is a Finnish

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

headquartered in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. With over 290 locations, it is the largest chain of pizza restaurants in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

. Kotipizza was founded in 1987 by Rabbe Grönblom in

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Karigasniemi in the municipality of Utsjoki. The overall revenue of the Kotipizza restaurant chain in 2012 was 72 million

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

. Over 95% of the Kotipizza restaurants in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

are operated by

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...

. In addition to Finland, Kotipizza restaurants are found in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, near

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Kotipizza has been chosen as the best franchising chain of the year in 1992 and 2009. Kotipizza's motto is ''"Pizza, Love & Understanding"''. ' is Finnish and translates to "home". Some restaurants offer delivery and accept orders by phone or via the internet.

Pizza Berlusconi (Poro)

''Poro,'' formerly known as the ''Berlusconi'', is Kotipizza's product name for a pizza with smoked

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (; ; ) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish, in others it is a condiment. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, s ...

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

, chanterelle mushrooms and red onion. It was named "Pizza Berlusconi" in summer 2008 after Italian Prime Minister

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

. Berlusconi had caused a minor diplomatic incident in 2005, when he said that he had to "endure"

Finnish cuisine Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and ''haute cuisine'' with contemporary continental-style cooking. Fish (food), Fish and meat (usually pork, beef or reindeer) play a prominent role in traditional Finl ...

, and joked disparagingly about Finns eating "marinated

". Although marinated reindeer is a common dish in Lapland, in the rest of Finland the meat is traditionally stewed or dried. With Pizza Berlusconi, Kotipizza won the America's Plate International pizza contest in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in March 2008, beating the

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

s, who came in second place, and the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

ns in third.

References

External links

* *
Official home delivery site
*D'Agosta, Alex. Translation to English by Giles Watson
Reindeer Pizza Named after Berlusconi
" ''

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

''. 13 June 2008. *Sommers, Sanna.
Rahan, Rabben ja hyvän pizzan nimeen
" ''

Ylioppilaslehti ''Ylioppilaslehti'' (Finnish language, Finnish: lit. "Student newspaper") is a Finland, Finnish student magazine founded in 1913. It is the largest student paper or magazine in Finland with a circulation of 35,000 copies. In addition to affairs r ...

''. *D'Agosta, Alex.
Pizza alla renna, Berlusconi 'testimonial'
" ''

''. 11 June 2008. Last modified 12 June 2008. {{Authority control Companies based in Helsinki Restaurant chains in Finland Regional restaurant chains Pizza franchises Restaurants established in 1987 Finnish companies established in 1987

Pizza Berlusconi (Poro)

See also

References

External links