Bath Twp. dad's invention made for picky pizza eaters

BATH TWP. - Blake Pierman has a hard time ordering pizza with his two young daughters, who can be picky eaters.

Brooke, 12, might want to eat barbecue chicken while Brianna, 9, might want Hawaiian. It can take a while to figure out what works for everyone.

However, the last straw came when the Bath Township man found himself stuck in a Fort Wayne, Indiana, pizza joint last year with a whole basketball team that couldn’t agree on the same toppings.

“I thought it was ridiculous, and, on the ride home, I thought that there’s got to be a way that everybody can have what they want,” said Pierman, who works as a production supervisor at Spartan Printing & Promotional Products.

When he got home, he came up with a cardboard prototype of what would become the Your Slyce pizza divider, a silicone ring that fits around a 14-inch homemade pizza and allows people to add individual toppings to eight slices before putting it in the oven. He eventually got in touch with his hometown friend James Stajos, who helped him mass produce the product in May.

Two weeks ago, Pierman struck deals with Amazon, Toy “R” Us and Bed Bath & Beyond to list the product on their websites. He is currently in talks with retailers such as Kmart, Sears and Walmart to list it on their websites. Your Slyce's price ranges between $16.99 to $19.99 before shipping. It's packaged in a pizza box.

On his own website, www.yourslyce.com, Pierman has sold 500 units.

“Kids love it because they are just so picky when it comes to pizza,” Pierman said. “The soccer moms I shared it with thought it was great.”

Ann Koch, of Bath Township, is one of the people he shared it with. She has used Your Slyce to make pizzas and cheesecake.

"My son is a picky eater so that's why I love (Pierman's) invention," Koch said. "I always had to eat cheese pizza with him, and I can now make what I want, and he can make what he wants. That way everyone is happy. The kids can be involved in cooking it too."

Your Slyce is made with flexible silicone so it’s easy to clean and dishwasher friendly, Pierman said. He is considering offering different sizes and shapes of the product for different types of pizzas. Pierman said he hopes to see Your Slyce in big grocery stores, where at least one aisle is dedicated to pizza products.

"If they are selling all those pizzas, this should be hanging with them," he said.

Contact Alexander Alusheff at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.