Chicago Town axes divisive pizza flavour from shelves leaving customers gutted
CUSTOMERS have been left gutted after Chicago Town axed a divisive pizza flavour from shelves.
The frozen pizza maker, which is found in the likes of Tesco and Iceland, confirmed that it is no longer making ham and pineapple pizza.
One eagle-eyed shopper noticed the pork and fruit topped pizza was no longer available in supermarket shelves.
They contacted Chicago Town on X, formally Twitter, to find out what was going on.
The user wrote: “@chicagotown Have you stopped doing Ham an pineapple can’t find it stocked anywhere. None of the shops around here have any?
The convenience food company replied to the customer, and confirmed the bad news.
The response read: “Hey there, our Ham and Pineapple Deep Dish has been discontinued in the UK. We’re sorry to hear you’re missing it!.”
It is not clear when the item was last on the shelves, it still on Asda’s website, though unavailable to buy.
The style is deep dish, which resembles more of a pie than a traditional thin base pizza.
Chicago Town also sells Tiger Crust style pizza’s which are thinner.
The brand also sells a host of other flavours such as pepperoni and salt and pepper chicken.
Ham and Pineapple is a divisive pizza flavour, with many loathing the meat and tropical fruit mix.
It has sparked great debate, with celebrities such as chef and TV personality Gino D’Acampo and Gordon Ramsey both expressing their distaste for the toppings.
“Pineapple does not go on top of pizza,” chef Ramsey said in a 2017 social media post.
The news comes as shoppers have have had to wave goodbye to a number of supermarket favourites in recent weeks.
Heinz confirmed it axed easy-to-use spray salad dressings, in a blow to lovers of the condiment.
The range was launched in 2020 with four flavours including chilli and lime, raspberry balsamic, zesty lemon, and balsamic with a hint of garlic.
The condiments were promoted as only having one or two calories per spritz and were available in major supermarkets.
At the time, foodie fanatics described the range as a “game changer” and others described them as “lovely”.
Kellogg’s also axed it All Bran Golden Crunch.
The popular breakfast item consisted of crunchy wheat bran and mixed cereals pieces with a caramel flavour.
It offered as a sweeter alternative to its Original All Bran, which remains in stock.
Why are products axed or recipes changed?
ANALYSIS by chief consumer reporter James Flanders.
Food and drinks makers have been known to tweak their recipes or axe items altogether.
They often say that this is down to the changing tastes of customers.
There are a number of reasons why this could be done.
For example, government regulation, like the “sugar tax,” forces firms to change their recipes.
Some manufacturers might choose to tweak ingredients to cut costs.
They may opt for an alternative that’s cheaper, especially when costs are rising in order to keep prices stable.
For example, Tango Cherry disappeared from shelves in 2018.
It has recently returned after six years away, but as a sugar-free version.
Fanta removed sweetener from its sugar-free alternative earlier this year.
Suntory tweaked the flavour of its flagship Lucozade Original and Orange energy drinks.
While the amount of sugar in every bottle remains unchanged, the supplier swapped out the sweetener aspartame for sucralose.
Food manufactures can sometimes discontinue items if they are not selling well or if they want to introduce a new products.
M&S recently axed its popular Colin the Caterpillar in a jar from shop shelves.
The cake jars landed on the supermarket shelves in 2021 with fans hailing it “a tiny pot of joy.”
The treat consisted of layers of chocolate sponge, Belgian chocolate sauce and chocolate ganache topped with a mini white chocolate Colin face in a convenient packaging.
Nestle also axed its fan favourite Yorkie orange bars last year,.
Howevver, shoppers were able to pick up bars this year as retailers looked to clear stock.
The limited edition bars were launched in 2021 when orange chocolate was all the rage.
Around the same time Dairy Milk orange bars were also launched, following Cadbury‘s orange Twirl in 2019.
But Yorkie’s flamed-coloured version, along with Dairy Milk’s, have both now been scrapped, with loyal buyers left demanding its return.
Responding to the news on X, one fan who claimed to have bought 500 of them said: “Why on earth has it been discontinued?! It’s ten times better than Terry’s chocolate orange!”