This Sunday as people busy themselves in kitchens in town and across the country preparing for the Super Bowl with wings, dips, chips, sliders and sides, they may not realize that one of the most popular Super Bowl dishes they are preparing is made in Ohio.
Except for a few boutique brands, the vast majority of pizza rolls consumed in the United States are produced about 100 miles from Dayton in the Bellisio Foods Inc. factory located in Jackson, Ohio, and General Mills factory in Wellston.
In fact, according to Mike Evans, vice president of supply chain at Bellisio’s, if one lined up all of the pizza rolls produced in one year at Bellisio’s from end to end beginning in Jackson County, that line would extend to San Francisco where the Super Bowl is being played and back 44 times.
Although Evans does not know how many are consumed during Super Bowl weekend, he says there is a spike in sales that makes him confident that it is a preferred finger food during the big game.
Evans says that while there are other manufacturers of pizza rolls outside of the two businesses they are very small, catering to niche markets.
Meanwhile the General Mills plan in Wellston, Ohio is celebrating 50 years of production this year. Their pizza roll production is an astounding 30 million pizza rolls a day with another 1.5 million pizzas being made per day for various brands.
“The big game brings friends and family together to celebrate with food and fun, said Carolyn Mendel, Plant Manager, General Mills, Wellston. “We’re proud that what we can contribute to the fun by making pizza rolls here in Jackson County for everyone to enjoy.”
An estimated 189 million Americans are expected to tune into the Super Bowl 50 championship game between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers on Feb. 7, according to the National Retail Federation and 43.3 million Americans planning to throw a Super Bowl party according to NRF’s Super Bowl Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics.
It’s an economic boon to many industries across the country and Ohio is no exception.
From Dayton Daily News | February 5, 2016
