KANSAS CITY — With the new year, it’s not only the height of the football season, but also the peak time for pizza. Certainly, 2023 has been another banner year for this category.

The flurry of new product activity, coupled with strategic discounting, is fueling sales of frozen pizza, which rose around 10% and are approaching $6.9 billion annually, according to Circana data. Deli pizzas jumped more than 15% and topped $2 billion in sales. In response to this category’s continued dynamic growth, several key pizza manufacturers have announced major expansions of their facilities and even new plants to provide much-needed capacity and reduce distribution costs.

In 2023, Milwaukee-based Palermo Villa Inc. announced it is expanding production in a new location in Jefferson, Wis., which could produce more than 50 million pizzas annually. The company noted the facility’s expansion was necessary due to increased consumer demand for its brands like Palermo’s, Connie’s and Screamin’ Sicilian.

Meanwhile, The Schwan Co. completed a 400,000-square-foot expansion of its Salina, Kan., facility in May. The project includes pizza production lines capable of making 100 million pizzas a year, as well as shipping and receiving docks. Schwan said it will be adding 140,000 square feet to the facility to improve distribution by 2025.

While many New Year’s resolutions involve dieting, place a bet that meal plans will include pizza sooner rather than later.