| Grandiosa | |
| Type: | Frozen pizza |
| Currentowner: | Orkla Group |
| Introduced: | 11 February 1980 |
| Markets: | Nordic countries (especially Norway) Poland |
| Website: | Grandiosa.no |
Pizza Grandiosa (colloquially also referred to simply as Grandiosa or Grandis) is the most popular brand of frozen pizza in Norway.
Production of the original Grandiosa started on 11 February 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 to the neighbouring countries Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Iceland, and Faroe Islands,[1] with the topping selection in Sweden and Finland differing substantially from the ones in Norway.
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".[2]
In 2005 Grandiosa got its own unofficial book, Grandiosaland.[3] The book contains stories about a 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 (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).
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 was downloaded 300,000 times within 1.5 months. The song went No. 1 in Norway, topping the charts for 8 weeks, beginning in March 2006.[4]
A total of 260 million pizzas have been sold. Twenty-four million units of Grandiosa are produced each year for the 5.4 million citizens of Norway.[5]
In addition to the original Grandiosa, there exist different varieties.
| Introduced | Name | Type | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 November 1980 | Grandiosa | "Pizzameat" (40% beef),[6] 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 version of the original Grandiosa. | ||
| 2006 | Grandiosa Lørdagspizza | Meatballs, beef, onion, red bell pepper and a dip | Translates to Grandiosa – Saturday Pizza. Needs extra sour cream for dip. | |
| 2007 | Grandiosa Full Pakke | Meatballs, dip, pepperoni and ham. | Translates to Grandiosa – Full Package | |
| 2007 | Grandiosa Speltpizza | Ham, mozzarella and spelt crust. | Translates to Grandiosa – Spelt Pizza | |
| 2009 and 2016 | 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 GrandiosaIn 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" (out on parole) this time around as well. | |
| 2012 | Grandiosa - vår Hjemmelagde | Minced 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. |