West Lothian firm takes top accolade
An innovat i ve West Lothian business has been named “one to watch” at a prestigious awards ceremony.
Husband and wife team, Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland, chief executive and chief Experience officer of Ooni Ltd, won the title at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 virtual awards.
They created the world’s first portable outdoor wood-fire pizza oven and with sales in over 100 countries, the pair show strong prospects of scaling up globally.
The awards recognises the company’s step-change in growth and the positive impact on their industry.
Ooni Ltd’s focus on people, culture and customer experience has also been key. Kristian and Darina have incorporated reinvestment in the team and future growth into their business model.
Their culture is critical to business success, enabling them to attract and retain a close-knit, dynamic team which believes in having a positive impact on the wider community in West Lothian. At the same time, they are continuing to develop and improve their products based on customer feedback.
Darina said: “Kristian and I are delighted to have been awarded the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the One to Watch. It’s a complete honour to be in the finals with such an amazing array of entrepreneurs - and to actually win is a little bit mind-blowing. Our HQ is in Broxburn and we also now have offices in Bonn, Germany and Austin, Texas. We’re super proud of our team which is now 90 people.
“Our north star metric is customer happiness and as more and more people get Ooni Pizza Ovens they tell their family and friends about how great their pizzas and their experiences cooking are and we’ve grown via word of mouth! We are a values lead organisation with culture at our heart.”
Mike Timmins, partner and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year leader in Scotland, added: “Huge congratulations to Kristian and Darina on their award win. They have created an enviable workplace culture, which benefits the local community and is bringing them business success.”