The Land of 10,000 Lakes is pretty well known for its innovations, which range from Post It Notes, seat belts, and waterskis to the battery-powered pacemaker and indoor shopping mall. But you may not realize that one of the most popular frozen snacks in the country is also a Minnesota invention. That’s right – Pizza Rolls were born right here in the North Star State.

The story of Pizza Rolls starts with Minnesota business magnate Jeno Paulucci.
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A serial entrepreneur from the Iron Range and proud Italian-American, Paulucci ran his empire from his eponymous building in the Canal Park district of Duluth.
evilfoo/Flickr
The building is still there today, across from Grandma's and next to the Aerial Lift Bridge.
His first big hit was Chun King, a line of Americanized Asian foods.
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Paulucci sold Chun King to R.J. Reynolds in 1966 for $63 million.
One of Paulucci's next big successes was the Jeno's brand of frozen foods.
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This included frozen pizza.
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Jeno's hit it big, though, when it combined the idea of pizza with an egg roll, a la Chun King, and gave birth to the Pizza Roll.
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Jeno's Pizza Rolls were by far Paulucci's most successful product.
Paulucci sold his Jeno's Pizza Rolls brand to Minneapolis-based Pillsbury in 1985 for a tasty $135 million.
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In 1993, Pillsbury began selling Pizza Rolls under its Totino's Brand - itself the brainchild of a Minnesota entrepreneur.
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Pillsbury and the Totino's brand were, in turn, acquired by Golden Valley-based General Mills in 2001.
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Today, General Mills sells and markets Totino's Pizza Rolls in a variety of flavors.
Totino's
And Pizza Rolls, themselves, remain popular and, in fact, have become deeply imbedded in American pop culture.
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From memes and sleeping bags to Christmas ornaments and television references, Pizza Rolls are just about everywhere these days!

So, there it is – we gave the world the Pizza Roll. If you’re interested in seeing some of the Pizza Rolls-inspired products that folks have come up with, just check out Etsy!

Are you a fan of Totino’s Pizza Rolls? Did you know they were a Minnesota invention? Let us know in the comments!

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