The True Cost of Delivered Pizza? The Fresh vs Frozen Debate Continues

In these tough economic times, a leading frozen-pizza maker is urging consumers to study the numbers.

Its pizzas are far cheaper than equivalent delivery pizzas, says Kraft Foods’ DiGiorno. The delivery companies counter that the comparison is, to mix food metaphors, one of apples to oranges.

In television ads that started airing in August, DiGiorno says that delivery pizzas cost an average of $16.13, and then displays an equation: Delivery Pizza - Delivery = $6.69, or the average cost of a DiGiorno pie. (Solving for x, that means delivery costs $9.44.)

A Kraft Foods spokeswoman explained that the numbers are based on July prices for a medium supreme pizza, plus delivery, from Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s, in 10 major markets. These prices excluded promotions, as did the DiGiorno price, which was from the same markets.

Pizza Hut didn’t respond to a request for comment. Spokesmen for Domino’s and Papa John’s said the calculation ignored several important distinctions between the pizzas, including that, as easy as a frozen pizza is, a delivery pizza is far easier.

“Yes, our medium deluxe pizzas do cost more, because we custom-make our pizzas to your specifications, bake them for you and deliver them hot to your door,” Domino’s spokesman Tim McIntyre told me. “Why would you pay the same amount for something that’s pre-made, frozen and that you have to bake yourself?”

Added Chris Sternberg, of Papa John’s, in an email, “With delivered pizza, the consumer invests virtually no time in the transaction: no preheating the oven, watching it, cutting it, etc. The ingredients are fresh, the service is to the doorstep, the cleanup is minimal, etc.” Sternberg also argued that the DiGiorno math should have taken into account several additional costs, such as for gas to drive to the store for a frozen pizza, and the cost of cooking the pizza at home.

Kraft spokeswoman Mary Anne McAndrew said that consumers rarely make a special trip to buy a frozen pizza, instead incorporating it into shopping trips. And she pointed out that the cost of cooking a pizza for less than 20 minutes should cost no more than a few cents of energy, passing along this Web site as an example.

“Even if you add a few cents to cover the cost of a round trip to the store and energy for cooking, the premise of our DiGiornonomics campaign remains valid: The cost of a carry-out or delivery pizza remains approximately twice that of a DiGiorno pizza,” McAndrew said

With thanks to The WSJ



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