Pizza more popular in Poland than in Italy!

Rome: New figures show that Poles order pizza more often than Italians with the popularity of the Italian staple in Poland over double what it is in its home country.

Data from Makro, an international cash-and-carry chain, supported by research from PizzaPortal.pl, an online food delivery service, put the popularity of pizza in Poland at 54.9 percent while in Italy it was just 25 percent.

The figure comes as evidence of the thriving popularity of pizza, as both a food to eat out and order in.

Pizza is ordered 61 percent of the time by PizzaPortal clients with burgers in second place at 22 percent. The company’s research shows that 3 percent of people order something every day while 27 percent order something at least once a week.

“With the unflagging popularity of pizza, new consumer needs are emerging, with the desire to try new flavours,” says Dorota Cacek.

“In Sweden and Italy, as in Poland, pizza is the most frequently chosen dish, while in other European countries burgers are often in the lead, followed by Asian and local dishes,” said Piotr Kruszyński, president of PizzaPortal.pl.

The Opolskie region in south-west Poland loves pizza the most with 89 percent of orders being pizza. The most ordered pizza in Poland is the capricciosa, while the favourite toppings in Poland are ham, salami, mushrooms, onions and bacon. Garlic dipping sauce is the favourite choice to accompany a pizza is with 68 percent choosing this and tomato sauce in second place with 14 percent.

“In Sweden and Italy, as in Poland, pizza is the most frequently chosen dish, while in other European countries burgers are often in the lead,” said Piotr Kruszyński.

The number of Pizza Hut restaurants in Poland has grown from 60 to 150 in the last three years and with the rise of online ordering apps and sites such as PizzaPortal, Pszyne and Uber Eats the demand for fast food is expected to continue to grow. PizzaPortal forecast that the online and delivery market will be worth close to PLN 12 billion by 2025, double the value of the market in 2018.

“With the unflagging popularity of pizza, new consumer needs are emerging, with the desire to try new flavours,” said Dorota Cacek, vice president of the management board of the Sfinks Polska restaurant chain.

“There remains flagship items such as margherita or capricciosa but now we also offer a pizza with white sauce, as well as wholemeal and light versions of the base, which help consumers who are more health conscious,” she added.