Pizza oven brand lands multi-million pound backing for expansion plans
Investment firm Growth Partner has completed its latest funding of fast-growing international pizza oven brand Gozney.
Growth Partner, which is backed by HomeServe founder and chairman Richard Harpin, has completed a multi-million-pound investment into one of the UK’s fastest-growing consumer brands.
The firm has taken a minority stake in South West firm Gozney as it continues its journey to becoming the world’s leading outdoor cooking brand.
Gozney, founded in 2010 by entrepreneur and designer Tom Gozney, has created a multi-award-winning range of premium pizza ovens, accessories and consumables.
Over the last decade the Dorset company has been on an incredible growth journey becoming a pioneering market leader in both the UK restaurant and global at-home pizza oven sectors.
Tom founded the business at the tender age of 21, sober and fresh out of rehab after years of struggling with addiction.
Tom started the business by selling innovative pre-cast pizza ovens to restaurants.
For the first time, restaurants could have a pizza oven delivered and installed in a day.
Gozney quickly grew to be a market leader supplying the likes of Franco Manca, and Pizza Pilgrims.
In 2016 the firm launched the category defining portable pizza oven Roccbox.
Since, Gozney has continued to push the boundaries of the category through its innovative designs and unparalleled pro-grade performance on a mission to change the way the world cooks outdoors.
Gozney’s latest release, the eagerly anticipated Arc, sold over 10,000 units upon launch driving the biggest month the brand has seen to date.
The launch builds on the release of their pinnacle pizza oven, Dome, back in 2021 which revolutionised the outdoor oven category looking like nothing else on the market whilst offering limitless versatility and unparalleled performance. Dome sold out within hours of being released on pre-sale and generated over $6.5m sales, catapulting the brand into a new phase of growth and unlocking further business opportunities.
In 2023, Gozney appointed US based board member and industry veteran Denny Bruce (formerly of Dickies, Traeger, Skullcandy and Vans) as CEO to reinforce the senior leadership team as the brand continued to experience rapid business growth on a global scale expanding into new revenue channels and markets.
Until 2021, Gozney was a 90% direct to consumer business driving revenue almost entirely through their e-commerce site.
The last few years have seen the brand expand into wholesale within speciality retailers with Gozney ovens now found at several best-in-class specialist retailers across the US, UK, Germany, and Australia including giants such as John Lewis, ACE, and Home Depot. The brand has seen this strategy go from strength to strength with their US wholesale business now for the first time surpassing digital sales.
Looking ahead, Gozney is set to expand its presence in the $22bn outdoor living market through the launch of exciting new products, including equipment and consumables, that will broaden its customer base, and enable more people to experience the joy of outdoor cooking that Tom and the rest of the Gozney community are so passionate about.
The investment from Growth Partner will bring capital and expertise to support international expansion, as the team realises its ambition to build a multi-billion-dollar brand.
James Worrall, Partner at Growth Partner, led the deal and was supported by Callum Harvey.
Richard Harpin said: “Tom has already been on an incredible journey and showcases the persistence and determination that I look for in all great entrepreneurs. I am excited to be partnering with Tom as I share my learnings of over 30 years of building HomeServe in the UK and internationally.”
Tom Gozney said: “Over the last few years we’ve been on an amazing growth journey thanks to our pioneering product range that has redefined the category. As our growth continues to accelerate, Growth Partner’s investment will support us in unlocking the next phase of development allowing us to continue to push the boundaries of the sector with our innovative designs and build into a globally recognised brand.”
James Worrall said: “The outdoor cooking market is expected to grow at 5% per annum, as consumers continue to invest in outdoor living. In Gozney, Tom has created a premium brand that reconnects families and friends over the joy of cooking outdoors. We’re excited to be partnering with Tom and Denny as Gozney continues to disrupt the outdoor cooking market both in the UK and overseas.”
