UK-based Gozney is the global leader in high-quality, design-led outdoor pizza ovens. ·gozny
Tom Gozney admits the first wood-fire oven he invented 15 years ago was “an eyesore”. However, it did change his life.
The self-taught British product designer and entrepreneur founded eponymous outdoor pizza company Gozney in 2011 after recovering from alcohol and drug addiction at the age of 21. He said that obsession with the beauty of products has since become one of the cornerstones of the company’s rise.
The Bournemouth-based company has enjoyed great success globally during the coronavirus pandemic, with revenue rising from £5.2 million in 2019 to £72 million in 2024, and it currently employs around 120 people in China, Australia, Europe and the United States.
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“I went to rehab and I was reborn,” he said. “I quit drinking and partying, which was a challenge in itself. The business and cooking over fire were my lifesavers. I fell in love with the product, what we sell is community, connection and social experiences. That was the foundation of my recovery.”
Gorzny discovered live-fire cooking while entertaining friends in his garden, built his first oven by hand and was captured by a production line connected to pizza making.
Tom Gozney has turned his passion for innovation into a multi-million pound brand. ·gozny
He read deeply about the thermal properties of cement and clay, and Gozny’s first suitable product was conceived with a compact one-piece cast dome and £5,000 borrowed from his mother. He spent £2,500 on fiberglass molds and used market research to design a concrete igloo.
Primo costs £499 as an entry-level product, and Leamington-born Gozney has patented a professional oven that is faster and cheaper to install than a conventional oven. His terracotta-style products found a niche among restaurateurs and transformed the business into a market leader.
In 2011, Gozny was learning how to build a company website and attend agricultural shows. Five years later, he was doing business as Stone Bake Oven Company, selling commercially to companies such as Franco Manca and Pizza Pilgrims, before integrating his commercial and online operations into the Gozney brand. It also became the first UK company to receive an exemption from Defra for use in smoke control areas.
Gozney’s lightweight Roccbox is billed as the world’s first portable stone floor oven, a first for the British brand. Gorzny said that when Roccbox was launched to consumers in 2016, sales hit £900,000 in the first month and around 400 consumers have since quit their jobs and started selling pizza as their sole income.
“That’s because our product works in a commercial way,” he said. “We call them the Gozny Collective, they were the pioneers of the pizza movement and decided to change their lives.”
Peddling Pizza’s Adam Atkins is its oldest “collective” member. He was an Amazon driver who worked long hours before building a brand that “earns three times as much as a delivery driver while working a quarter of the hours.”
Gozney’s Arc Lite is a compact version that can cook 12-inch pizzas. ·gozny
Today, Gozney’s products range from the recently launched Arc Lite to the premium Dome XL, which can reach temperatures of 500 degrees Celsius and cook pizza in 60 seconds. Time spent at Gozny’s company also included passionate quips about his products. “If Apple and the 300-year-old Neapolitan oven could have a baby, it would be the Gozzini oven,” he laughs.
He noted that the original Dome was its flagship product. It launched in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 and generated sales of £6 million in just four hours after launch. Not bad for a company that had no retail distribution before partnering with John Lewis in 2021 but has since caught the attention of Elon Musk.
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Musk’s employees are said to have complained about the quality of pizza at the Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur’s San Francisco headquarters. “He must have been Googling when he went out and brought a bunch of Gozni with him,” said the Briton, now back as chief executive.
“I learned that no experience in brand building nor formal education [expelled from several schools and colleges in Bournemouth]I have an incredible intuition about our consumers and our products,” said Gorzny, who said he “probably” has ADHD and dyslexia.
“If I could speak to myself 15 years ago, it would be to have faith, go out and build, follow your gut, find good people who understand the vision, stay focused and believe anything is possible.”
He told employees not to brand like an outdoor cookware brand. “We want to be as much a forward-thinking garden fashion brand as a streetwear brand,” he added.
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Next year will mark Gozny’s 20th anniversary of sobriety. As a brand owner, he says influencing consumers has been the most compelling part of the job after suffering through his teenage years.
“After my 21st birthday, I’m grateful to be able to wave the white flag,” he said.
“I couldn’t hold down a job, and for some of these guys who are at a crossroads in their lives, they’re able to buy a pizza oven and be their own boss, and it gives them purpose. It’s very powerful.”
Gozny’s business acumen
The real boss of this operation is my wife Laura. Without her we would have no business. She doesn’t take any credit, but she contributes 50% of what we build. They say that behind every man there is an incredible woman, and that’s certainly true for me.
Product connection
Let consumers feel at ease when they see our product and feel it is easy to use, even if you have no experience in making pizza, you can use it.
It’s an obsession with performance and quality. We never wanted to incorporate technology into the product, nor did we want it to be Wi-Fi enabled. We want that visceral connection, but one that works all the time.
Simple recipe for pizza
Flour, water, yeast and salt. It’s so simple, yet four dough ingredients work such wonders to enhance one’s cooking experience.
The founder and CEO of Gozney discovered his love for cooking over fires at the age of 21 after recovering from drug addiction. ·gozny
Innovation
It’s not about being a Dyson or having a flashy marketing headline, the core focus of our innovation is making results more accessible to consumers. When you obsess over building your brand around the consumer rather than the bottom line, great things happen.
Understand the business
Balancing ambition and business discipline has been a journey for me. The desire to grow and build products and manage rapid global growth has its twists and turns.
as founder
Everyone pretends it’s all roses outside, but you’re peddling like a maniac underneath the surface. Business is about solving problems every day.
Put my name behind the brand
The inspiration for owning a family business came from an Italian oven manufacturer. If I’m going to build something that I’m deeply proud of, I want to name it. This is my legacy, creating unprecedented moments for families and creating value for consumers.
Return as CEO
It feels like a change of seasons and the founders are injecting some energy into the company. I don’t have a corporate background, and founder courage and determination come with benefits and limitations. I love this industry like a newborn and it’s great to reconnect on such a good level.
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