​Pizza proof of intent

With National Pizza Day falling this Sunday (9 February) Jisp Intelligence, the data and insights division of retail technology firm Jisp, surveyed* the UK’s pizza eating public to find out which slice topped their taste charts.

While many might expect the Pepperoni or Margherita to reign supreme, the overall winner was actually BBQ Chicken, with 33 per cent of respondents identifying this topping as their favourite. 31 per cent preferred Pepperoni and 16 per cent Mushroom. The always controversial Ham & Pineapple was favoured by only eight per cent of surveyed shoppers.

So unpopular is the much-maligned Ham & Pineapple, that the nation’s public find Brussell Sprouts a less controversial pizza topping than having pineapple on their slice. When asked, 63 per cent of those surveyed thought pineapple on a pizza was a real bone of contention, while only nine per cent felt the humble sprout worthy of critical debate.

When it came to liquid accompaniments to a perfect pizza, Cola came out as the top tipple with 64 per cent of the votes, while a cold beer was the choice of 20 per cent of those asked. A glass of wine climbed in popularity the older the vintage with 15 per cent of over 55’s selecting this option, but worryingly for wine makers it was completely absent from the 18-24 age group.

The top occasion for grabbing a pizza was for a big night in, movie night (33 per cent) while only six per cent would buy for a party or celebration – surprising considering the pizzas prevalence on the buffet table of many parties past.

Finally, with a nod to the local trader and acknowledgement that big isn’t always best, it was the local independent pizza provider who fired up peoples’ appetites, with 43 per cent of respondents saying they they’d rather keep their custom truly local. International chain Dominos took second place with 27 per cent selecting it as their pizza supplier of choice, with Pizza Hut and Papa John’s taking the next two spots with 19 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

*Results from responses of 200 UK surveyed shoppers – Jisp Intelligence 2025.