Grandiosa
Pizza Grandiosa (Colloquially also referred to simply as Grandiosa or Grandis) refers to the most popular brand of frozen pizza in Norway. Grandiosa can also refer to the series of different Grandiosa variants. Grandiosa is originally an Italian word for great or grand.
History
Production of the original Grandiosa started on February 11, 1980, then produced by Nora (now Stabburet) in Stranda in Sunnmøre. Grandiosa was one of the first frozen pizzas produced in Norway. The pizza became vastly popular and is still the most sold pizza brand in Norway, in defiance of increasing competition from other local and international brands. In 2002 Stabburet responded to increased competition in the frozen food segment by reviving the brand with creative marketing and several new versions of Grandiosa. The pizza is also exported in smaller numbers to the neighbouring countries Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland and Iceland.
The pizza is subject to a lot of humorous debate, and is unquestionably a piece of modern culture, loathed and loved by Norwegians. It has been called the "modern national dish" by some, others claim it is "a piece of cardboard", "laziness in a box" and even "refrigerated evil".[1]
In 2005 Grandiosa got its own unofficial book: "GrandiosaLAND". The book contains stories about the man who had a broken jaw and had to put his Grandiosa in the mix master so he could eat it, and many other stories about Grandiosa, and favourite Norwegian pastimes such as hyttetur (trips to cabins typically located close to the sea/fjords or up in the mountains), russetid (the close to lawless celebration of the high school graduation) and dugnad (the collective activity of helping one another with mutual tasks through unpaid and voluntary work of importance to the community).
Market
Grandiosa benefited from being first to the market and early creating surprisingly loyal customers. Lately Stabburet has used creative marketing to promote Grandiosa. Examples are their very successful SMS-vote marketing campaign for selecting new addition to the pizza in 2004. Another example is their hit mobile ring tone "Respekt for Grandiosa" (Respect for Grandiosa) which 300,000 downloaded within 1.5 months.[2]
A total of 260 million pizzas have been sold. Twenty four million units of Grandiosa are produced each year for the 4.67 million citizens of Norway.[3] The average person eats about 5 Grandiosa pizzas per year showing how extremely popular "Grandis" is among young people. The reason for its popularity is that it is a Norwegian product, that it is easy to make, and, according to some, that it tastes nice. It is prepared in a pre-heated oven for approximately 12 minutes at 225 degrees Celsius. 100 grams of Grandiosa gives 220 kcal (920 kJ). The normal price for a Grandiosa is about 40 NOK (about $7), and about 45 NOK (nearly $8) for the Lørdagspizza (Saturday Pizza).
Hit singles
Stabburet has released two singles as part of a large scale marketing campaign for Grandiosa. Both reached the top spot in the Norwegian charts.
| Preceded by "Don't Save Me" by Marit Larsen |
Norwegian VG-lista number-one single: "Respekt for Grandiosa" 29 March 2006 – 24 May 2006 |
Succeeded by "One" by Mary J. Blige and U2 |
| Preceded by "Grace Kelly" by Mika |
Norwegian VG-lista number-one single: "Full Pakke" 28 March 2007 – 11 April 2007 |
Succeeded by "Grace Kelly" by Mika |
Varieties
In addition to the original Grandiosa, there exists different varieties.
| Introduced | Name | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 11, 1980 | Grandiosa | "Pizzameat"(40%beef)[4]
, cheese, tomato sauce and red bell pepper |
The original Grandiosa |
| 2002 | Grandiosa Mild Taco | Taco spiced meat and corn | Discontinued in favour of Kjøttdeig & Løk |
| 2004 | Grandiosa Pepperoni | Pepperoni and oregano | Lost to Kjøttdeig & Løk but is still sold regardless |
| 2004 | Grandiosa Kjøttdeig & Løk | Minced meat and onion | Winner of the 2004 pizza election |
| 2005 | Grandiosa Taco | Taco spiced meat | Winner of the 2005 pizza election |
| 2005 | Grandiosa Pølse & Tomat | Sausage and tomato | Lost the election to Taco |
| Grandiosa Porsjonspizza | Portion Pizza | Small, plate-sized pizza | |
| 2006 | Grandiosa Lørdagspizza | Meatballs, beef and a dip | Translates to Saturday Pizza. Needs extra sour cream for dip. |
| 2007 | Grandiosa Full Pakke | Meatballs, beef, dip, pepperoni and ham. | Translates to Grandiosa – Full Package |
| 2007 | Grandiosa Speltpizza | Ham, mozzarella and spelt crust. | Translates to Grandiosa – Spelt Pizza |
| 2009 | Grandiosa Uten Paprika: Ute på Prøve | Same as the original, but without red bell pepper | Translates to Grandiosa Without Red Bell Pepper; Out on Parole. A limited tryout release from January until May 2009 as a courtesy to those that pick off the red bell pepper on the original Pizza Grandiosa |
References
- ↑ Sverre Bjørstad Graff (2002-07-01). "Grandiosa – den store testen!" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2006-10-14.
- ↑ Joakim Thorkildsen (2006-03-14). "300 000 har lastet ned Grandiosa-låt" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2006-10-14.
- ↑ Stabburet. "Merker og Produkter – Grandiosa" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2004-04-30.
- ↑ Bare 40 prosent kjøtt i Grandiosa-kjøttet
External links
Coordinates: 62°18′46″N 6°56′44″E / 62.31278°N 6.94559°E