Why are pizzas so popular everywhere?

PIE CHART: A delivery platform sent out 5.84 crore pizzas in 2024
| Photo Credit:
jimkruger

Last month, I visited the US for six days. Within this brief period, I ate pizza three times. In Chicago, I feasted on Sicilian pizza for dinner. The toppings included anchovies and shrimp, and it was exquisite. The very next day, I ate a slice of the city’s famous deep-dish pizza, which was delicious. Two days later, in Rochester, Minnesota, my sister and brother-in-law took me out to their local pizza place, where I indulged on a wood-fired cauliflower crust pizza.

I could see pizza everywhere during my visit. And this is equally true of India, too — with a wide range of popular pizza brands such as Dominos, Pizza Hut and Smokin’ Joe’s. On food delivery platform Zomato, pizza featured second only to biryani last year, with more than 5.84 crore deliveries.

What has led to the overwhelming popularity of this food, which took birth way back in the 16th century in the Italian town of Naples as a food for poor people? Here are nine underlying factors:

1. Incredible taste: There is science behind this — specifically, something called the Maillard reaction. When pizza is baked, its components — the sugars in the crust, the cheese and the toppings — react chemically with amino acids, creating hundreds of lovely flavours that fire up our tastebuds. In addition, the soft dough, molten cheese and crispy crust create a beautiful contrast of textures.

2. High on convenience: Pizzas can be eaten easily virtually everywhere, particularly since they are a dry food. They can be devoured hot or cold, by hand or by fork, in a fine dining restaurant or in front of your home television.

3. Instant comfort: The high fat content of a pizza, as well as its umami flavour make it a lovely comfort food. The cheese and the meat toppings provide the fat. Tomatoes, which are used on most pizzas, are high on umami, a flavour that activates specific regions of our brain that are associated with pleasurable comfort. No wonder we feel so comfortably happy after eating pizza.

4. Reasonably affordable: Pizzas make for a fine meal, but are relatively affordable. In India, for instance, Dominos offers pizzas starting at ₹99 each, and there are several options available at price points below ₹200. This is quite reasonable, in comparison to other foods. For instance, a rava masala dosa at a good hotel in Mumbai now costs upwards of ₹150.

5. High on nutrition: Unlike many other fast foods, pizzas are quite high on nutritional content. A single slice of chicken pizza contains 15-18 grams of protein. This is not to say that pizza is the healthiest food. But it has a good balance between nutrition and taste.

6. Portion control: Because pizzas come in slices and are even measured in inches, you can control your intake of portions quite easily — though this requires some self-control, for sure. I normally eat two slices of a 14-inch pizza, and then do my best to stop. It is difficult for me to exercise similar portion control with equal ease for other foods such as biryani or paneer makhani.

7. High on customisation: With such a wide range of toppings, pizzas are amongst the most customisable foods on earth. From grilled panneer to Sicilian seafood to Chettinad chicken to banana curry, you can have the toppings of your choice. I asked Perplexity.AI this question, and it promptly told me that over 500 types of pizza toppings have been documented across the world. Such extensive customisation may be difficult to achieve with idli, pancake or poha.

8. Food to share: Friends can gather around a large pizza and share it from a single plate. Sharing is always an emotionally appealing and uplifting way to eat with people whom you know well. On the other hand, burgers or dosas are typically eaten in individual portions.

9. Party food: Over the years, pizza has become linked to social events and parties. Often, kids’ birthday parties are viewed as incomplete if pizza is not served. This mental association of pizzas with exciting parties has added to its appeal. If foods can have EQ (excitement quotient), then the EQ of pizzas would be very high!

Would you like to add a tenth factor, to round off this list? With so many fundamental drivers of consumption, it is now quite easy to see why pizzas are today amongst the most popular foods on earth.

(Harish Bhat is an avid marketer and a bestselling author. He was previously the Brand Custodian at Tata Sons)

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Published on May 4, 2025