NEW YORK – In celebration of Illumination and Universal Pictures’ new action comedy, Minions: The Rise of Gru, coming to theaters July 1, HelloFresh, the world’s leading meal kit company, has teamed up with Illumination’s Minions to bring a little joyful mayhem to kitchens across the country. With the introduction of the Minions Pizza Kit, available exclusively through the HelloFresh Market, consumers can cook up some mischief by creating Minion-shaped pizzas using fresh ingredients and step-by-step recipe cards that are conveniently shipped right to their doorsteps.
Offering endless options for customization and deliciousness, each Minions Pizza Kit features thin-crust pizza dough and a wide array of farm fresh ingredients to make four personal-sized pizzas. With toppings like mozzarella cheese, pesto, spinach, green pepper, sausage, and mushrooms — plus some unconventional, mischievous additions — consumers can tap their creativity in the kitchen to design a tasty pizza that will look just like their favorite Minion.
Taking the mayhem from kitchens to theaters nationwide, HelloFresh is also offering two Fandango movie tickets* to see Minions: The Rise of Gru at their local theater with each purchase of the Minions Pizza Kit.
Win a Real-Life Version of Gru’s Cheese Blaster through the Cook Up Some Mischief: Minions Pizza Challenge
From June 18 through July 4, HelloFresh is launching the Cook Up Some Mischief: Minions Pizza Challenge** in which three Grand Prize winners will be gifted a year’s supply of HelloFresh meals and a new kitchen gadget inspired by Minions: The Rise of Gru — a real life Cheese Blaster! Designed to resemble Gru’s Cheese Blaster as seen in the new film, this real-life version will propel melty, gooey cheese on nachos, tacos, hot dogs, broccoli or whatever home cooks desire. Additionally, 50 winners will also be chosen to receive exclusive prize packs full of HelloFresh X Minions-designed kitchen items that complement any at-home pizza party and movie tickets to see Minions: The Rise of Gru.
To enter the Cook Up Some Mischief: Minions Pizza Challenge, consumers can share their Minions pizza creations by:
- Posting on Instagram and/or Twitter using the hashtag #HelloFreshMinions, #contest, and tagging @HelloFresh
- Or, visiting Facebook.com/HelloFreshUS and posting their pizza image in the comments section of the pinned post at the top of the page
- Or, uploading their pizza image using the form at HelloFresh.com/minionschallenge
Pizza entries will be selected by a panel of judges based on the deliciousness, creativity, and realistic representation of their Minion culinary creation. For a complete set of rules and regulations and to learn more visit hellofresh.com/minionschallenge.
“At HelloFresh, we design all of our meal kits to offer a fun at-home cooking experience that families can do together, so it was a natural fit to team up with Illumination and Universal Pictures to create a Minions-inspired pizza kit to celebrate the upcoming release of Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru,” said Jens Reich, Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director of HelloFresh US. “With each pizza kit, families can add some creativity — and maybe even a little mayhem — to pizza night. We look forward to seeing the mischievous and delicious creations our customers cook up!”
The HelloFresh Minions Pizza Kit is available for delivery from June 18 through July 1 for $19.99. HelloFresh customers can add the pizza kit to their weekly meal selections through the HelloFresh Market.
*“Two Free Movie Tickets” offer available for HelloFresh customers with a subscription order combined with an Add-On order of the HelloFresh Minion Pizza. Fandango Promotional Code (“Code”) is good towards the purchase of 2 movie tickets ($20 per ticket, up to $40 total ticket and convenience fee value) to see Minions: The Rise of Gru at Fandango partner theaters in the US. Code is void if not redeemed by 9/30/2022 or when Minions: The Rise of Gru is no longer in theaters, whichever comes first. Only valid for purchase of movie tickets made at Fandango.com or via the Fandango app and cannot be redeemed directly at any theater box office. If lost or stolen, cannot be replaced. No cash value, except as required by law. Void where prohibited. Not valid with any other offer. One-time use only. Not for resale; void if sold or exchanged. If cost of movie tickets with Fandango’s convenience fee included is more than maximum value of the Code, then user must pay the difference. Any price difference between movie ticket purchased and maximum value of the Code will not be refunded. Fandango Loyalty Solutions, LLC is not a sponsor or co-sponsor of this promotion. The redemption of the Code is subject to Fandango’s Terms and Policies at www.fandango.com/terms-and-policies. See www.hellofresh.com/minions for full details.
**No purchase necessary. For Rules and details, visit hellofresh.com/minionschallenge.
About Minions: The Rise of Gru
This summer, from the biggest global animated franchise in history, comes the origin story of how the world’s greatest supervillain first met his iconic Minions, forged cinema’s most despicable crew and faced off against the most unstoppable criminal force ever assembled in Minions: The Rise of Gru.
Long before he becomes the master of evil, Gru (Oscar® nominee Steve Carell) is just a 12-year-old boy in 1970s suburbia, plotting to take over the world from his basement. It’s not going particularly well. When Gru crosses paths with the Minions, including Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto—a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please—this unexpected family joins forces. Together, they build their first lair, design their first weapons, and strive to execute their first missions.
When the infamous supervillain supergroup, the Vicious 6, oust their leader—legendary martial arts fighter Wild Knuckles (Oscar® winner Alan Arkin)— Gru, their most devoted fanboy, interviews to become their newest member. The Vicious 6 is not impressed by the diminutive, wannabe villain, but then Gru outsmarts (and enrages) them, and he suddenly finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil. With Gru on the run, the Minions attempt to master the art of kung fu to help save him, and Gru discovers that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.
Featuring more spectacular action than any film in Illumination history and packed with the franchise’s signature subversive humor, Minions: The Rise of Gru stars a thrilling new cast, including, the Vicious 6: Taraji P. Henson as cool and confident leader Belle Bottom, whose chain belt doubles as a lethal disco-ball mace; Jean-Claude Van Damme as the nihilistic Jean Clawed, who’s armed (literally) with a giant robotic claw; Lucy Lawless as Nunchuck, whose traditional nun’s habit hides her deadly nun-chucks; Dolph Lundgren as Swedish roller-skate champion Svengeance, who dispenses his enemies with spin kicks from his spiked skates; and Danny Trejo as Stronghold, whose giant iron hands are both a menace to others and a burden to him.
The film also stars Russell Brand as Young Dr. Nefario, an aspiring mad scientist, Michelle Yeoh as Master Chow, an acupuncturist with mad kung fu skills, and Oscar® winner Julie Andrews as Gru’s maddeningly self-absorbed mom.
Steered by the franchise’s original creators, Minions: The Rise of Gru is produced by visionary Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and his longtime collaborators Janet Healy and Chris Renaud. The film is directed by returning franchise filmmaker Kyle Balda (Despicable Me 3, Minions), co-directed by Brad Ableson (The Simpsons) and Jonathan del Val (The Secret Life of Pets films), and features the iconic voice of Pierre Coffin as the Minions and a killer ’70s soundtrack courtesy of legendary Grammy-winning music producer Jack Antonoff.
About HelloFresh
HelloFresh is the world’s leading integrated food solutions group, operating across 16 international markets. In 2020, HelloFresh delivered more than 278 million meals to customers across the U.S. With a focus on helping Americans eat more sustainably, HelloFresh is the first carbon neutral meal-kit company. HelloFresh was named America’s Best Customer Service for Meal Kits in 2020 and voted the #1 most trusted meal kit brand in America in 2021 and 2022 by Newsweek. HelloFresh was founded in Berlin in November 2011 and has U.S. offices in New York, Chicago, and Boulder.
About Illumination
Illumination, founded by Academy Award® nominee Chris Meledandri in 2007, is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of event-animated films, including Despicable Me, the most successful animated franchise in cinematic history. The company’s releases include two of the top 10 animated films of all time, and its iconic, beloved franchises—infused with memorable and distinct characters, global appeal and cultural relevance—have grossed more than $6.4 billion worldwide.
Illumination, which has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures, is the creator of the world of Despicable Me. The franchise includes Minions, the fourth-highest-grossing animated film of all time and the most profitable film in Universal’s history, as well as the Academy Award®– nominated Despicable Me 2 and Despicable Me 3, which made more than $1 billion at the global box office.
Illumination has launched two additional original franchises that have captivated audiences worldwide. The first Secret Life of Pets film achieved the best opening for an original movie, animated or otherwise, in U.S. history, and the studio followed that success in 2019 with The Secret Life of Pets 2. Illumination’s smash hit, Sing, has now become the studio’s latest global franchise with Sing 2 in December 2021. In addition, Illumination’s Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch continues to hold the record for the biggest opening weekend of any Christmas-themed movie in history. Illumination’s upcoming films include Minions: The Rise of Gru on July 1, 2022 and a new Super Mario Bros. film in April 2023.
About Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
