- Contents
- *Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Mintel Menu Insights
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
What you need to know
Pizza foodservice brands have focused on the ways they can make their pizzas more convenient, affordable, and quickly made by eliminating dining rooms, discounting, and delivering pizzas quicker. While these demands are still relevant among consumers, there is a shift toward creating convenience in the pizza category by offering a new dining experience, thanks to fast casual pizza brands and take-and-bake pizza chains. The pizza industry has proven it is still evolving and innovating, but it remains a tight race to see which brands have what it takes to take it to the next level.
This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Pizza Restaurants – US, November 2013, as well as the December 2012, December 2011, and October 2010 reports of the same title.
Definition
For the purposes of this report, Mintel defines pizza restaurants as any foodservice establishment where the main focus of its menu is pizza. Take-and-bake pizza locations like Papa Murphy’s are included in this definition. Retail frozen and retail take-and-bake pizzas are not included in the definition, but usage was asked among Mintel panelists, as well as pizzas ordered from restaurants not focused on serving pizza, in order to obtain a full view of pizza usage and visitation.
Value figures throughout this report are at rsp (retail selling prices), excluding sales tax, unless otherwise stated.
Mintel Menu Insights
Mintel Menu Insights is a quarterly census of over 3,000 US restaurant menus (30% market coverage) covering all commercial segments and US census regions with trends going back to Q2 2004. Mintel Menu Insights tracks 29 unique menu item attributes including flavor, preparation (physical and/or cooking), menu type/section, cuisine type, menu claims, etc, grouped into six major categories from macro restaurant, menu, plate, item dish, and beverage to micro ingredient detail. Tracking features include total menu incidence (menu mentions), restaurant penetration (percentage of restaurants menuing), calories, and price, including filtering capabilities for all menu items, only new menu items, deleted menu items, or any menu items with changes over prior period. The database includes over 20,000 unique ingredients, and close to 290,000 unique menu item dishes updated quarterly; Mintel Menu Insights is backed up with a dedicated team of in-house data entry, data editor, data quality, product development, and industry analysts focused 100% on these menu data and trends.
Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer attitudes and behaviors toward pizza restaurants. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in August 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.
Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly over-samples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.
While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.
Consumer qualitative research
In addition to quantitative consumer research, Mintel also conducted an online discussion group among a demographically mixed group of adults aged 18+. This discussion group was asynchronous (ie not run in real time), functioning like a blog or bulletin board, with questions remaining posted for a predetermined period of time. This method allows participants to respond reflectively, at their leisure, or to log off to think about any issues raised, and return later to respond. Participants were recruited from GMI’s online consumer panel with responses collected in July 2014. All quotes are included verbatim, and as such, include typos and other grammatical errors as they originally appeared.
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report:
| ACV | All Commodity Value |
| BFY | Better-for-you |
| BLS | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| CPG | Consumer Packaged Goods |
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| CPK | California Pizza Kitchen |
| C-store | Convenience store |
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Terms
The following terms are used in this report:
| Chain | Multiunit foodservice concepts operating under a single brand name, such as McDonald’s or Pizza Hut. A restaurant chain consists of two or more restaurants owned by one person or company. Typically all restaurants in a chain have similar décor and serve the same food. |
| Consumer unit | Defined per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as either: 1) All members of a particular household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; 2) A financially independent person living alone or sharing a household with others, or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house, or residing in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel; or 3) Two or more people living together who pool their incomes to make joint expenditure decisions. Financial independence is determined by the three major expense categories: housing, food, and other living expenses. To be considered financially independent, a respondent must be able to provide at least two of the three major expense categories. |
| Fast casual | A hybrid segment of fast food and casual dining, combining the convenience of limited service with the ambience and quality of full service. Defining features include check averages of $6-9; décor that is more sophisticated than a QSR (quick service restaurant); and food prepared to order, with customization of ingredients by patron being the norm. |
| Fast food | Used interchangeably with QSR. |
| Foodservice | All places that prepare food outside the home are included as part of the foodservice industry, including food operations in supermarkets, schools, hospitals, factories, and prisons. Restaurants make up the largest part of the foodservice industry. |
| Franchise | In most franchise agreements, a restaurant owner grants another person or company the right to use the name of his/her restaurant. This right also includes the use of the original owner’s patented products, building designs, and trademarks. In return, the original owner receives a fee. In addition, the franchisee usually pays a percentage of the restaurant’s income to the original owner. |
| Full service restaurant | Establishments that provide table service. Food is ordered at the table and is paid for at the end of the meal. The segment comprises several subsegments, differentiated primarily by check size. These include family/midscale restaurants and casual dining restaurants. |
| Independent | A single restaurant that is not part of a chain. |
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Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as:
| World War II | The generation born in 1932 or before. In 2014, members of this generation are aged 82 or older. |
| Swing Generation | The generation born between 1933 and 1945. In 2014, members of the Swing Generation are between the ages of 69 and 81. |
| Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2014, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 50 and 68. |
| Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2014, Generation Xers are between the ages of 38 and 49. |
| Millennials* | The generation born between 1977 and 1994. In 2014, Millennials are between the ages of 20 and 37. |
| iGeneration** | The generation born from 1995 to present. In 2014, Matrices are aged 19 or younger. |
* also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers
** previously known as Post-Millennials, Matrix Generation
In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows:
| CPI | The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars. Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition. |
