specific to their main dish of pizza either. They’ve also seen a massive 154% rise in customers ordering plant-based side dishes to accompany their slices.
The pizza-delivery company also cited that overall, across all UK stores, The Vegan Works pizza was the favourite topping choice for those who follow a plant-based diet. The award-winning pizza is topped with a rich tomato sauce with vegan cheese, slices of smoky jackfruit “pepperoni”, vegan sausage, chestnut mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and black Herrera olives.
World’s Largest
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest recorded pizza ever baked was 37.4 metres (122′ 8″) in diameter and made at Norwood Hypermarket, Norwood, South Africa on Dec 8, 1990. This attempt beat the previous holder (Pizza Hut in Singapore 1990) by 3.5m (11.5′). Before that, the world’s largest pizza was ‘built’ on October 11, 1987 by Lorenzo Amato and Louis Piancone in Italy.
The pizza covered approximately 10,000 square feet and weighed in at 44,457 pounds, consisting of, among other items, 18,174 pounds of flour, 1,103 pounds of water, 6,445 pounds of sauce, 9,375 pounds of cheese and 2,387 pounds of pepperoni. It was eventually cut into 94,248 slices and eaten by more than 30,000 spectators at the baking in Havana, Florida.
American Pizza Consumption
Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza EACH DAY, or about 350 slices per second. Each individual consumes about 23 lbs., or 46 slices, each year. Around 350 pizza slices are wolfed down across the States each second.
October is the biggest pizza month of the year in the USA. According to MyFitnessPal, researchers at IRI found that in October Americans spend $461 million on frozen pizzas alone! It is helped by the fact that its also National Pizza Month in the USA.
America’s Favourite Toppings
Americans prefer meat toppings to veggie toppings by a ratio of 62 to 100. Women order twice as many vegetable toppings than men.
America’s favourite topping is pepperoni. 36 per cent of all pizza customers want their pizzas topped with pepperoni. US citizens consume around 251,770,000 pounds of pepperonis every year.
Least Favourite
The least favourite pizza topping is anchovies.
Global tastes
In Japan, a pizza topping of squid and Mayo Jaga (mayonnaise, potato and bacon) is very popular.
In India, consumers prefer pickled ginger, minced mutton and tofu.
Brazilians have a weakness for green peas sprinkled over for their topping.
Russians serve pizza covered in Moskva – a heady mix of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon and red onions.
Pizza History
The origins of pizza can be traced back in time to a period when a peasants would have typically eaten a flatbread flavoured with a topping.
In the 16th century – Maria Carolina, the Queen of Naples, convinced her husband, King Ferdinand IV to allow the peasant dish pizza to be made in the royal oven.
In 1889 Raffaele Esposito, the most famous pizzaiolo (pizza chef) created a pie for Queen Margherita with a topping of tomato, basil and cheese, (to resemble the Italian tricolore flag). The Margherita pizza – basically a cheese and tomato pizza – remains the basis of modern day pizzas around the world.
Pizzeria Resarta
In 1905, the first Pizzeria opens in New York City at 53 1/2 Spring St.
In 1945, GI’s returning from WWII brought with them a taste for certain foods – pizza was at the top of their list.
Today, in America, pizza is a $30 billion per year industry {approx. £16 billion), serviced by more than 60,000 pizzerias throughout the country.
Longest Pizza
In 1994, Domino’s Pizza stores in Guatemala attempted the world record for the longest chain of pizza. The chain, reaching 500 metres, was donated to local charities.
Habit Forming
American children between the ages of 3 and 11 years prefer pizza to any other dish for lunch and dinner, according to a recent Gallup Poll.
World’s largest commercially available pizza
Original Brooks Pizza 2-for-1 Limited in Alberta, Canada have created the Colossal which is currently the Guinness World Record holder for the largest commercially available pizza.
The Colossal measures three feet wide, four feet long and provides 108 pieces.That’s 12 square feet of pizza for $134.95 (approx £80.00). There’s also a Mini Colossal ($69.95/£36.00) which measures a comparatively insignificant three feet by two feet.