Eye of the Tiger.

"Rising up, back on the street" ... We've all heard the 1980's rock band Survivor poignantly tear through that song as Rocky runs through the streets of Philadelphia, a sea of children at his heals. Taken out of context, the lyrics seem fitting for the

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More now than ever, those companies fighting to be the last one standing atop the skyrocketing $2.4 billion frozen category are focusing on quality, and the high-end items are getting gobbled up. It's also the summer of the sequel, and pizza fans are coming back to sample new offerings, which mimic a variety of flavors that were once found only in the passenger seat of pizza delivery vehicles.

The result has been an explosion of innovative varieties, as companies look to win over pallets and keep consumers running on their heals.

"We're not catering to the kids when it comes to our pizza," says Michael Geminari, a ConAgra spokesman. ConAgra recently acquired Canada-based Del Maestro, and now features what Geminari claims is the "only authentic wood-fired pizza in North America." That's because the Del Maestro line is completely cooked in a wood-fired oven. Although Geminari admits that the deluxe pizza is still the best seller, ConAgra has added six adult-oriented toppings to the arsenal, such three cheese with goat cheese and vegetarian with artichokes. The line comes in single 11-in. packs or with two 7-in. in a box.

Perhaps no company has capitalized the gourmet-craving trend like Freschetta, the superpremium frozen pizza brand of Tony's Pizza Service, a unit of Schwan's Sales Enterprises Inc.

Boasting a year that saw brand sales grow faster than any of the other top sellers, Freschetta is taking product development and marketing to another level--or at least a new direction. The Freschetta Culinary Council, a collection of five respected chefs from around the nation, was hired to enhance current pizza offerings, develop new products, and of course, lend their credibility to the promotional campaign, which uses the tag line, "Fresh Thinking, Fresh Baking, Freschetta." The first pizzas with the "council's touch" hit retail freezers in March.

"This is the first milepost of a remarkable journey that Freschetta has taken over the past 15 months," says Tom Bierbaum, national brand group manager. "We started with a product that was already setting the standard for quality in the frozen pizza industry and charged these five chefs with raising the bar even higher."

Throughout the summer, other creations will be introduced into the market.

Without doubt, a good gourmet pizza sparks interest in consumers, and rising crusts have created rising sales.

"The growth still is centering around the rising segment and the higher-ring items," says Gene Welka, president of Frozen Specialties Inc., "but unit sales and dollar sales both are moving up, which indicates that there's stability throughout the whole category."

Kraft Foods, whose DiGiorno brand popularized the rising crust, remains the strongest link in the frozen pizza segment.

Targeting the rising popularity of "south of the border" flavors, Tombstone added four 12-in. Mexican Style Pizzas. Its Supreme Taco, Cheese Quesadilla, Chicken Fajita and Nacho Grande varieties feature a tortilla crust.

Straying from new product development, DiGiorno has stuck to its guns this year keeping the popular brands such as its variety of half-and-half toppings.

Instead, Kraft has opted to launch its largest promotion to date. Playing off of its famous tag line, "It's not delivery, it's DiGiorno," the "Be A Delivery Guy Game" gives consumers the chance to win a one year, $100,000 salary for doing nothing.

Aside from the fat paycheck, the winning pseudo-delivery guy will receive a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser, $1,500 for a cell phone and cellular service, a customized DiGiorno Delivery Guy uniform, and a year's supply of DiGiorno pizza.

Competition, particularly in the gourmet segment, has forced companies to walk the fine line between quality and cost. Consider the fact that while sales increased by 6.2% last year, unit sales increased by 6.8%. That's in contrast to a 9% dollar jump in 1999 while unit sales rose only 3%.

Retailers have taken note of the consumers' burgeoning affinity for the frozen pizza, and are continuing to increase not only freezer space, but also promotional expenditures. In fact Gene Welka, president of Frozen Specialties Inc., estimates that retailers now include pizza in their advertisements over 85% of the time. But considering the increasing number of companies looking to be the ultimate survivor of the category, shelf space is still tighter than the last lifeboat on the Titanic.

"We are around 9% of the total frozen food dollar ring, and we are still struggling in the 7 to 7.5% range of space," Welka says. "It has gotten better though....The promotion frequency is probably the No. 1 reason for frozen pizza sales growth, after the quality of the product and the broad selection."

Among the survival stories in the frozen pizza segment, private label has been one of the most inspirational. No longer are store brand suppliers like Frozen Specialties Inc. waiting to see what the national brands are doing, but they're beginning to lead the way.

"The challenge for companies that are predominantly positioned as store brand suppliers is to think outside the box," Welka says. "We are now saying, 'Let's step up to the plate, partner with our retailer, and in partnership with the retailer, co-develop concepts, products and trademarks together before the national brand.' That's where I think the industry is going to be moving, and moving quickly."

Being a fast-growth category, many new players now want to get in on the game.

Heinz is tossing its hat into the ring, with the launch of Smart Ones Bistro Selections Pizzas. Geared toward the fairer sex, the single-serve, gourmet pizzas will come in five varieties--Veggie Ultimate, Spicy Sausage, BBQ Style Chicken, Four Cheese and Pepperoni--and are scheduled to hit freezer cases by summer's end.

"Consumer research indicates a demand for greater flavor variety," says Scott Hart, general manager of marketing. "Smart Ones pizzas are a winning combination--quality products with better flavor that do not sacrifice taste for nutrition."

Over in the deli, refrigerated pizzas saw their flame flicker for the second year in a row. Sales took a second ten-count like a boxer in the ring, falling 7.4% compared with a 8.6% dip in 1999.

Hoping to spark the torch of the struggling refrigerated pizza segment, Monterey Pasta Co. has entered into the game. Earlier this year, the company introduced a line of Fresh Stuffed Pizzas in five decidedly upscale offerings: Italian Sausage and Pepperoni with Black Olives; Green Peppers and Onions; Six Italian Cheeses in Tomato Sauce with Herbs; Pepperoni with Mozzarella Cheese in Tomato Sauce with Herbs; and Spicy Chicken and Sun Dried Tomato with Basil and Garlic.

"We are ready to challenge the upscale, gourmet frozen pizza market with restaurant-quality fresh, refrigerated stuffed pizza featuring innovative, uniquely-appealing flavors and toppings," says Lance Hewitt, president and CEO. "Our research shows that the few existing offerings among refrigerated pizzas leave a lot to be desired in terms of freshness, flavor and quality. Some refrigerated pizzas aren't really fresh, but frozen and thawed, with unappetizing crusts and very limited 'sell by' timeframes. We feel the refrigerated pizza category can be expanded by a company that combines a proven ability to create exciting flavors with solid expertise in producing fresh, extended-shelf life refrigerated foods."

The biggest surge in this category came from Stefano Foods, which has just released single-serve Rip-n-Dip and Stuffed Pizza in six varieties. The Mini Rip-N-Dip comes in Four-Cheese, Pepperoni & Cheese and Cordon Bleu. Each comes with its own dipping sauce -- marinara for the Cheese and Pepperoni, Ranch Dipping Sauce with the Cordon Bleu. The Mini Stuffed Pizza is available in Spinach, Deluxe, and Cordon Bleu. Those are flavors worth fighting for.

FROZEN PIZZA - TOP 10
(Total food, drug and mass merchandiser
outlets for the year ending Dec. 31,
2000)
                             Dollar Sales     %     Dollar
Rank  Brand                  (in millions)  Change   Share
1.    DiGiorno                  $344.9       +7.7     14.1
2.    Tombstone                 $335.3       +7.3     13.8
3.    Red Baron                 $201.7       +9.2      8.3
4.    Freschetta                $179.8      +10.9      7.4
5.    Tony's                    $179.0       +3.8      7.3
6.    Totino's Party Pizza      $178.7       +8.5      7.3
7.    Private Label             $131.1       +9.8      5.4
8.    Stouffer's                 $97.7      +13.4      4.0
9.    Jack's Original            $90.1      +19.4      3.7
10.   Celeste Pizza For One      $70.4       -0.4      2.9
      Total *                   $2,400       +6.6    100.0
         Volume        %
Rank  (in millions)  change
1.        116.4       +8.9
2.        113.0       +8.1
3.         71.0      +10.2
4.         54.0       +9.7
5.         64.4       +5.7
6.         90.0       +9.0
7.         64.0       +5.3
8.         25.6      +11.6
9.         35.1      +20.9
10.        19.0       -2.1
          874.0       +6.6
Source: Information Resources Inc.
(*) Included brands not shown
REFRIGERATED PIZZA/PIZZA KITS - TOP 10
(Total food, drug and mass merchandiser
outlets for the year ending Dec. 31,
2000)
                       Dollar Sales     %     Dollar     Volume
Rank  Brand            (in millions)  Change   Share  (in millions)
1.    Mama Rosa            $74.1        -3.8    60.9      38.4
2.    Private Label        $16.6       -16.0    13.6       5.9
3.    Pizzeria Uno          $3.9        -3.5     3.2       1.1
4.    Stefano's             $3.9      +184.1     3.2       0.8
5.    Reno's                $3.4        -2.7     2.8       1.8
6.    Nardones              $3.3       +25.4     2.7       1.8
7.    Our Old Italian       $2.9       -14.2     2.4       1.5
8.    Reser's               $1.8       +16.8     1.5       1.1
9.    Piazza                $1.5      +310.5     1.2       0.5
10.   Mrs. Stratton         $1.2        +9.2     1.0       0.3
      Total *             $121.6        -7.4   100.0      57.1
        %
Rank  change
1.      -6.1
2.     -15.3
3.      -2.7
4.    +189.1
5.      -4.3
6.     +33.0
7.     -12.1
8.     +15.8
9.    +313.4
10.    +12.2
        -8.7
Source: Information Resources Inc.
(*)Included brands not shown