They make pans for pizzerias all over the world including all of the top 10 pizza chains.
Based out of Spokane, Washington, Keith Seiz, spokesman for Lloyd Pans talked with us about a very unique company in the Pizza Business.
Q – Keith, for starters what is your position with Lloyd Pans?
A – My position at Lloyd Pans is I’ve been working with them for 11 years basically bringing their pans to pizzerias and restaurants around the world. So, we’re a marketing agency, but a little more than a traditional one in that we go pretty in deep with our clients and work really closely with them on kind of how do we brand them and get as many sales as possible. So yeah we’ve been working with Lloyd Pans for a real long time.
Q – Lloyd Pans makes pans for pizzerias all over the world including including all of the Top 10 Pizza Chains. Sounds to me like Lloyd Pans has the marketplace to itself or do they have competition?
A – There’s definitely competition in the pizza industry but, whenever it comes to the quality that’s where we reign supreme. We make the most durable pizza pans out there. There specifically built for the pizzerias that are crowded, kitchens making countless pizzas a day. They’re really high quality durable pans. Plus we make them right here in the United States which makes us very unique in the marketplace, the fact we manufacture everything we make out in Spokane Washington.
Q – Lloyd Pans started then in Spokane?
A – Yes. They started there and there still there today. They just continually expanded the manufacturing facility.
Q – The company was founded more than 30 years ago. Do you know what year?
A – I believe the exact year was 1985.
Q – Did the founder of the company have a pizza background?
A – No, not really a pizza background. Just wanted to manufacture a product United States and picked pizza pans. They were really novel from the beginning because they were one of the first in the pizza industry to exclusively sell their products online on lloydpans.com which 30 years ago wasn’t exactly a popular thing because we’re selling B to B not to consumers. So now it’s our main channel. Almost all of our pans are either sold on lloydpans.com or Amazon. So, a little early for the game and it took a while for the company to take off, but, in the last 10 years that’s the way the industry shifted and we were the first to do it.
Q -And these days you are selling to consumers, not just pizzerias, correct?
A – Correct. Anybody can buy our pans. Predominantly commercial business to business started baking more at home and exploring things like making pizzas. Our consumer sales went absolutely through the roof, also because the popularity of the Detroit pizza pans and we make the best Detroit pizza pans on the market. So people kind of really wanted to explore that style of pizza which has brought a lot of consumers to the business.
Q – That’s like a pie pizza you can eat with a fork?
A – Yeah, you can or you can just dig right in. The big thing is it’s a square rectangular pizza that’s kind of fried dough almost. You use a lot of olive oil on the bottom of the pan so you get a crunchy exterior, but the crust is really, really light and airy almost like a focaccia. You build it kind of in reverse. You start with the cheese directly on the crust and then the toppings then you put the sauce on over top.
Q – Sounds good!
A – Its delicious.
Q – And you would know!
A – I’ve baked a lot of Detroit pizzas and it’s always a family favorite or when I have friends over at home as well as we’re starting to see a lot more restaurants serving Detroit style pizza
Q – You mentioned that the person who started Lloyd Pans didn’t have a pizza background. That being said who then was designing all of the pans?
A – That person did have a pizza background. So, that’s another great thing about manufacturing in the United States, and owning your own manufacturing facility. The company really kind of built its prototype of how to kind of make the best pizza pans by really talking to pizzerias and people who are in the industry, and tinkering with the pans and making them to wear their exactly perfect for what a pizza maker would need. We also have a really unique process where we anodize the pan. We make an aluminum pan and then there’s this process called anodization that puts hard coat surface on the pan that makes them extremely, extremely durable. Then we put a round coating on it that is proprietary and is stick resistant. You don’t have to season it which is a big thing. You don’t have to put oil on it, cook with it and bake with it. It’s beautifully put on. It’s a really great product that’s built to be just used and used and used without ever having to worry about it.
Q – Before Lloyd Pans was in existence, what were professional pizza makers using to make and bake the pizza in?
A – There have been pizza pans made by various companies for a long, long time. The difference is we really upped the game on quality. A lot of pizza pans thin aluminum pans that would warp, that would scratch easily so, your pan investment consisted of buying cheap pans, abusing them and then repurchasing them. We wanted to change that. We wanted to make pans that had incredibly long shelf life that you could continually use them and you weren’t going to scratch them. You weren’t going to warp them, you weren’t’ going to damage them. They are really an incredible durable pan that would last forever. That was really the goal behind it.
Q – Keith, as popular as the Internet is, not everybody is online. Did you ever have to go around and make in person calls to pizzerias? And when I say you, I mean anyone from Lloyd Pans.
A – No. We never had a direct sales team. It’s one really unique thing about the company. The goal in the beginning was to sell pizza pans online. Then when the owner stepped aside and the new CEO was named and she’s still here today. Her name is Tracy. She made the decision to kind of continue that about not having an outside sales team, but, to invest in the brand. The concept was, if enough people know about us and every pizzeria that does use us tells everybody how great we are, then we’ll slowly build the company and that proud and very successful strategy. Really how we’ve grown it’s just by producing great pizza pans that every time somebody uses it they’ll tell five other people that this is where you need to buy your pizza pans.
Q – Percentage wise how many Lloyd pans are sold to individuals?
A – To consumers I would say its 30% to 40% and the rest is business.
Q – So, the word is out!
A – Yeah, it really started during the pandemic. It was through the roof and we were doing about 80% of our sales to consumers just because restaurants either weren’t open or struggling so we kind of pivoted our strategy. With all the people sitting at home wondering what to do they started baking a lot of pizzas.
Q – Is it possible that Lloyd Pans can grow bigger than it already is?
A – Definitely. I mean we are always looking to grow. We are always looking to expand our facility. It really gives us the opportunity to have manufacturing here in the United States which is a pretty unique thing. There’s not a lot of manufacturers, especially large pan manufacturers here in the United States. Were always looking for an opportunity to grow both in pizza and then also with consumers as well as restaurants and everything else.
Official website: lloydpans.com
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