In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi opened the first pizzeria in the U.S. Pizza did not become popular until after World War II. War veterans who had been stationed in Italy returned home craving the pizza they had eaten there. In the 1950s, Celentano Brothers became the first brand of frozen pizza to be marketed nationally.
The first major investment in frozen pizzas occurred in 1962 when Rose Totino initiated mass production. Totino used crust she purchased in Chicago and topped it with ingredients at her company in Minnesota.
In her quest to avoid cardboard-like crust, Totino was granted a patent for dough in 1979 that was designed for freezing and subsequent baking. Totino’s Finer Foods became a nationwide business, Rose hire brokers, people who will sell a product in different towns, to sell her pizzas across the country.
In November 1975, Pillsbury entered the frozen pizza business by acquiring Totino’s Finer Foods, Inc., a leading manufacturer and seller of frozen prepared pizza, with sales in excess of $39 million in its fiscal year ending October 31, 1975, which Pillsbury now operates as its frozen foods division. For its fiscal year ending October 31 1976, Pillsbury frozen food division had frozen prepared pizza sales in excess of $48 million.
Frozen pizza
