People love to say that even the worst pizza is still pizza. Technically, that’s true because we have no real standard for what counts as a pizza.
You can call your giant pile of lasagna on a crust Chicago-style pizza, and nothing prevents the people at Stouffer’s from calling their French bread monstrosity pizza.
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It’s a very loose term whose boundaries are marked by the contents of the frozen pizza aisle. This appears to be one of the most cutthroat spaces in the grocery store, as there are tons of competitors.
You have chains like California Pizza Kitchen bringing a version of their pizza to the grocery store, and you also have players like DiGiorno that have built a reputation in the space.
Frozen pizza is a very difficult market to crack, because even some of the lesser players like Red Baron and Elio’s have been around for decades.
Clearly, some frozen pizza gets purchased due to nostalgia and not because it’s actually good. And, since most frozen pizza is eaten by kids, the standards are low.
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Breaking into the space, however, is incredibly challenging. Not only are there dozens of brands fighting for space in the freezer, every grocery chain has its own house brand.
Launching a new frozen pizza requires a gimmick. Two major national brands are taking very different approaches to leveraging their notoriety to become frozen pizza players.
Image source: Pixabay
Legendary sauce brand adds a pizza line
Ragu has been around since 1937, and the iconic brand remains popular today. It’s a go-to brand for basic sauce needs, battling with Prego for the top position in the “I’m making pasta for a big group and want it to be fine” space.
Now, the company known as one of the core, basic sauce brands nobody has any real feelings about, has launched its own line of frozen pizza. The company partnered with U.S. frozen-pizza maker Palermo Villa, Inc. and has an overly flowery description of its new frozen pizza brand extension.
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“This innovative partnership is a natural extension of the Ragu brand’s current sauce lineup that delivers great tasting, convenient, family-favorite foods at an affordable price, enhancing the Ragu brand’s commitment to its genuine Italian heritage and creating mouth-watering foods that the whole family enjoys,” it shared.
Ragu has remained affordable at a time when some higher-end sauce brands have climbed over the $10-per-jar price point.
The new Ragu Frozen Pizzas will be available at select retailers, with a suggested retail price of anywhere from $4.99 – 6.99, depending on location and market. The line includes:
• Ragu Cheese Pizza: Ragu-inspired sauce, vine-ripened tomatoes, and traditional spices on an airy pizzeria-style crust, topped with rich whole-milk mozzarella, provolone, and white-cheddar cheeses.
• Ragu Combination Pizza: A pillowy pizzeria-style crust topped with Ragu-inspired sauce, vine-ripened tomatoes, and traditional spices, sumptuous whole-milk mozzarella, Italian sausage, and sliced pepperoni.
• Ragu Pepperoni Pizza: Ragu-inspired sauce, vine-ripened tomatoes, and traditional spices on a delicious pizzeria-style crust, topped with whole-milk mozzarella and savory sliced pepperoni.
• Ragu Supreme Pizza: A pizzeria-style crust topped with Ragu-inspired sauce, vine-ripened tomatoes, and traditional spices, whole-milk mozzarella, Italian sausage, sliced pepperoni, plus a colorful array of green and red peppers, black olives, and onions.
Popular snack chip adds pizza line
Taco Bell has taught us that snack chips are more versatile than we may have been led to believe. And while Doritos has capitalized on that the most, the fine folks at Cheez-it have done their part as well.
Like Ragu, Cheez-It has also partnered with Palermo Villa. Its partnership has led to Cheez-It Frozen Pizza, a 12-inch, ultra-thin, crispy Original Cheez-It flavored crust made with 100% real cheese, “paired with your favorite pizza toppings to remind you of the irresistible, cheesy flavor you love.”
Cheez-It is owned by Kellanova, which used its Beanstalk exclusive global food and beverage licensing agency to create the partnership.
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Cheez-It Frozen Pizza is available now for a suggested retail price of $6.99 – $9.99 and can be found at select retailers nationwide, including Kroger, Ahold, HEB, Winn-Dixie, Wegman’s, and Food City. Product rollout begins in May and will widely expand by August.
The Cheez-It pizza lineup includes:
- Italian Four Cheese: A delightful blend of whole-milk mozzarella, yellow cheddar, parmesan, and Romano cheeses with marinara sauce atop an ultra-thin and crispy Original Cheez-It flavored crust.
- Pepperoni: Featuring whole-milk mozzarella, yellow cheddar, pepperoni, and marinara sauce atop an ultra-thin and crispy Original Cheez-It flavored crust, this flavor is sure to satisfy classic pizza cravings.
- Cheddar Jack Supreme: A hearty combination of pepperoni, Italian sausage, green and red peppers, black olives, onions, yellow cheddar, Monterey Jack, and marinara atop an ultra-thin and crispy Original Cheez-It flavored crust.
“This starts with the crust, which is like a large Cheez-It flavored cracker – crispy, cheesy, and square-shaped. It’s then topped with customer-favorite toppings that perfectly complement the crust,” said Palermo’s Chief Innovation Officer Nick Fallucca.
It’s harder to know if either of these pizza lines will make people skip ordering from Domino’s, Pizza Hut, or other chains, but they do offer a new, convenient emergency meal option.
