We reviewed Pizza Hut’s Trends Report and discovered some interesting findings

On the heels of Pizza Today’s release of our 2025 Pizza Industry Trends Report, Pizza Hut has released its second annual Pizza Trends Report.

Some of the key findings that Pizza Hut highlighted in its release include:

• “The U.S. eats the equivalent to 240,000 Olympic sized swimming pools in pizza slices a year
• Sorry New York, the debate of how to eat a slice of pizza has been resolved, nearly half of people say the proper way is “tip first”, not folded. 44% of people even say eating pizza with a fork is a food crime
• 28% of people would give up alcohol for a year if they could have free pizza every day
• With a trend of global flavors, 37% of Americans say they’d like to try Mexican-inspired pizza or Greek-inspired pizza (21%)
• Ranch reigns supreme as most popular dipping sauce, and Kentucky is the state that dips pizza the most
• After much debate, boneless wings win out against bone-in wings as the top preference
• 59% agree pizza and wings are the ultimate pairing. Enjoy the pairing at Pizza Hut now in new Stuffed Crust Pizza & Wings Bundle for $19.99”

We scoured the report to check out key takeaways from Pizza Hut’s research. We are sharing a few tidbits that pizzeria owners might find interesting.

Dipping pizza is in!

One area we found interesting is dipping sauces. While there is much debate about Ranch’s place on pizza, it is the dipping sauce of choice. The fact that 58 percent of Pizza Hut’s respondents dip their pizza in sauces is a bit unanticipated. What are you seeing in your pizzeria? What is the ratio of pizzas sold, and dipping sauces purchased? While Ranch was king, garlic sauce, marinara, blue cheese and Buffalo also registered. Pizza Today’s home state of Kentucky dips pizza in sauce the most, followed by Idaho, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee. If you are in one of these states or others, for that matter, have killer dipping sauces to accompany your pizza. Even better, make those sauces in house.

Modern pizza toppings are hitting big.

Sure, pepperoni is the undisputed No. 1 pizza topping. The Pizza Hut report found mushroom is on trend at 57%. Mushroom has consistently ranked in the Top 5 Pizza Toppings. And we are seeing an emphasis on going fresh, preparing them in some fashion prior to topping a pizza and looking to alternatives to traditional button mushrooms. Shiitake, portabella, wild and oyster mushrooms are making their way onto pizzas.

Garlic is on trend as a pizza topping, as well. At 41%, the stat is compelling. Garlic has ranked in the Top 20 Pizza Toppings for the past few years. With this new data from Pizza Hut, it looks like garlic is gaining ground. We love roasted garlic here at Pizza Today! How do you prep garlic for pizza?

Pineapple, you’re either for it or against it. Pizza Hut’s study finds that pineapple ranked with 38% of its respondents. This clearly affirms our stance at Pizza Today that, yes, pineapple does belong on pizza.

Other toppings resonating with Pizza Hut’s respondents included anchovies (8%), pickles (8%) and cherries (2%). Pickles are one that we have noticed a decreased pickle frenzy in the overall restaurant industry, but pizza lovers are still enjoying pickles on pizza.

The more you know about pizza habits

We’ve found that consumer habits when it comes to pizza vary widely by region and even individual. We are not even going to address the number of respondents who eat pizza with a knife and fork. Ok, so Deep Dish, knife and fork all the way. Most others, pizza is made to be handheld.

But we will talk leftovers. Some 57% said they like eating cold pizza leftovers. Could it also be that they do not know how to reheat pizza to make it taste great? How many pizzerias offer reheating instructions with takeout and delivery orders? It’s a game changer when you know how to properly reheat a pizza without a commercial pizza oven.

Friday has long been pizza night in America. Saturday follows as most popular pizza day. Third is Wednesday. That one surprised the Pizza Today team. But then again, what’s better than a mid-week pizza relief?!

These are just some of the findings from Pizza Hut’s Pizza Trends Report. Have a look and let us know what you found interesting. Read Pizza Hut’s full release.