Thanksgiving 2026: Ready-2-Eat, Heat-N-Eat, or Cook From Scratch? The Smartest Holiday Meal May Be a Mix of All Three

With Thanksgiving just a month away, consumers face a familiar holiday question: How do you put a memorable meal on the table without spending a fortune, spending all day in the kitchen, or exhausting the person responsible for making it happen?

The answer is changing. Today's Thanksgiving meal doesn't have to come from one store, one restaurant, or one cooking method. Consumers can combine traditional home cooking with Ready-2-Eat (RTE) prepared foods and Heat-N-Eat (HnE) meal components to balance price, quality, convenience, and time.

That is the Grocerant Guru® perspective: Thanksgiving isn't just a turkey dinner. It's a collection of meal components, each with its own price, preparation time, convenience factor, and consumer value.

The smartest holiday shoppers will compare the entire meal—not just the price of the turkey.

The supermarket price challenge: Feeding 10 for less than $40

Supermarket News reports that several major retailers have announced Thanksgiving meal promotions for 2026. The early offers show how aggressively grocery retailers are positioning value as families plan their holiday budgets.

Lidl's Thanksgiving offering, for example, gives Lidl Plus members the ingredients for a meal serving 10 people for $35.86. That's approximately $3.59 per person.

Aldi's advertised meal for 10 costs less than $39, or less than $3.90 per person, and includes 15 items. Its package features a 16-pound turkey, stuffing mix, vegetables, sweet potatoes, Hawaiian sweet rolls, cranberry ingredients, and the ingredients for pumpkin pie.

Schnucks is also promoting a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 for less than $4 per serving, with a frozen turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy ingredients, vegetables, rolls, cranberry sauce, pie, and whipped topping.

Sam's Club takes a somewhat different approach, advertising a meal for 16 at less than $10 per person. Its assortment includes both turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, salad, rolls, gravy, charcuterie, and two pumpkin pies.

These promotions demonstrate an important distinction: some retailers emphasize the lowest advertised ingredient cost, while others offer a broader assortment or more premium meal components.

For consumers, the question is what the advertised price actually delivers—and what additional spending, preparation, or cooking time the meal requires.

Source: Supermarket News, 2026 Thanksgiving meal-deal roundup, as provided for this article. Prices and eligibility reflect the reported offers and should be checked against each retailer's current terms.

The real comparison: Ready-2-Eat versus Heat-N-Eat versus scratch cooking

Thanksgiving is an ideal example of why consumers increasingly mix foodservice and grocery options. A single holiday meal can include a turkey cooked from scratch, prepared mashed potatoes, restaurant-made pie, and ready-to-serve appetizers.

Each approach has advantages, and none is automatically the cheapest once all costs are counted.

Cook from scratch: The traditional approach gives households control over ingredients, seasoning, recipes, portion sizes, and family traditions. Buying a whole turkey and preparing vegetables and sides at home can deliver considerable value, especially for larger gatherings. But the shelf price of the ingredients is only part of the equation. Cooking requires preparation, oven space, equipment, cleanup, and time. The cost of ingredients that go unused or spoil also matters.

Heat-N-Eat (HnE): Refrigerated or frozen mashed potatoes, prepared stuffing, refrigerated sides, heat-and-serve rolls, ready-made gravy, and fully cooked turkey breast can shorten the workday considerably. Consumers pay for preparation already completed by someone else, but they retain the ability to serve a warm meal at home. HnE can be particularly attractive when oven space is limited or the host wants to spend more time with guests.

Ready-2-Eat (RTE): Fully cooked turkey, prepared side dishes, deli salads, bakery pies, sliced meats, and restaurant catering can take much of the cooking burden off the host. Some products are served cold or at room temperature; others are fully cooked and ready to serve after simple plating. RTE can offer the greatest time savings, although the per-serving price may be higher than preparing equivalent dishes from basic ingredients.

The most useful comparison is not simply the price per package. It is the total cost per guest, including ingredients, preparation time, waste, and the value of convenience.

For a household hosting 10 people, a low-cost ingredient bundle can be an excellent foundation. But a shopper who adds a prepared pie, a deli vegetable tray, or a fully cooked turkey breast is making a different trade-off: paying more for some components in exchange for less work.

That is not necessarily overspending. It can be a deliberate purchase of time.

Thanksgiving is a meal-component opportunity

The traditional Thanksgiving menu lends itself to a component-by-component buying strategy.

The centerpiece: A raw whole turkey is generally the starting point for scratch cooking. A fully cooked turkey, cooked turkey breast, or prepared ham can be a practical alternative for households with limited oven capacity or smaller gatherings. Compare the price per edible serving rather than comparing package prices alone.

The starches: Potatoes, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and rolls are natural candidates for HnE. Shoppers can peel and mash potatoes themselves, use refrigerated prepared potatoes, or buy a ready-made side. The same applies to stuffing: a boxed mix offers a low-cost starting point, while a prepared version saves additional steps.

The vegetables: Fresh carrots, celery, green beans, and sweet potatoes allow scratch cooks to control seasoning and texture. Frozen steamable vegetables reduce preparation and cleanup. Prepared green bean casseroles and other refrigerated sides offer an additional convenience tier.

The sauces and accompaniments: Cranberry sauce, gravy, and relishes are relatively easy to purchase ready-made. Making them from scratch may be worthwhile for cooks who prize family recipes, but buying them can eliminate several small tasks that otherwise accumulate on a busy cooking day.

The desserts: Pumpkin pie illustrates the choice particularly well. Consumers can purchase filling and crust and bake at home, buy a prepared pie from the supermarket bakery, or order dessert from a restaurant or bakery. The first option offers customization; the second and third offer time savings.

The extras: Appetizers, cheese boards, prepared salads, beverages, and bakery items are often the easiest parts of the meal to outsource. They also help hosts accommodate guests who arrive early or bring unexpected additions to the table.

The lesson is simple: consumers don't need to choose one preparation method for the entire meal. They can cook the dishes that matter most to their family and purchase the rest.

 

The price of convenience: What should consumers actually compare?

A meaningful comparison requires more than putting a raw turkey beside a fully cooked turkey and declaring a winner.

The Aldi and Lidl offers are built around ingredients that still require preparation. Sam's Club's reported meal includes more prepared components, but it also costs more per guest. That does not make one offer universally better; the menus, serving assumptions, and labor involved differ.

Here is how I would advise consumers to evaluate the options:

Thanksgiving strategy	Primary advantage	Cost consideration
Cook from scratch	Control, customization, traditional recipes	Ingredients, energy, equipment, preparation time and waste
Heat-N-Eat sides with a home-cooked turkey	Balances savings and convenience	Prepared components can cost more than basic ingredients
Fully prepared supermarket meal	Fewer cooking tasks and easier coordination	Compare the complete package, serving sizes and any extras
Restaurant or catering order	Minimal cooking and potentially broader menu choices	Per-person pricing, ordering deadlines, service fees and pickup logistics
Mix-and-match meal	Lets shoppers spend where convenience matters most	Requires comparing several purchases and coordinating pickup

There is no defensible universal dollar premium for RTE or HnE without comparing equivalent products, serving sizes, local prices, and preparation requirements. But consumers can make the economics work in their favor by choosing which tasks they want to pay someone else to perform.

For example, roast the turkey at home, buy prepared mashed potatoes and gravy, steam frozen vegetables, and purchase a bakery pie. The result is still a Thanksgiving meal prepared for family and friends, even though several components never passed through the host's own kitchen.

That is component-based meal planning in action.

Why grocers and foodservice operators should pay attention

Thanksgiving illustrates a broader food-marketing reality: consumers do not necessarily organize their food decisions around industry categories.

They are not always thinking, "I need a grocery product," "I need a restaurant meal," or "I need a prepared food." They are thinking, "I need to feed 10 people, stay within budget, and have time to enjoy the day."

That consumer objective can be fulfilled by a supermarket, club store, restaurant, bakery, or a combination of them.

The reported 2026 meal promotions also demonstrate that price messaging remains powerful. Lidl's $35.86 offer for 10 works out to about $3.59 per person for Lidl Plus members. Aldi's under-$39 meal also targets shoppers looking for a low-cost traditional dinner. Sam's Club, meanwhile, is selling a broader assortment designed for 16 people, including two proteins and a selection of prepared sides.

These are different consumer propositions. One emphasizes the low entry price; another emphasizes assortment and convenience. The best choice depends on what the shopper values, what the household already has, and how much work the host wants to do.

For retailers, the opportunity extends beyond selling a turkey. It includes merchandising coordinated meal components, making serving quantities clear, offering easy add-ons, and communicating the total cost of a meal.

For restaurants, it means recognizing that a family may not want a complete catered dinner but may gladly buy the turkey, appetizers, a few signature sides, or dessert. A well-designed partial-meal offer can serve a different need from a full catering package.

The Grocerant Guru® view: Thanksgiving is another reminder that there are no permanent silos in the consumer's mind. What matters is the meal occasion, the desired experience, and the balance of price, quality, service, and portability.

The last-minute Thanksgiving guest: Have a Ready-2-Eat backup plan

Suppose relatives call on Thanksgiving morning and announce that two more people are coming. Or a neighbor unexpectedly joins dinner. The turkey is already accounted for, but there is not enough food for everyone.

Don't panic, and don't automatically start cooking another entrée.

My last-minute recommendation is to visit a supermarket with a full-service deli and prepared-foods section. Depending on availability, assemble a Ready-2-Eat supplemental meal with:

·       A fully cooked rotisserie chicken or prepared turkey breast.

·       Ready-made mashed potatoes, gravy, and one or two prepared vegetable sides.

·       Dinner rolls from the bakery.

·       A pumpkin pie or another ready-made dessert.

This is a practical backup, not a guarantee that any particular store will have these items on Thanksgiving Day. Call ahead, check holiday hours, and confirm availability before traveling. Some stores close early, limit hot-food service, or sell out of popular prepared entrées.

The strategy is to supplement the original meal rather than duplicate it. A prepared chicken, a couple of sides, and a pie can stretch the table without requiring the host to roast another bird.

That is the value of Ready-2-Eat food: it gives consumers another option when the number of guests, the schedule, or the cooking plan changes.

One important reminder: keep prepared hot foods at safe holding temperatures, refrigerate perishable leftovers within two hours, and reheat leftovers to 165°F. The USDA provides additional guidance on.

Three closing Grocerant Guru® insights

1. Price is the invitation; value closes the sale. A Thanksgiving offer advertised at less than $4 per person gets shoppers' attention. But consumers ultimately judge value by the meal they can serve, the quality they experience, the amount of work involved, and whether the offer fits their household.

2. The future of the holiday meal is mix-and-match. Scratch cooking, Heat-N-Eat, and Ready-2-Eat are not competing ideologies. They are options consumers can combine. Retailers and foodservice operators that help shoppers assemble the right meal for their circumstances can compete for more of the occasion.

3. Convenience is not the opposite of tradition. Thanksgiving traditions are about gathering, sharing food, and making memories. If buying prepared potatoes, a ready-made pie, or an additional entrée gives the host more time with family, convenience can help preserve the tradition rather than diminish it.

The bottom line? This Thanksgiving, don't ask only whether cooking from scratch is cheaper than buying prepared food. Ask which parts of the meal deserve your time, which parts deserve your money, and how to deliver the best experience for everyone at the table.

That's how consumers turn a holiday menu into a smarter meal—and how the Grocerant Niche continues to connect grocery, prepared food, and foodservice around what consumers actually want.

Tap into the Foodservice Solutions® team for greater understanding of New Electricity or for a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869 

Wilder Market & Kitchen: The Future of Food Retail Is Not Another Grocery Store. It Is the End of Channel Silos

 

What if the future of food retail is not a better grocery store, a more convenient restaurant or another premium prepared-foods concept—but a destination that combines the best of all three, that’s what Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® wants you to start thinking about.

And what if consumers are already telling the food industry that separating grocery shopping from restaurant-quality meals, ingredient transparency, convenience and hospitality is an outdated way to organize a business?

That is the consumer challenge behind Wilder Market & Kitchen, the new Miami concept backed by Major Food Group. Scheduled to debut in fall 2026, Wilder combines a neighborhood market, café, made-to-order sandwiches, hot and cold prepared foods, and a patio designed to encourage customers to stay awhile—or take dinner home.

The ambition is bigger than putting a restaurant inside a grocery store. Founder and CEO Danielle Axman wants to create a neighborhood destination where ingredient integrity, sustainability, culinary quality and hospitality work together.

For the Grocerant Guru®, that is a development worth watching. Food retail and foodservice are not competing in separate consumer universes. They are competing for the same stomachs, wallets, meal occasions and increasingly limited time.

Consumers do not shop in channel silos. They shop for solutions.

Meet Danielle Axman: The consumer problem behind Wilder

Axman's background offers an important clue to Wilder's positioning. Reporting on the launch identifies her as a former member of the founding team behind BABE Rosé, the canned-wine brand, and a former chief of staff at SoulCycle. Her experience spans consumer products, brand building and experience-driven hospitality rather than the traditional grocery-store operating ladder.

The idea for Wilder emerged after she became a mother. Axman found herself spending considerable time researching ingredients, interpreting labels and investigating where food came from. Even after doing that work, she often struggled to find products that met her standards and tasted good.

Her proposed answer was straightforward: create one place where consumers could buy groceries, pick up a prepared meal and feel more confident about what they were purchasing, without having to do all the research themselves.

That origin story matters because it starts with a consumer frustration rather than a traditional retail category.

Axman is not simply asking shoppers to buy more organic produce or pay a premium for a prepared meal. The broader proposition is to reduce the effort required to make food decisions while delivering a better eating experience.

The commercial challenge will be converting that proposition into a repeatable routine. A compelling origin story may earn a first visit. Consistent food quality, credible sourcing, convenience, appropriate prices and a dependable experience must earn the second, third and fiftieth.

Major Food Group brings culinary credibility—and a different growth proposition

Wilder's founding investor and strategic adviser is Major Food Group, the hospitality company founded by Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick.

The group is associated with prominent concepts including CARBONE, Sadelle's and The Grill, alongside a broader portfolio of restaurants, private clubs, bars and hotels. Its experience centers on distinctive food, recognizable brands, hospitality and creating destinations that customers want to revisit. 

Wilder represents a meaningful extension of that playbook. Rather than opening another restaurant, club or hotel, Major Food Group is backing a business designed to combine everyday grocery needs with prepared meals and neighborhood hospitality.

That shift changes the frequency equation.

A celebrated restaurant may depend on customers making a special occasion out of a visit. A neighborhood market can compete for coffee in the morning, lunch, a snack, an ingredient for tonight's dinner and a ready-to-eat meal on the way home.

The opportunity is to turn culinary credibility into more frequent, everyday consumer interactions.

But there is an important distinction: a Michelin-associated culinary pedigree does not automatically make a grocery business successful. Grocery requires disciplined purchasing, inventory management, fresh-food execution, labor productivity, waste control and pricing that supports repeat purchasing.

Major Food Group brings a potentially valuable hospitality perspective. Wilder must demonstrate that this perspective can work at neighborhood-market frequency and economics.

The Wilder Standard: Ingredient integrity must become a consumer benefit

Wilder's proposed standards are intended to guide what the business sells and serves, how ingredients are sourced and how decisions account for environmental health, labor practices and animal welfare.

The company has identified the Environmental Working Group (EWG) as an input into its standards and named prospective farm and producer relationships including Paradise Farms, Glaser Organic Farms and White Oak Pastures.

The distinction is important: Wilder is attempting to make sourcing standards part of the operating proposition, rather than leaving shoppers to evaluate every package independently.

Ingredient transparency is not an imaginary consumer issue. The International Food Information Council's 2025 Food & Health Survey continued its long-running examination of how Americans understand food, ingredients and food safety. Its national survey program included 3,000 U.S. consumers.

EWG's 2026 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, meanwhile, analyzed U.S. Department of Agriculture testing data and reported pesticide residues in 75% of conventionally grown produce samples examined. That is a finding about the samples and methodology used in that analysis—not proof that every residue creates a health risk or that conventional produce is unsafe. 

For Wilder, the strategic opportunity is to make sourcing information easier to understand and act on.

The standard must also be credible. Shoppers should be able to distinguish verified sourcing claims, specific production practices, supplier commitments and broader sustainability aspirations. Ingredient integrity should be explained clearly, not used as a vague premium-price justification.

And here is the Grocerant Guru's test: Does Wilder make it easier for a consumer to eat well, enjoy the food and feel confident about the purchase—or does it simply make shopping more expensive?

The winning proposition has to deliver both trust and taste. If the food is not delicious, transparent sourcing alone will not create a durable food brand.

Elevate Your Brand with Expert Insights

For corporate presentations, regional chain strategies, educational forums, or keynote speaking, Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, delivers actionable insights that fuel success.

With deep experience in restaurant operations, brand positioning, and strategic consulting, Steven provides valuable takeaways that inspire and drive results.

Visit GrocerantGuru.com or FoodserviceSolutions.US Call 1-253-759-7869

Pizza’s Next Battle: Scale, Sales, Customer Frequency and the Toppings Consumers Crave

 

When you’re hungry for pizza, what makes you choose one over another—and what makes you come back? Is it the toppings you crave, the quality you can taste, the price that fits your budget, or the convenience of getting dinner on the table without another hassle?

Smithfield Culinary’s new research suggests consumers have strong opinions: 46% say toppings matter most, and 79% have gone out of their way to try a particular pizza. That tells the pizza business something important: consumers aren’t just buying a pie; they’re choosing an experience they believe is worth their money, time and appetite.

For national chains, neighborhood pizzerias, grocery delis and convenience stores alike, the challenge is clear: What makes your pizza the one consumers want tonight—and the one they choose again tomorrow?

From the perspective of the Grocerant Guru®, pizza's next chapter will be shaped by the intersection of brand scale, average unit volume, customer frequency, ingredient quality, convenience, portability and perceived value. Operators that connect those elements to evolving consumer expectations will be better positioned to capture the next meal occasion.

1. The Seven Pizza Chains: Size, Sales and Average Unit Volume

Understanding the competitive landscape requires looking at more than the number of locations. Systemwide sales indicate total sales generated across a chain's restaurant network, while average unit volume (AUV) measures average annual sales per location. Neither figure, on its own, reveals profitability or customer loyalty.

Industry reporting from the 2026 QSR 50 and PMQ's 2025 Pizza Power Report provides a basis for comparing major U.S. pizza chains. The figures below reflect different reporting sources and dates, so they should be treated as an industry snapshot rather than a perfectly standardized ranking.

Seven major pizza chains

1. Domino's

·       Reported U.S. systemwide sales: $9.953 billion.

·       Reported average unit volume: $1.385 million.

·       Reported U.S. locations: 7,186.

Domino's leads this group in reported U.S. sales and AUV. Its combination of digital ordering, delivery, carryout and national brand recognition supports a high-volume operating model. The challenge is to keep translating convenience and familiarity into repeat orders as consumers face changing budgets and more prepared-food choices.

2. Pizza Hut

·       Reported U.S. systemwide sales: $5.094 billion.

·       Reported average unit volume: $808,000.

·       Reported U.S. locations: 6,307.

Pizza Hut retains a substantial national footprint. However, reported unit declines and lower AUV than Domino's make restaurant productivity and the performance of existing locations important issues. A large footprint is an advantage only when locations continue to meet consumer expectations and generate sustainable sales.

3. Little Caesars

·       Estimated U.S. systemwide sales: approximately $3.700 billion.

·       Estimated average unit volume: approximately $950,000.

·       Reported U.S. locations: 4,374.

Little Caesars competes through affordability, convenience and a recognizable value proposition. Its larger location count relative to Papa John's demonstrates that a chain can build scale around a different combination of price, service and customer expectations.

4. Papa John's

·       Estimated U.S. systemwide sales: approximately $3.702 billion.

·       Estimated average unit volume: approximately $1.124 million.

·       Reported U.S. locations: 3,294.

Papa John's has fewer reported locations than Little Caesars but higher estimated AUV. That distinction illustrates why unit count alone is not an adequate measure of competitive strength. Sales productivity, average order value, operating costs and customer frequency all matter.

The reported sales estimates for Papa John's and Little Caesars are nearly identical, so the small difference should not be interpreted as a meaningful competitive gap.

5. Marco's Pizza

·       Reported U.S. systemwide sales: $1.094 billion.

·       Reported average unit volume: $832,000.

·       Reported U.S. locations: 1,184.

Marco's represents an important middle-market competitor. It has a smaller footprint than the four largest chains but enough scale to compete nationally. Its opportunity is to combine recognizable brand positioning with product differentiation and local execution.

6. Papa Murphy's

·       Reported U.S. locations: approximately 1,127 in the cited location ranking.

·       Comparable systemwide sales and AUV: not established in the cited figures.

Papa Murphy's take-and-bake model serves a different meal occasion from conventional delivery and carryout. Consumers finish preparing the pizza at home, allowing the brand to compete for the family dinner occasion through a different service model.

7. Godfather's Pizza

·       Reported U.S. locations: approximately 583 in the cited location ranking.

·       Comparable systemwide sales and AUV: not established in the cited figures.

Godfather's Pizza remains a recognizable competitor with a smaller footprint than the leading national chains. Its position reinforces the importance of distinguishing between national scale and the ability to maintain relevance within particular markets.

The sales and AUV figures above draw on the 2026 QSR 50 and PMQ's 2025 Pizza Power Report. Because reporting dates, estimates and location definitions can vary, the figures for these seven brands should not be interpreted as a single, audited ranking across every measure.

What about customer frequency?

Customer frequency is a critical part of pizza economics, but public information does not provide a consistent, current, apples-to-apples frequency ranking for all seven chains.

Industry surveys have reported that Americans consume pizza several times a month. Those category-level figures demonstrate pizza's recurring role in the American diet, but they do not establish how frequently customers visit a particular chain.

For operators, that distinction matters. A chain can increase AUV through more frequent orders, larger baskets, higher prices or a combination of these factors.

Without customer-level frequency, average ticket, repeat-purchase and retention data, sales figures alone cannot explain the complete consumer story.

The Grocerant Guru® perspective is straightforward: measure how often customers return, not just how many locations you operate.

2. Smithfield Culinary's Findings: Seven Food Marketing Signals

Smithfield Culinary's Guest Check survey, conducted among 2,000 U.S. adults who order restaurant pizza at least monthly, examines what consumers say makes a great pizza. The findings provide useful direction for menu development and marketing, although stated preferences do not automatically translate into purchases or repeat visits.

Here is my assessment of seven important food marketing signals in the findings.

1. Toppings are the leading product differentiator

Forty-six percent of respondents identify toppings as the most important component of a great pizza. Crust ranks first for 30%, sauce for 13%, and cheese for 11%.

Grocerant Guru® rating: A

This is a strong menu-development signal. Toppings give operators an opportunity to create recognizable signature products, limited-time offers and premium combinations without rebuilding an entire menu.

However, the other 54% remind operators that toppings are not everyone's first priority. Crust quality, sauce and cheese remain essential parts of the product experience.

2. Ingredient quality beats piling on more

Thirty-seven percent of respondents prioritize topping quality, compared with 18% who prioritize quantity.

Grocerant Guru® rating: A

This is an important value proposition. Consumers do not necessarily want the heaviest pizza; they want a pizza whose ingredients justify its price.

Better seasoning, appealing textures, consistent portions and recognizable ingredient quality may create more value than simply adding more meat. Operators should test whether customers will pay a premium for those attributes and whether the resulting sales justify the added costs.

3. Destination pizza can create brand advocacy

Nearly eight in ten respondents say they have made a special effort to try a particular pizza, including taking detours, making day trips, waiting in lines or incorporating pizza into travel plans. One-quarter report traveling at least 25 miles to eat pizza or visit a particular pizza restaurant.

Grocerant Guru® rating: A

A compelling pizza can become the destination rather than just the dinner solution.

Operators should develop products worth talking about, signature offerings that customers remember, and regional identities that consumers cannot easily reproduce elsewhere. The opportunity is not to make every pizza expensive; it is to give consumers a reason to choose yours.

4. Pepperoni remains a powerful menu anchor

More than nine in ten respondents say pepperoni will never go out of style. Among the reported pepperoni pairings, sausage leads at 49%, followed by extra cheese at 30%, bacon at 27% and mushrooms at 27%.

Grocerant Guru® rating: A

Familiar favorites reduce the risk of menu experimentation. Pepperoni can anchor a core offering, while sausage, bacon and other complementary ingredients help create a more differentiated premium option.

Operators should test combinations against food cost, customer uptake and repeat orders rather than relying on popularity claims alone.

5. Meat-forward pizza has a defined audience

Twenty-seven percent of respondents identify as “Meat Maximalists,” and the survey says this preference appears across generations. The release also reports that 59% have experienced someone taking a slice of their meat-topped pizza after ordering a vegetarian pizza.

Grocerant Guru® rating: B+

Meat-forward options are worth testing, but a defined segment is not the entire market. A balanced lineup should retain vegetarian choices and allow customization.

Operators should also manage portions carefully. Ingredient appeal must translate into sustainable margins, and menu choices must reflect the needs of different households and occasions.

6. Regional identity can turn pizza into an experience

One-quarter of respondents seek regional pizza styles when traveling. Meanwhile, 82% of Gen Z respondents say they have participated in a friendly debate over which pizza style is best.

Grocerant Guru® rating: A−

Regional styles offer a way to create local relevance, storytelling and limited-time menus. The opportunity is to give customers something distinctive while preserving the consistency national chains need.

A regional product should be authentic enough to interest enthusiasts and accessible enough for mainstream customers. Operators should also consider whether regional offerings attract incremental visits instead of simply shifting customers away from existing menu items.

7. Pizza's competition extends beyond pizza chains

The 2026 Convenience Store News Foodservice Study, cited in the Smithfield Culinary release, reports that 76% of retailers offer pizza.

Grocerant Guru® rating: A

This is a significant channel signal. Consumers can encounter pizza in convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and other retail environments.

These channels compete for different occasions, price points and levels of convenience. A convenience-store customer seeking a quick individual meal has different needs from a family ordering several pizzas for dinner.

Pizza operators are no longer competing only with the pizzeria down the street. They are competing for the same meal occasion across an expanding range of foodservice and retail channels.

The grades in this analysis are my editorial assessments of each finding's usefulness for food marketing and menu strategy. They are not ratings assigned by Smithfield Culinary or measured consumer-satisfaction scores.

3. What Smithfield Culinary Gets Right—and What Operators Still Need to Prove

Smithfield Culinary makes a persuasive case for putting more thought into toppings. But from a food marketing perspective, the strongest opportunity is not simply to sell more meat. It is to turn a product preference into a repeatable, profitable customer occasion.

Three distinctions matter.

First, stated preference is not purchase behavior.

Saying toppings matter most does not tell us whether consumers will pay $2 more for premium sausage, switch brands for a specialty pizza or order that product a second time.

Operators need transaction data, menu-item sales, attachment rates and repeat-purchase measurements to establish those connections.

Second, quality must be visible and credible.

If a chain advertises premium ingredients but delivers an inconsistent product, the promise becomes a liability. Portion standards, preparation procedures and ingredient consistency must support the marketing claim.

Quality should be experienced, not just described.

Third, consumer value is larger than the pizza itself.

Price, quality, service, convenience and portability all shape the overall experience. A delicious pizza that arrives late, travels poorly or costs more than the household planned may not earn another order.

Even the largest chains must keep earning consumer business. Scale, brand recognition and digital ordering are advantages, but they do not eliminate the need to demonstrate value on every occasion.

The real question is not whether pizza is popular. It is whether a specific operator can convert that popularity into profitable, repeatable demand.

4. The Grocerant Guru® Consumer Challenge

Here is the test I would put to every pizza-chain executive and independent operator:

If a customer can buy pizza almost anywhere, what makes your pizza worth choosing, worth paying for and worth ordering again?

I would measure the answer through five practical indicators.

Trial: Are signature toppings, regional styles or new combinations bringing new customers into the brand?

Conversion: Do customers who see the offer actually purchase it?

Basket size: Does the new pizza increase the total order, or simply replace another menu item?

Frequency: Do customers return more often after trying it?

Profitability: Does the incremental margin justify the ingredients, labor, promotion and operational complexity?

These measures connect culinary creativity to business performance. They also help operators avoid a common mistake: assuming that a product with strong social-media appeal will necessarily become a reliable source of sales.

Pizza's advantage is its versatility. It can be a family dinner, an individual meal, a game-day centerpiece, a travel discovery, a workplace lunch or a convenient prepared-food purchase.

The challenge is to match the right product, portion, price and service model to each occasion.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights on How the Pizza Sector Is Evolving

Insight 1: The next pizza battle is about differentiated value, not topping overload.

Smithfield Culinary's finding that 37% prioritize topping quality compared with 18% who prioritize quantity gives operators a reason to rethink premiumization.

The winning offer may be a carefully composed sausage-and-pepperoni pizza with excellent execution rather than an overloaded pie that raises food costs without increasing perceived value.

Test the premium, measure the repeat purchase and let consumers—not the chef's ego—decide.

Insight 2: Pizza is becoming an occasion-driven foodservice platform.

Traditional delivery and carryout remain important, but convenience stores and other retailers are competing for quick meals, snacks and immediate consumption.

Prepared pizza can serve a different need from a made-to-order family dinner. Operators should develop products and service formats around the occasion, considering portion size, holding time, packaging and speed instead of assuming every customer wants the same pizza experience.

This creates opportunities for both national chains and retailers that understand how consumers shop across foodservice channels.

Insight 3: Consumer loyalty will be earned one evolving occasion at a time.

The willingness to travel for pizza and the interest in regional styles show the potential for destination-worthy products. Yet frequency and convenience still matter.

Chains should pair reliable everyday favorites with distinctive regional offerings, limited-time products and digital ordering that makes repeat business easy.

Independent operators can compete through local identity and product character rather than trying to outspend national chains.

The challenge for every operator is to keep evolving without losing the core attributes that earned customer trust in the first place.

The Final Word from the Grocerant Guru®

The U.S. pizza sector is large, highly competitive and increasingly defined by more than store count.

Scale creates reach. Average unit volume helps measure sales productivity. Customer frequency helps reveal loyalty. Culinary differentiation creates a reason to choose one operator over another.

Smithfield Culinary's research adds an important message: toppings are a major opportunity, and consumers say quality matters more than simply piling on ingredients. But the business opportunity lies in connecting those preferences to actual behavior.

At Foodservice Solutions® in Tacoma, Washington, my perspective is straightforward: consumers are dynamic, not static. Their expectations, budgets, meal occasions and definitions of value evolve. The pizza operators that keep pace will be those that continuously test what consumers want, verify what they buy and measure whether they return.

A great pizza can earn a first order. A consistently great experience, delivered at the right price and for the right occasion, is what earns the next one.

Tap into the Foodservice Solutions® team for greater understanding of New Electricity or for a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869