Nation Pizza and Foods, the subject of our upcoming December feature articles, was recently selected as Supplier of the Year for contract manufacturing by Nestlé Business Services North America Technical Procurement. The Schaumburg, Ill.-based supplier was selected from more than 130 contract manufacturers to receive the award.

Fast food giant Yum Brands sells its Pizza Hut restaurant chain (with 330 outlets) in the U.K. to London-based venture capitalist firm Rutland Partners.

From self-heating soups and pizza cones to microwave, supermarkets and groceries are reinventing foods and packaging, as evidenced at Grocery Innovation Canada, where each year, the hottest creations are unveiled.

The nation’s largest home-delivery pizza chain has plunged into the $6.4-billion pan pizza category. Pan pizzas are thicker than conventional products and cooked in special pans. Domino’s began selling handmade pan pizzas last week at nearly 5,000 of its outlets.

According to Packaged Facts’ recently released report, “The Pizza Market in the U.S.: Foodservice and Retail,” sales at pizza restaurants will reach $36.1 billion in 2012, up 3.8% from 2011. At retail, U.S. frozen and refrigerated pizza will ring up sales of $4.91 billion.

C.H. Guenther & Son, San Antonio, buys Pizza Blends, maker of frozen and dry-mix pizza crusts and other custom flour blended products. Pizza Blends has four manufacturing plants located across the United States.