Oven innovator Uuni fired up with £530,000 funding

Kristian Tapaninaho, designer of the Uuni outdoor oven. Picture: Rikard Osterlund

Kristian Tapaninaho, founder of Broxburn-based Uuni, said more than 1,180 people around the world have now snapped up the firm’s Uuni Pro device, described as the world’s first quad-fuelled outdoor oven, capable of running on pellets, wood, charcoal and gas, which can cook pizza in less than two minutes.

Tapaninaho, who launched the company with his wife Darina Garland, said: “We have been absolutely blown away by the response and enthusiasm for Uuni Pro.

The Uuni Pro can cook a pizza in less than two minutes. Picture: Rikard Osterlund

“We’re a family-run company with big ambition and it’s with the help of platforms like Indiegogo that we get to showcase our new products to our ever-growing community and be given the opportunity to spread the word, welcoming new Uuni fans to our channels.”

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Tapaninaho recently picked up a £7,000 prize after being hailed as the “entrepreneur of the moment” at the Entrepreneuring Awards, hosted by business start-up accelerator programme Entrepreneurial Spark in partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland, accounting group KPMG, technology giant Dell EMC and law firm Harper Macleod.

The accolade came after Garland won the Shona Sibbald Women in Business Award at a ceremony organised by West Lothian Chamber of Commerce in November.

The Uuni Pro can cook a pizza in less than two minutes. Picture: Rikard Osterlund

The company also won £50,000 in grant and loan funding at last year’s Scottish Edge awards for innovation and growth after impressing an expert panel of judges chaired by Lord Smith of Kelvin.

Uuni saw turnover soar by 300 per cent last year to reach £2.5 million, with sales of £450,000 in November alone.

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