Grandiosa


Pizza Grandiosa refers to the most popular brand of frozen pizza in Norway. Grandiosa can also refer to the series of different Grandiosa variants. Grandiosa is Italian for great or grand.

History

Production of the original Grandiosa started on 11 February 1980, then produced by Nora 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".
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 a blender to eat it, and many other stories about Grandiosa, and favourite Norwegian pastimes such as hyttetur, russetid and dugnad.

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" which 300,000 downloaded within 1.5 months.
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. 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. The normal price for a Grandiosa is about 40 NOK, and about 45 NOK for the Lørdagspizza.

Varieties

In addition to the original Grandiosa, there exist different varieties.
IntroducedNameTypeNotes
11 November 1980Grandiosa"Pizzameat", cheese, tomato sauce and red bell pepperThe original Grandiosa
2002Grandiosa Mild TacoTaco spiced meat and cornDiscontinued in favour of Kjøttdeig & Løk
2004Grandiosa PepperoniPepperoni and oreganoLost to Kjøttdeig & Løk but is still sold regardless
2004Grandiosa Kjøttdeig & LøkMinced meat and onionWinner of the 2004 pizza election
2005Grandiosa TacoTaco spiced meatWinner of the 2005 pizza election
2005Grandiosa Pølse & TomatSausage and tomatoLost the election to Taco
Grandiosa PorsjonspizzaPortion PizzaSmall, plate-sized version of the original Grandiosa.
2006Grandiosa LørdagspizzaMeatballs, beef, onion, red bell pepper and a dipTranslates to Grandiosa – Saturday Pizza. Needs extra sour cream for dip.
2007Grandiosa Full PakkeMeatballs, dip, pepperoni and ham.Translates to Grandiosa – Full Package
2007Grandiosa SpeltpizzaHam, mozzarella and spelt crust.Translates to Grandiosa – Spelt Pizza
2009 and 2016Grandiosa Uten Paprika: Ute på PrøveSame as the original, but without red bell pepperTranslates 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
In 2016, this variant was re-released as a co-operation with grocery store chain REMA 1000, and as a result is only sold in REMA 1000 stores. It's "ute på prøve" this time around as well.
2012Grandiosa - vår HjemmelagdeMinced meat and more pizza sauce than usual.Translates to Grandiosa - our Home-made. A family-sized, 1,2 kilogram "home-made" Grandiosa. Unlike the others it has a thick and soft crust.