In episode 300 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Andris Lagsdin, founder of The Baking Steel, a pizza stone retailer with a range of products made from ultra-conductive steel. Listen in as Lagsdin discusses why he launched the brand, his professional background, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced The Baking Steel's business. He shares how the business doubled-down on online marketing to meet increased consumer demand for at-home cooking products during the health crisis, how he's built a small but mighty team to fuel company growth, and what he's doing to continue to grow the direct-to-consumer side of the business.

In addition, Lagsdin discusses the importance of content in customer acquisition and retention, how The Baking Steel is improving the customer experience on its website, and where he sees consumer behavior headed post-pandemic. Lastly, he shares why he's focused on enhancing the customer experience across all of the brand's channels to sustain The Baking Steel's growth in the future.

Andris Lagsdin is an experienced founder with a demonstrated history of working in the think tanks industry. Having studied Culinary Arts, Andris is pretty passionate about food — pizza in particular. As fate would have it, one day, Andris was reading pieces of "Modernist Cuisine" by Nathan Myhrvold. In his book, Myhrvold stated that the best tool to use for making the perfect pizza crust would be a piece of steel. And that was his “AHA” moment! Andris grew up with and worked for a family-owned steel manufacturing business, Stoughton Steel. He hustled out to his family plant, found a piece of quarter-inch, high-quality steel and brought it home for some testing. And The Baking Steel was born. Now, pizza lovers everywhere can “create the crust you crave.”