Domino's and Pizza Hut rival makes 'first-in-decade' menu change

There was a time when people would say that any pizza was pretty good, even some of the worst takeout and frozen options. Consumers ate bad pizza (or decent pizza depending upon how you look at it) because it was the best option.

Calling Domino's (DPZ) for delivery, or pulling out a frozen pizza from the back of the freezer (or maybe even stooping pizza rolls) was the best late-night option. In some markets, it was the only delivery choice.

Bad pizza was better than cooking, especially if you had limited ingredients to work with.

Food delivery services changes all of that. Now, Uber Eats and DoorDash will bring you sushi, Italian food, Chinese, and who knows what else until fairly late hours. You can also order pizza from local places , and the competition for your food dollar has increased.

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Delivery from Uber Eats and other services, however, is expensive and many consumers have been tightening their budgets when it comes to food. People who used to order higher-end pizza, might opt for Domino's or Pizza Hut, while those chains may lose customer to frozen pizza.

Now, a leading player in the space wants to give people a mix of value and gourmet that may fit the current market really well.

The economy has joined The Noid in ruining pizza.

Image source: Domino's/Shutterstock/TheStreet

Pizza giant goes upscale

DiGiorno has long-used the catchphrase, “it's not delivery, it Digiorno.”

They saw that as a positive, some customers saw it as an apology.

Sure, I could have gotten delivery, but instead I opted for this frozen pizza. It's either lazy or insulting, but not person actually needs to be told they're eating a frozen pizza.

DiGiorno has marketed itself as premium frozen, which it is, but it's all relative.

The company offered a superior product to much of what you see on grocery shelves. It's better (to most) than Elio's, Red Baron, and many of the other offered brands.

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In most cases, it was equal to say California Pizza Kitchen and other premium frozen brands. DiGiorno may also be better than some freshly-made frozen in-house pizza brands, but many Publix and Fresh Market fans might argue that.

DiGiorno was upscale in that it was higher-quality than most of its rivals.

Now, the Nestle-owned company wants to put a flag in the sand. It does not want to just say it's better.

It actually want to be better.

DiGiorno offers premium frozen pizza

Premium frozen pizza is a bit like saying, “that's the best gas station sushi I have ever had. Still, DoGiorno has made a real bid to offer something better.

The company has added a new line, Wood Fired Style Crust Pizza.

“This all-new pizza from DiGiorno features premium toppings and a perfectly crisp crust that serves up restaurant-quality taste fresh from your oven. Previously baking the crust at high temperatures to achieve a perfectly chewy and lightly charred texture, the DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Pizza elevates the at-home pizza experience offering a dough with rich flavor, airy structure and the perfect bite,” the company shared in a press release.

The U.S. pizza market is nearly $55 billion, but less than 20% is frozen pizza.

In a time where budgets are getting tighter, DiGiorno may be hitting a space in offering a mix of quality and value. The company will offer four flavors:

DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Four Cheese Pizza features a rich blend of cheeses—Romano, Asiago, Mozzarella, and Parmesan.
DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Italian Meat Trio Pizza includes a curated blend of pepperoni, salami, and Italian sausage.
DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Supreme Speciale Pizza is a vibrant celebration of flavors featuring generous layers of savory pepperoni and sausage and topped with a medley of colorful vegetables—green, yellow, & red peppers and onions.
DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Premium Pepperoni Pizza is stacked with rich, zesty pepperoni on a crispy, lightly charred crust.

All four DiGiorno Wood Fired Style Crust Pizza varieties will be available at retailers nationwide for an MSRP of $6.49 (prices may vary by store) starting in May.

Some have hailed this as a “first-in-a-decade” change.

“Frozen pizza hasn’t seen a major innovation in a decade when stuffed crust hit the market, Graves said. Before that, it was rising crust, which was developed by DiGiorno in 1995,” FoodDive reported.