Milling & Baking News - November 1, 2005 - 27

N
E W S F E ATGRAIN-BASED
URE
FROZEN

FOODS

product

perspective

Leading frozen pizza vendors

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Dollar sales
Kraft Foods Inc. ....................................$865,188,000
Tony's ...................................................$692,885,500
General Mills ........................................$207,766,700
Nestle USA Inc. ....................................$185,810,100
Kraft/Jack's ..........................................$148,080,500
Pinnacle Foods Group ............................ $66,642,290
McCain Ellio's Foods Inc. ........................ $34,594,260
Home Run Inn ........................................ $32,257,480
Bud's Pizza ............................................. $28,310,350
Private label .........................................$185,812,000

% change
from year ago
.............. 5.5%
............. -6.7%
............. -5.9%
............ 15.7%
............. -6.5%
............. -0.8%
.............. 6.2%
............ 16.4%
.............. 6.6%
.............. 5.2%

Data for 52 weeks ended Sept. 4, 2005
Total U.S. - Supermarkets, Drugstores and Mass Merchandisers excluding Wal-Mart

their most popular thin crust varieties in a frozen pizza," said Sean
Marks, category business director for Kraft Pizza Co. "This new line
allows consumers to enjoy the restaurant experience at home and
will satisfy the desire for bold new flavors and crust options in the
frozen pizza aisle."
The varieties included:
*White pizza topped with spinach in garlic olive oil and shredded
and fresh mozzarella, Fontina, Romano and Parmesan cheeses;
*Margherita with a blend of chopped tomatoes, olive oil,
basil and a mix of shredded and fresh mozzarella and Parmesan
cheeses; and
*Sicilian recipe with sweet Italian sausage, Capcicola ham, julienne salami, a light layer of spicy marinara sauce, basil and a mix of
mozzarella, Fontina and Parmesan cheeses.
Kraft pointed to the success of the California Pizza Kitchen
brand when it reported in October that new products are on
track to exceed $1.5 billion in gross revenues in 2005. Other California Pizza Kitchen brand varieties include BBQ Chicken, Thai
Chicken, Jamaica
Jerk Chicken, Sausage
Pepperoni
and Mushroom,
Five Cheese and
Tomato, Portobello
Mixed

Data for 52 weeks ended Sept. 10, 2005
Total U.S. - Food, Drug, Mass Merchandiser stores combined excluding Wal-Mart
Source: ACNielsen

Mushroom and Garlic Chicken.
Frozen pizza ranked as one of 20 growth platforms targeted by
Kraft, Roger K. Deromedi, chief executive officer of Kraft Foods
Inc., said in February when he spoke at the Consumer Analyst
Group of New York conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. The pizza platform offers Kraft a chance to develop a range of items, especially
since frozen pizza accounts for only 10% of the $36 billion pizza
business, Mr. Deromedi said.
Retail consumers may associate Kraft's California Pizza Kitchen
brand with 180 California Pizza Kitchen restaurants in 27 states
and five foreign countries. Based in Los Angeles, California Pizza
Kitchen partnered with Kraft in 1999.
Sales for California Pizza Kitchen brand frozen pizzas rose 0.3% to
$67,830,640 for the 52 weeks ended Sept. 4. Kraft's DiGiorno frozen
pizza was the top-selling brand, rising 0.1% in sales to $514,172,300.
Kraft's Tombstone brand was in second place at $270,169,100.
The Red Baron brand saw similar sales to the previous 52
weeks and came in third at $255,672,800. Schwan Food Co.,
owners of the Red Baron brand, recently introduced Red
Baron Thin Crust Pizza. Darci Eckermann, director of marketing services for Schwan's Consumer
Brands North America, said she has seen a growing
demand for thin crust pizza and that frozen thin crust
pizza is an underdeveloped market when compared to
restaurant pizza.
While Schwan markets the Red Baron line to the whole
family, the Tony's line of products is aimed more at children.
One frozen pizza vendor lived up to its name. Home Run
Inn Pizza, Woodridge, Ill., saw sales jump 16% to $32,257,480
for the 52 weeks ended Sept. 4. The company draws its name
from an incident in 1922 when a baseball shattered the front
window of a tavern in Chicago.
The family business introduced frozen pizza to the Chicago area in the late 1950s and then built its first manufacturing
facility in 1987. Today, Home Run Inn Pizza products may
be found at retail outlets in 14 states while five full-service

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Milling & Baking News - November 1, 2005

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