Ooni Pizza Ovens increases entry salary to 54% higher than the UK National Minimum Wage

West Lothian-based Ooni Pizza Ovens has made the decision to increase its minimum entry level salary for employees to £25,000.

Ooni Pizza Ovens increases entry salary to 54% higher than the UK National Minimum Wage

 Darina Garland and Kristian Tapaninaho

That’s 54% higher than the UK national minimum wage and 45% higher than the Living Wage Foundation’s real living wage.

Launched in 2012 and founded by husband-and-wife duo Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland, the pair created a brand new category by offering a small, fast and accessible wood-fired pizza oven that gave ordinary people the critical tool to make great pizza at home.



Now with a full range of pizza ovens and tools Ooni Pizza Ovens is now one of the UK’s fastest growing companies in the UK, with offices in Scotland, the US, Germany and China.

At the start of 2021, to thank its staff for their efforts over the last year, the award-winning pizza oven brand made the decision to increase its entry salary to £25,000 (or local equivalent) and give all team members a 10% salary increase.

Darina Garland, Ooni co-founder and chief experience officer, said: “People are at the heart of our business and our culture focuses on people and passion. We believe that by investing in our team everyone wins. Our employees are crucial to the success of our business and our dynamic team deserves to be empowered and know that what they do 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, is helping to make the world just a little bit better – one slice at a time.

“Now with around 120 employees, work culture is still at the very core of our business growth plan. We’re so grateful we’ve been able to onboard so many team members remotely and still have a world class experience. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming the team, both new and existing to Ooni HQ with weekly pizza parties and yoga classes, once COVID-19 restrictions lift, and continue to foster Ooni’s unique culture across different geographies.”

Andrew Brown, Ooni chief financial officer, added: “There are loads of reasons to love working at Ooni Pizza Ovens but for me, our minimum salary increase stands out. It’s a simple, bold, progressive and empowering step to oppose unjust wage gaps and recognise that our people are our business and our success.”

The company has also recently opened offices in the U.S, Germany and China in order to aid the global growth of the brand.

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