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It’s so commonplace now that you likely don’t think twice when your favorite pizza chain tries to saddle you with an appetizer of chicken wings. But now that you’ve clicked, you’re wondering, aren’t you?
I mean, why do pizza and wings go together? Who thought saucy wings went with saucy pizza, and is that person behind the billion-dollar antacid industry?
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There are actually answers to this question here, folks, so keep reading.
If you listen to Buffalo, NY’s La Nova Pizza, it all began in one of their stores back in at least the 90s, when wings were part of pizza party packs that customers gobbled up. Maria Merlino, the national sales and marketing director of the conglomerate, even claims that Tyson “never would have been able to sell the chicken wing idea to Domino’s and Pizza Hut if it weren’t for La Nova.”
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It was sometime in the 60s that wings went from the part of the chicken people usually tossed out to the saucy, bite-sized piece of yummy we all enjoy today.
The first national chain to give wings a shot with their pizza was Domino’s, which launched their bone-in wing option in 1994 (boneless in 2002). They remained on the menu, along with their smothered “specialty chicken,” because they sell really well.
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Next came Little Caesar’s Hot-N-Ready wings (also in 1994), and their spokesperson was a big proponent of the pizza/wings combo, stating that “both foods are shareable and customizable, and their flavors compliment each other. Pizza and wings are the perfect hassle-free and delicious handheld foods.”
Pizza Hut didn’t climb on board until 2003, with their Wingstreet combination stores, but they were the first to try serving fried wings as opposed to baked ones. They took their popular wings nationwide in 2014, and found that if people loved their pizza, they were just as quick to adopt the wings.
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“Not surprisingly, some of our most loyal pizza lovers also double as wing aficionados – over a quarter of our customers add our Wingstreet wings to their pizza order,” explains the company’s chief brand officer.
In the end, it’s only the human palate that has decided these two are a must. No matter who first put the idea in front of us, it never could have taken off if our tastebuds didn’t scream yes when we ate them together (with some ranch dressing, natch!) so keep on enjoying.
You can rest assured that our collective good taste can’t possibly be wrong.
Also, now I want some wings. Dangit.
