America Continues Its Insatiable Quest For Pizza

As you have no doubt heard by now—or experienced yourself firsthand as you tire of cooking and turn to simpler solutions—our nation is having a love affair with pizza. And sure, that's been the case pretty much since pizza's inception, but things are particularly hot and heavy right now between pandemic-weary Americans and their delicious, reliable pies. As we discussed yesterday, frozen pizza is selling so well right now that almost any possible level of supply has the demand to match. Companies like Home Run Inn quite literally cannot make enough of it; it's flying off grocery store shelves. And recent news reports confirm that the same is true for delivery pizza chains, many of which are having their best sales month ever.

Papa John's and Domino's Pizza in particular have seen unprecedented success in these unprecedented times. Rob Lynch, president and CEO of Papa John's, said in a recent press release, "In May, for the second straight month, Papa John's team members and franchisees delivered the best sales period in the company's history... We entered the pandemic with strong growth and momentum, and are fortunate that our delivery and carry-out model has enabled us to meet an essential need for high quality food, safely delivered to consumers' homes."

Ritch Allison, CEO at Domino's, cited similar success, but maybe with a bit more cautious foresight, saying in a press release, "We are seeing a tailwind as consumer behavior across the restaurant industry has shifted toward delivery and carryout, though we are not sure whether this trend will continue for the remainder of the second quarter or how long this tailwind may last." Savor the moment, Domino's.

For some reason, Pizza Hut isn't enjoying the same surge; according to Yahoo Finance, same-store sales have dropped by 11%. But no matter where we acquire it, or how much we pay for it, one thing seems to be true: We're all consuming pizza like never before.