The pie firm has grown from husband and wife in their home kitchen, to a team of 25+ supplying over 300 pubs and restaurants nationwide and businesses including Stockport County F.C, Booths, RHS, Virgin Trains 1st Class and several Premier League football clubs
Great North Pie Co, the home of high quality, award-winning pies, has achieved 20% YOY business growth since it launched in 2011, as it announces it is set to open a brand new city centre kitchen and bar.
After growing organically over the last 12 years, the self-funded business has grown from its initial husband and wife team to now produce up to 25,000 pies a week during the busy Christmas period, supplying consumers directly via monthly farmer’s markets and its online store, plus to more than 300 businesses nationwide.
With a strong team of 25 now on board, Great North Pie Co has set its sights on establishing its flagship venue in its hometown to accompany its other pie and mash cafes, which already include venues in Altrincham and the Lake District. The new Manchester city centre space, Kampus, will launch in February 2023.
Co-founder, Neil Broomfield, commented: “We’re lucky to be in this position and we don’t take anything for granted. We just focus on what we’re doing and always maintain the consistency and quality, both with our pies, but also through the way we treat our customers. We always try to do the best for them.
“We’re proud of how we work. We started from scratch without any knowledge or background in food production, so we’ve had to learn everything as we go. We always try to stay loyal and work with the same suppliers to help each other and to grow with them. We don’t chop and change. We’ve always invested back in the business to make it more productive and a nicer place to work for everyone here. There are difficult times ahead but we just need to focus, keep our heads down and keep on producing quality products.”
The news follows Great North Pie Co’s recent deal to supply its pies to a variety of football clubs, including Stockport County F.C., Leeds United F.C. and a premier league club, and has also boasted a listing with premium supermarket, Booths, where they have now been stocked for 4 years. Prior to the pandemic, its biggest customer was Virgin Trains First Class.
Great North Pie Co now supplies its small batch pies to a host of pubs and restaurants across the UK, including the likes of Robinsons Brewery, a family run, North West brewery, and Peach Pubs, which was recently acquired by bar operator, Revolution.
Each pie is made bespoke to the requirements of each business, where the Great North Pie Co team works collaboratively with the businesses on the flavours and techniques, including incorporating Robinsons Brewery’s own beer, Unicorn, into the ingredients for its menus. Both Robinsons Brewery and Peach Pubs have named Great North Pie Co as a top seller on its menus, with 55,000 pies being sold each year at Robinsons managed pubs alone.
Clive Dixon, Head of Food at Peach Pubs and previously Head Chef at Heston’s Hinds Head Bray, added: “We are proud to work with Neil and the team. We have a really good relationship and it’s great that we are able to work together on creating new flavours. If you want good quality, you go up north, and Great North Pie Co has beaten off the competition in all tastings I’ve done. The pies really are special and are phenomenal.”
With the winter season in full flow, Great North Pie Co hasn’t lost sight of where it began – at local artisan and farmer’s markets. This winter, their delicious hearty pies can be found at a host of farmer’s markets across Altrincham, Urmston, Bakewell and Chorlton.