---
title: "CNBC: Millennials are Changing the Pizza Industry"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/4239fcb6-9ee6-42a0-9cf9-2a22cb7cd569
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/cnbc-millennials-are-changing-the-pizza-industry-5662
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
published: 2016-08-30T16:11:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:13:20.308Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/a45ef0b638b238ffbb1bb56a6f2e8d6e8570160830103111.jpg
---

# CNBC: Millennials are Changing the Pizza Industry

**TL;DR:** Millennials are driving the pizza industry forward with a trend towards customized pizza experiences, with US pizza sales expected to hit $45 million this year. The build your own pizza model, inspired by Chipotle, is the fastest growing trend in the industry.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-08-30. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/cnbc-millennials-are-changing-the-pizza-industry-5662).*

## Story

Americans love their pizza—350 slices are consumed every second. And according to a recent article on CNBC.com, millennials are the consumers driving the industry forward.

Data from Pizza Industry Analysis shows that U.S. pizza sales are expected to hit close to the $45 million mark this year, up from $28.5 billion in 2015. The majority of that business comes from millennials—in fact, pizza is largely being consumed by American females. But they aren’t looking for traditional pizza restaurants. Instead, millennials want to be able to customize their pizza experience.

Brian Petruzzi, founder and CEO of 1000 Degrees Neopolitan Pizzeria, spoke with CNBC about the current trend. He said, “Customers want a lot more input into what they’re getting. They want to see that the ingredients are fresh, and they want to be able to customize and make stuff their own. A lot of it is millennial-based. They like having control.”

The fastest growing trend in the industry is the build your own pizza model that was designed after Chipotle. Fresh, high quality ingredients are also popping up on more menus, with customers taking advantage of the option to create their own recipes with a variety of toppings.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Chipotle (company)
- pizza industry (topic)
- millennials (topic)
- customization (topic)
- build your own pizza (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/cnbc-millennials-are-changing-the-pizza-industry-5662). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/4239fcb6-9ee6-42a0-9cf9-2a22cb7cd569).