Entrepreneurial twins, Luke and Owen Buckmaster refused to let the coronavirus pandemic get in the way of plans to start their own business, Doughboys Pizza, which they’ve now grown into a six-figure brand in less than 12 months.
The business partners and twins, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, launched their independent business from their own home only a few weeks before the first national coronavirus lockdown, and despite the unfortunate start, they refused to let the pandemic stop their plans of taking a slice of the £4.9 billion UK pizza market (according to EMI Global Pizza Market 2017).
Together with so many new businesses, the start of the pandemic threatened to put a halt to the twins’ dreams of owning their own a pizza empire, therefore the duo were forced to adapt their business strategy to reflect the unprecedented landscape.
With the entire country being told to stay at home, and restaurants having to temporarily close their doors, people were spending more time in the kitchen which led the twins to swiftly recognise the growing trend towards meal kits; a craze that saw a staggering 114% increase in sales in April 2020 compared to the previous year, according to Fine Foods Guild.
This inspired the Berkshire duo to create their own initiative, Doughboys Home Pizza Kits, which allows consumers to recreate restaurant-quality pizzas at home without the mess or hassle.
This stroke of genius led to a huge increase in sales and drove awareness of their innovative brand across the country with them gaining more than 10K followers on Instagram @doughboys_pizza in the space of just a few months.
As restrictions started to lift, the twins primary trading activity, which involves supplying their award-winning pizza bases to a variety of hospitality venues, reached new heights and the team now supply to more than 200 businesses nationwide.
Nearly 12 months on since the twins quit their day jobs to start Doughboys Pizza, they’ve sold hundreds of thousands of pizzas to customers all around the UK and have generated more than £300,000. worth of sales.
Luke, 21, said: “It’s honestly a little mind-blowing to see how far we’ve come from when we first decided to start the business. To say it’s been a challenge would be an understatement, but I guess we must be doing something right! This is just the start but I’m confident we’re a step closer to Doughboys Pizza becoming a household brand.”
The pair’s success has not gone unrecognised, with both Luke and Owen being shortlisted for the finals of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2021 within the Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year.
The two entrepreneurs show no sign of slowing down, with them relocating to a larger office and warehouse premises over the coming weeks in a bid to cope with growing demand, in addition to expanding their team and a pipeline of exciting projects which will certainly keep them busy.
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