Frozen pizza has been a longtime leader in the frozen foods category, but the pandemic made the ubiquitous convenience food even more popular as consumers sheltered in place, had groceries delivered, and ate their meals at home.
Since then, the sales momentum hasn't slowed down, and any trip down the frozen pizza aisle at the grocery store today reveals an ever-growing category offering more brands and variety than before, while occupying an increasing amount of shelf space in the frozen foods section. Food manufacturers like Schwan's—parent company Red Baron and Tony's pizza brands—are taking notice and building or expanding pizza plants to keep up with demand. For example, Schwan's finished expanding its frozen pizza facility in Kansas last year, making it the largest pizza plant in the world.
A recent study by research firm Market.us sheds some light on where this continued growth in frozen pizza might be headed. Market.us is forecasting the global frozen pizza market at $35 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4%. By comparison, the frozen pizza market in 2023 was $17 billion, with North America claiming 35.6% of the current market at $6.04 billion, according to the report. The Asia-Pacific market is anticipated to grow the fastest between now and 2032, with a CAGR of 4.8% during that time.
 | Mondelēz International reports 2023 fourth-quarter and year-end fiscal results. |
The study indicates several drivers that continue to propel frozen pizza sales, including: consumer convenience to purchase and prepare; consumer interest in trying new toppings and crust options along with vegan ingredients like plant-based meat and dairy-free cheese, which keeps the category fresh and innovative; and as mentioned before, e-commerce and online shopping options that help frozen pizzas to increase market share.
Current trends in frozen pizza, according to Market.us, include a dominance of thin-crust pizza over other crust styles—thin crust accounts for 44.4% of the market share. Also, pizzas topped with vegetables make up 61.9% of the market.
