It’s not uncommon to see horse-drawn carriages clomping down the streets in Chicago’s famed Gold Coast neighborhood. Like remnants from another era, the horses and their costumed drivers trot alongside sports cars and city buses while their reflections appear in the windows of shiny, high-rise buildings.
Similarly, in Woodridge, Ill., 30 miles southwest of Chicago, another juxtaposition of old world elements and new world technology creates a different type of local attraction — Chicago’s No. 1 selling frozen pizza.
You’re familiar with the saying, “When life gives you lemons … make lemonade.” But what about, “When the economy gives you rising food costs … make … pizza?”
OK, so it doesn’t have the same ring to it, but this could be the motto for executives at Kraft Pizza Co.’s Glenview, Ill., headquarters. With consumers clinging to their dollars in fear of ever-rising food costs, why would a frozen food processor exhibit such optimism?
A large family looking for an affordable and filling meal. A culinary sophisticate with a preference for all-natural foods.A working professional who lives (and eats) alone. These consumers have at least one thing in common. Like the majority of Americans, they have a taste for pizza and if they head to their local grocery store’s freezercase, they likely will find a number of frozen pizza options.
It comes to life in the sepia-toned photographs of friends and family hanging on the building’s walls and in the “nonno” (granddad in Italian) nameplate sitting on CEO and President Joe Perrino’s desk. It’s also found in the warm and casual way visitors are greeted by the Perrino family, many of whom are company executives.
“It” is the family pride and tradition that are as much a part of Home Run Inn Pizza Inc., Woodridge, Ill., as the all-natural ingredients the 60-year-old company uses to make its award-winning frozen pizzas.
It’s hot and satisfying. It’s convenient and portable. In one magnificent meal it includes ingredients from all the major food groups. It’s even microwavable. From a consumer perspective, there are few frozen foods more popular and beloved than the pizza.
For all retail outlets excluding Wal-Mart, the $2.9 billion frozen pizza category rang up dollar and unit sales increases of 5.3 percent and 1.7 percent respectively, during the 52-week period ending Dec. 30, 2007, according to Information Resources Inc., Chicago.
