Who hasn’t had a frozen pizza?
I dare say everyone has gone to the freezer and pulled out a pizza, a quick meal that doesn’t cost much and fills you up. And there are so many different brands out there, everyone has a chance of finding something they like, or at least tolerate. Well that is what we are going to hopefully find today, a Quest worthy frozen za!
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Help us sustain our podcast and keep us trying foods like these!
Which Jell-O flavors are we trying today?
Di Giorno
Tombstone
Totinos
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Who is on this seasonal quest?
Alan, Bachelors of Bean.
Nate, wait for it.
Matt, man overboard!
Amy, over sauced.
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The History of Frozen Pizza
The simple act of turning on the oven, grabbing a frozen pizza out of the freezer, and baking it until the cheese melts, the toppings are hot, and the crust has a nice crunch, is actually something that has not been around very long. Sure, pizza made it’s way to the United States in the early 1900s thanks to Italian immigrants, but there wasn’t even the ability to preserve a pizza until freezers were made and home freezers became a regular thing, which wasn’t until the 40s and 50s.
But with the popularity of pizza taking off after World War II, pizza restaurant owners in the U.S. started offering take-and-bake pizzas, and soon after, frozen pizzas were common in the grocery store. In the 50s, frozen pizza started taking off, with many regional companies raking in the dough. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that a brand rose to national fame. Rose and Jim Totino began mass-producing frozen pizzas in St. Louis Park, Minnesota in 1962 and by the 1970s, Totino’s became the country’s top-selling frozen pizza, with sales reaching $50 million by 1974.
Totino’s was not a the only company reaching great pizza heights, however. In the 1960’s, Mama Celeste came onto the scene. Also, in 1966, the Simek brothers went from selling pizza in their bar, called The Tombstone Tap, to selling their frozen pizzas to other taverns. And by 1984, Tombstone Pizza was one of the top frozen pizza distributors.
Who rolls on the scene next? Schwan’s of course, with the purchase of Kansas-based pizza manufacturer Tony’s. And in 1976, Schwan’s expanded their pizza business further by launching Red Baron, which is now one of the country’s leading pizza brands.
By the 1980s, the market was worth $1 billion
Today the top frozen pizza brands in the U.S. are…
Di Giorno - $319.28 million in annual sales
Red Baron - $255.73 million in annual sales
Totino’s Party Pizza - 104.22 million in annual sales
Jack’s - 91.48 million in annual sales
Tombstone - 57.43 million in annual sales
The Results
**SPOILER ALERT!**
Listen to the episode first if you do not want the results revealed to you yet!
4th Place: Di Giorno’s
Alan -3
Amy -3
Nate -4
3rd Place: Tombstone
Alan -4
Amy -5
Nate -6
2nd Place: TMNT
Alan -6
Amy -6
Nate -7
1st Place: Totino’s
Alan - 8
Amy -6
Nate -7
There you have it. Totino’s Pizza receives the Quest for the Best seal of approval.
Thank you all for joining us on this episode of Quest for the Best. Let us know what you thought. Which is your favorite frozen pizza? We would love to hear your rating!
Also, do you have any foods you would love to get the coveted seal of approval? Let us know in the comments what you want to hear next.
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Show Notes:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/02/the-history-of-frozen-pizza-from-totinos-to-digiorno.html
https://www.statista.com/statistics/915572/leading-frozen-pizza-brands-us-dollar-sales/
Frozen Pizza!