Papa Johns Survey Uncovers Football Fans’ Pizza-Eating Styles Ahead of #1 Pizza-Eating Day: NY Style Rises to the Top

Pizza company taps Mark Sanchez to celebrate its all-new NY Style Pizza, asks #WhatsYourStyle in new survey and offer fans a chance to win a year of free pizza

Papa Johns knows that fans are passionate about their pizza, with allegiances to their preferred pizza style as strong as the love for their favorite sports team. To celebrate their all-new NY Style pizza ahead of the big game – and #1 day for pizza orders – Papa Johns surveyed more than 4,000 American football fans in major cities nationwide¹ to see how they enjoy their pizza, and the results may be surprising.

“After spending five years playing in New York, NY Style pizza became my go-to, sorry sideline hot dog,” said Mark Sanchez, former professional football player. “My preferred approach is to fold the pizza slice but everyone’s got their own style, so I’ve teamed up with Papa Johns to celebrate their new NY Style pizza and unique pizza rituals, and give away the best prize in pizza.”

According to the survey, 86% of football fans interviewed nationwide are likely to eat NY Style pizza, but only about one in three (35%) say they’d fold their slice like many New Yorkers are known to do. Additionally, NY Style pizza is the most preferred city-specific pizza style (with 31% saying they prefer this style and eat it all the time) – sorry, Chicago deep-dish (19%) and Detroit Style (18%) fans!

Additional survey findings include:

• To fold, or not to fold? About one in three football fans interviewed (35%) like to fold their pizza slice; Meanwhile, more than half of football fans in New York City (55%) prefer to fold. No wonder NY Style is known best for its oversized, foldable slices.
• Cincy wants that garlic sauce – Football fans in Cincinnati like it saucy with 53% saying they enjoy garlic butter as a condiment with their pizza.
• Many West Coasters are eating crust first, and we have some questions – A surprising number of football fans eat their pizza crust-first (16%), especially on the West Coast, where over one in four Los Angeles fans (27%) and nearly one in four San Francisco fans (23%) eat their pizza this way.
• Miami crushes on NY – Unsurprisingly, NY Style pizza is – you guessed it – the most desired style for New York football fans (with 93% indicating a preference for it); but Miami fans love it equally as much (with 92% indicating the same)! It’s a favorite in Denver too, where 89% of respondents show a preference for it.
• Give them more NY Style pizza – Half of respondents (50%) say they prefer NY Style pizza but can’t (or don’t) eat it often. Luckily, fans nationwide can now order NY Style pizza every day at Papa Johns.
• Pepperoni reigns supreme – Football fans interviewed prefer pepperoni pizza over any other topping tested (with 78% saying they sometimes or always select it when building their own pizza) – including plain/extra cheese (70%).
• To pineapple, or not pineapple? Does pineapple belong on pizza? Roughly one in ten respondents (11%) say yes and always order it on their pie!
• No crust left behind – Less than one in twenty-five football fans interviewed always leave their crust behind (3%). In fact, 100% of fans surveyed in Nashville, Jacksonville, Pittsburg, Charlotte, Baltimore and New Orleans sometimes or always eat their pizza crust. However, 6% of football fans in San Francisco and Los Angeles always discard their crust, though we’d be happy to bet that with Papa Johns NY Style pizza crust made with our fresh, never frozen, original dough they’ll continue taking bites.

Now, Papa Johns wants to know how all pizza fans enjoy their slice! For a limited time, fans can show off their pizza-eating style on Twitter or Instagram with #WhatsYourStyle #sweepstakes by Feb. 16 for a chance to win free pizza for a year to enjoy any way they’d like! NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends 02/16. Visit papajohns.com/whatsyourstyle-sweeps/ for more details and official sweepstakes rules.

NY Style pizza is the latest menu innovation from Papa Johns. Released in December 2021, the new crust delivers just the right balance of crust and toppings, turning Papa Johns fresh, never frozen, original dough into the perfect oversized, foldable pizza slice that gives pizza-lovers a whole new way to experience this iconic pizza style.

About Papa Johns

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) opened its doors in 1984 with one goal in mind: BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA.^® Papa Johns believes that using high quality ingredients leads to superior quality pizzas. Its original dough is made of only six ingredients and is fresh, never frozen. Papa Johns tops its pizzas with real cheese made from mozzarella, pizza sauce made with vine-ripened tomatoes that go from vine to can in the same day and meat free of fillers. It was the first national pizza delivery chain to announce the removal of artificial flavors and synthetic colors from its entire food menu. Papa Johns is co-headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. and Louisville, Ky. and is the world’s third-largest pizza delivery company with more than 5,500 restaurants in 50 countries and territories as of Sept. 26, 2021. For more information about the Company or to order pizza online, visit www.PapaJohns.com or download the Papa Johns mobile app for iOS or Android.

¹ All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 4270 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 10th - 24th January 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of adults (aged 18+) in major cities nationwide.

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