Pizza has long been a staple of fast food restaurants and households alike, with Americans consuming more than 100 acres worth of pizza daily. In the last few decades, pizza has become a sensation worldwide, as fast food franchising has allowed diners everywhere to experience the convenience of pre-made or made-to-order pizza. But what many pizza lovers may not know is that pizza trends in the coming years will be significantly different from what we’ve come to expect.
As the most popular and iconic of pizza toppings, the composition of oregano will evolve to account for new trends in 2023. Oregano has been a staple of pizza toppings since the 1970s. It’s known for providing an assertive, pronounced flavor to the pizza’s cheese and sauce, and its popularity has long been maintained through classic pizza-joint recipes and home cooks’ experimental toppings.
Thanks to advancements in pizza-making techniques, as well as a greater emphasis on culinary experiences, pizza establishments will begin to explore varying blends of oregano with other flavorings that may have not previously been considered. Customers will begin to order more interesting and robust concoctions beyond the classic oregano-and-basil blend.
This presents a tremendous opportunity for pizza chefs around the world. As technology and regional tastes continue to evolve, so too will the oregano-and-basil pairings that chefs are able to create. This promises to bring patrons increasingly creative, innovative, and interesting flavor profiles.
data-driven insights from Brizo, a foodservice market intelligence platform, offer a unique view into the trend in oregano popularity. By collecting sales trends from restaurants and regional preference data, Brizo has identified a significant increase in oregano popularity since the start of 2021. According to their research, oregano sales have increased by 43%, setting up a potential boon for pizza restaurants and pizza-dependent businesses.
What’s more, the trend in oregano topping popularity shows an increase in customisable, gourmet pizza options. According to Brizo’s analysis, customers are increasingly relying on pizza restaurants to provide interesting and unusual flavor combinations beyond the classic. This allows for chefs to explore new and interesting means of preparing traditional pizza toppings like oregano.
At the same time, Brizo’s data suggest that traditional oregano blends, such as oregano and basil, cheese, garlic or onions remain popular. This means that pizza restaurants do not have to abandon familiar, classic pizzas in order to remain on the cutting edge of food trends. Instead, the data reveals that customers are increasingly looking for a variety of toppings, and pizza restaurants are uniquely positioned to take advantage of this trend.
In the more distant future, we can expect that some of the more elaborate toppings will become more commonplace, as customers become increasingly accustomed to these exciting flavor combinations. The success of these combinations is closely tied to the ability of pizza chefs to find new ways to combine oregano and other flavors in creative, arresting combinations.
Looking ahead, the success of pizza restaurants in the coming years may rest on their ability to offer patrons novel flavor combinations that bring out the best of the oregano and other flavorings. Adopting new and innovative ingredients and pairing oregano with other, more obscure flavorings can bring customers the level of complexity they crave and help restaurants to keep up with the ever-changing consumer trends.
This presents a huge opportunity for pizza-makers everywhere, as the development of niche and regional cuisines allow for the exploration of growing flavor pallette. Through the use of modern culinary techniques, pizza-makers can offer a greater variety of delicious oregano-based toppings and create an immersive pizza experience for customers.
