International Pizza Expo: Fullfilled Favorites & Trends Report
My love affair with pizza dates back as far as I can remember. Pizza has always been there, at major events where my grandmother would take us grandkids to Chuck E. Cheese, or having pizza parties at school and being bummed to miss out on them whenever a kid would get the class in trouble, even watching Ninja Turtles on Sunday mornings always made me think of pizza, their favorite food. The more I think of it, the more memories I find indulging in delicious slice after slice.
Now for a brief history lesson so you can impress your friends the next time you have a slice- As far as we know, the word pizza was first documented in 997 AD, however many cultures had flatbreads with toppings but they weren’t quite pizza. Pizza originated in Naples, Italy and it’s hard to believe but it took around 940 years after before pizza become widely known around the globe. According to Wikipedia, “Before the 1940s, pizza consumption in the US was limited mostly to Italian immigrants and their descendants. Following World War II, veterans returning from the Italian Campaign, who were introduced to Italy’s native cuisine proved a ready market for pizza in particular.”
In this article I am going to be outlining the top trends we saw within the pizza expo this year and also highlight the Fullfilled Favorite’s from the show. So let’s get to it!
Top Trends of the Pizza Expo-
Brand new plant-based pepperoni from Beyond Meat looks and tastes like the real thing.
PLANT-BASED INGREDIENTS: Plant-based menu growth is up +2,770.3% over the past 4 years according to Datassential in 2022. NIH is now estimating 30-50 million Americans are lactose intolerant but many of them would love to be able to eat pizza worry-free. Fortunately for them the show was filled with plant-based cheeses, pepperoni and pizza crust. When I attended last year this trend was not nearly as evident, possibly because the show was scaled back due to covid. This is more than a trend, this is a way of life that is going to be with us going forward. There are many reasons for the surge of plant-based options including the environment and health but also because the taste has seen dramatic improvements over the last few years. The plant-based options ranged from flavorless and gummy textures to options that were so convincing we had to double check to make sure it wasn't meat or cheese that we were tasting. I will mention the two best plant based options later in the post so that you can try them in the future at home.
DESSERT PIZZAS: This trend has been EVERYWHERE! They have been around for a while now with major chains having their cookie pies and cinnamon bread but we were surprised by the sheer amount of booths dedicated to treats.
We spotted many pizzas with sweet cream cheeses, Nutella pizzas, cookie pizzas, and other caramels, chocolates and sauces.
LOW CARB / KETO: There were more low carb and Keto friendly options than we have seen previously at these types of expos. There were Keto crusts and bagels. It’s clear that people are trying to enjoy pizza without the guilt. As an honorable mention I want to share a very good low carb and gluten free bagel we tried at the show by Carbonaut (Favorite flavor was lemon blueberry).
Fullfilled Favorites-
BEYOND MEAT PEPPERONI
We had the pleasure of being one of the first groups to try the all new Beyond Meat pepperoni and it was more than we could have wished for. It had the perfect pepperoni texture and a taste that matched and even rivaled other pepperoni pizzas I have had before. This product is a game changer and is set to hit stores later this year.
REGA USA BEST SAUCE AND AUTHENTIC PIZZA EXPERIENCE
The team at Rega USA was friendly and had people interacting with them and around them. It really created a great environment complete with some interesting olive oil bottles and guys jovially tossing and creating pizzas.
Rega had an impressive product with their pizza and sauce, which was a rich tomato that was savory and had just the right amount of presence. They were also serving high end samples even one with the latest pieces of black truffle I have ever seen on any Italian dish let alone a pizza! It was a party!
MIYOKO’S LIQUID VEGAN PIZZA MOZZARELLA
I don’t know about you but I have found very challenging to find a cheese substitute when going dairy free. I tasted many cheeses at the expo, real and plant based. This is the best vegan cheese I have ever tasted and not only that but it competes with some of the finest dairy cheeses I have consumed. It was fantastic and is also a very cool product. You simply squirt the product where you want it and then cook. It looks, tastes and stretches like cheese. I am so excited to order it and start cooking with it at home.
Some fun pizza facts:
Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day.
36% of all pizza orders want their pizza topped with pepperoni.
In the United States 350 slices of pizza are consumed every second.
94% of Americans eat pizza regularly.
Over 5 billion pizzas are sold worldwide each year.
It was a delight to attend the pizza expo again this year and I am already looking forward to doing it again next year.
