Couple set to hit jackpot after making £55million out of pizza ovens during Covid

A couple who turned over £55million during the pandemic could be about to become one of the richest households in Britain.

Upmarket outdoor pizza oven company Ooni was founded just under a decade ago by husband and wife duo Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland.

Ooni’s business model is simple, it sells pizza ovens and accessories to the public for upwards of £299.

But the company has had a stellar year, with households turning to home entertainment to get them through Britain’s three lockdowns.

So much so that its sales have multiplied fivefold in 12 months, from £13million to an eye-watering £55illion across Europe and America.

The idea came from Kristian's struggles to make quality pizza from home (twitter.com/OoniHQ)

Now, it’s emerged the couple are planning to sell a stake in the business in a deal that could propel them into the ranks of Britain's wealthiest people.

Ooni, based in Scotland, is in talks to hire investment banks to advise on the sale of a minority stake in the company, according to Sky News sources.

One City source suggested the company is aiming for a valuation worth hundreds of millions of pounds as part of that sales process.

According to the broadcaster, private equity giants with a track record of investing in consumer goods brands are likely to be among the potential bidders for a stake.

Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland were running an education company in 2012 when they stumbled upon the idea to help families create their own restaurant-quality pizzas at home.

Kristian founded the idea. Speaking on their website, the founders explain: “He [Kristian] was really getting into making pizza but he was frustrated— ‘my pizzas are good, but they’re not great.’

“The pizzas Kristian was able to make at home lacked that restaurant-quality taste that comes from a very high heat. His domestic oven simply wasn’t cutting it.”

Kristian went on the hunt for a wood-fired pizza oven to use in his backyard, but all the products he found were either too expensive or too big.

After a series of sketches, many prototypes and ongoing backyard testing, he created the world’s first ever portable wood-fired pizza oven a decade ago.

The business had its best year on record during the pandemic as businesses were forced to close and the UK was plunged into three lockdowns (WLC)

Ooni’s slogan is to ‘make great pizza at home’.

The brand’s website reads: “Right now, we’re selling our pizza ovens all over the world. Hot and fast is how you cook truly great pizza - all of our models get hot as hell (that’s 950°F/500°C last time we checked) and cook incredible pizza in only 60 seconds.

“Before Ooni, if you wanted pizza that good you had to go to a restaurant or spend thousands on a traditional pizza oven. Not anymore, friends.”