The successfully created chain of artisan pizzerias is the best in the world. This is evidenced by the industry benchmark rating, which for the first time rewards non-Italian businesses. Rapid fermentation project and ambitious expansion plan.
A Email instigated Jorge Blas, Coca-Cola, (Madrid, 1987) already Hugo Rodriguez from Prada (Madrid, 1984), co-founders Grosso Napoletano travel to Naples for the 50 Top Pizza gala, a global benchmark ranking that rewards the world’s best pizzerias. world. Unexpectedly November 23 The best artisanal pizzeria chain in the world was not Italian, but Spanish. heated in a stone wood stove. As they prepare to blow out the candles on their seventh birthday, they run forty
A Email instigated Jorge Blas, Coca-Cola, (Madrid, 1987) already Hugo Rodriguez from Prada (Madrid, 1984), co-founders Grosso Napoletano travel to Naples for the 50 Top Pizza gala, a global benchmark ranking that rewards the world’s best pizzerias. world. Unexpectedly November 23 The best artisanal pizzeria chain in the world was not Italian, but Spanish. heated in a stone wood stove. As they prepare to blow out the candles on their seventh birthday, they own about forty locations (six dedicated exclusively to gluten-free pizza). Its first address, 85 Calle Hermosilla in Madrid, is also number one: “It couldn’t be more right,” they say.
What a fast fermentation.
We never dreamed of getting to where we are, but it was clear to us that we didn’t want to stay in one location. Before we met, we both lived in New York, where we defined the gourmet pizza revolution, a return to the roots, just as the hamburger revolution, already mature in the US, came to Spain. We both came back with this idea in our heads. We met and met in Madrid (Coke, along with other partners, owned the Ornella pizzeria on Velazquez Street, and Hugo had a public relations and marketing agency that worked on the image of the business).
Why choose the classic Neapolitan recipe?
In our desire to give dignity to a dish, to restore its authenticity, this is the original. During World War II, American soldiers discover how good it is and industrialize it. In November 2016, with the first premises already rented, we went to Naples to explore and learn. There we met the Leone family through a friend who introduced us to the entire community. We visited businesses with a century-old history, the emblematic Da Michele, the most famous in the city, the one that always has a line, which is now the second best pizzeria chain, and we are the first! Let’s see what we do now… This is a big responsibility!
The student surpasses the teacher
It’s like beating Messi or Cristiano. This means to overtake the great exile; This is real pride. Now we have the responsibility not to reduce the level, not to deceive the client and to achieve the goal of maintaining this number one, while remaining profitable. Marketing is very good, but if the numbers don’t add up…
Are there any plans for franchising to expand the project?
No, this is his personal business. We want to preserve the love with which we do things, and this model does not suit us. We haven’t considered this. We grow ourselves, replicating original experience in different directions. We have no financial needs and we grow without putting the brand at risk, without investors behind us: only through cash and financing. Our plan is to increase the number of stores from the current 43 to 100 in December 2026. With Plan 100, we aim to invoice 100 million euros that day (around 40 million at the end of 2023), with a margin of 20%, and almost double the number of employees. , up to 1200.
A million for a restaurant. The product is delicious.
Yes, we drink a lot of coffee and listen to ideas, but we don’t need more than that. Capital is distributed among relatives and friends, the first who trusted us. We are a professional business; Now that Bruno Gonzalez has become CEO, we have been profitable from day one and have the means to continue moving forward at this point. We operate like a large company, but we keep our feet on the ground, we don’t go crazy, with the idea of sustainable and reliable expansion. Yes, when we take the international leap, we will look for partners, industrial partners, not capitalists.
Is this the success of many well-marinated ingredients?
As founders, we are the image of the company, but triumphs are also recognition of the efforts of employees. Besides the fact that we want to pay them well, which is average for the industry, we want them to feel comfortable. We have very different emotional salaries: we do not work double shifts, flexible hours, the schedule is scheduled with enough time for them to organize their lives… We work hard on the feeling of belonging to the Grosso Napoletano brand; We are Family. And we are promoting an internal career plan with our own school in Madrid, Scuola di Grosso, for the preparation of pizzaioli (declared by UNESCO as an intangible heritage of humanity in 2017), and this year we will add a room profile.
What remains of that first project concept?
Even the menu design has dozens of references, with Italian appetizers and a few desserts. We wanted and want to make a simple offer, without over-offering dishes, to be the best at something, to democratize the luxury of eating good pizza, with 85% Italian ingredients, and with an excellent balance between value and price (average bill 17.5 euros per dinner). From the very beginning we understand the concept. You can see the presentation we used as a teaser for the fundraiser right now, and its value proposition is spot on. We had a clear policy of reinvesting all profits into continuing to open stores. We are aggressive, without affecting either the quality of the product or the rise in prices of raw materials.
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