Is Neapolitan still the die-hard's favourite pizza?

The short answer

Among purists, yes. Neapolitan remains the reference point, the style every serious pizza conversation is measured against. But in the industry data it has changed jobs: it is no longer the destination trend, it is the foundation other styles are built on. The US trade now talks about "NEO-Neapolitan", meaning Neapolitan technique with non-canonical toppings, longer bakes and sturdier bases, as the growth expression, while the pure Vera Pizza Napoletana format holds steady rather than expands.

Neapolitan stopped competing in the trend race. It became the thing the trends are made from.

Where the growth actually went

• Slice culture. The New York slice shop, rebuilt with coffee-shop aesthetics, resurging worldwide. Rising.
• Detroit-style. Square pans and the caramelised frico edge: the decade's biggest format winner. Rising.
• Tavern-style. Cracker-thin and party-cut, now being adopted by big US chains. Rising.
• New Haven-style. Thinner, denser, charred, and expanding internationally. Rising.
• Classic Neapolitan. The benchmark: revered, but growth flows to its NEO offspring. Holding.

The telling industry number: 55% of pizzerias say they want to add a second style to their menus. Pizza is diversifying, not consolidating around one orthodoxy. And the strongest single trend inside pizza right now is not a base at all. It is heat. Hot honey has taken over the pizza world according to Pizza Today's census, with nduja, Calabrian chillies and jalapeños close behind. Sweet heat is pizza's swicy moment.

The South African read

Three numbers frame it: pizza grew 44% in SA fast food over the past year, Panarottis printed 17.4% restaurant sales growth in H1 2026, and 55% of pizzerias globally want a second style on the menu.

SA pizza is growing hard, with consumers explicitly chasing broader toppings and flavour combinations. But notice where that growth lives: value and delivery formats such as Debonairs, Roman's and Pizza Perfect, plus family sit-down. Not the artisan Neapolitan room.

The reason is structural: a true Neapolitan does not box. Its soft centre steams flat in eight delivery minutes, and South African growth is delivery-led. Detroit and New York styles travel. Neapolitan performs live.

For operators the play is exactly the NEO move. Keep the Neapolitan credibility markers customers now expect, real dough fermentation, a blistered crust, San Marzano-style simplicity, on a base engineered to survive the box. Add one square or Detroit format as the second style, because the data says your customers want the variety. And put a hot-honey option on the menu before your competitor does.

The operator's takeaway

Die-hards still worship Neapolitan: respect it, reference it, borrow its language. But build the growth menu on styles that travel: NEO bases, one square format, and sweet-heat toppings. In a delivery-led market, the box is the food critic that matters.

Sources: Pizza Today, trending styles (Scott Wiener) and industry census (hot honey). Gambero Rosso, 2026 New York pizza outlook. Tastewise, SA fast-food trends 2026 (pizza +44%). Financial Mail, 30 July 2026 (Panarottis H1 2026). Figures as published.