Good times for gourmet pies
Goodtime Pies is ramping up production and recruitment as demand for its pastry treats heats up.
The production line at the company’s Napier bakery will be busier than ever from next month thanks to a deal to supplymore than amillion pies a year to a gourmet brand.
The extra production will lift Goodtime’s annual output to more than 14 million pies, sausage rolls and savouries.
Goodtime managing director Eric Hill said the brand owner was looking to outsource its range due to its own growth and approached Goodtime for its ‘‘pastry expertise’’.
‘‘As dedicated pie makers, we have built up a reputation for our pastry quality as well as our fillings so it was a natural fit.
‘‘Our bakeries can also handle the numbers needed to supply supermarkets nationwide.’’
According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the average Kiwi eats 15meat pies a year – three more than the average Australian consumes – meaning the team of 5 million puts awaymore than 75 million pies a year.
To do its part inmeeting that demand, Goodtime employs more than 100 people across its Napier and Christchurch sites.
However, it will need to boost its staff numbers to keep up with the rate of expansion, Hill said.
It is hoped a change in the shift pattern established during New
Zealand’s Covid-19 lockdown will help recruit additional staff.
‘‘We had been talking about a four-day week before Covid hit but when we went into lockdown, we condensed our weekly shift pattern into four 10-hour shifts to reduce the number of days our Napier team spent outside their home bubble.
‘‘When we moved back to full production after lockdown, we asked our local team whether they would
like to continue with the four-day week [Monday to Thursday] and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.’’
Goodtime was planning to double its production over the next few years and the recent pie making deal was a step towards that goal, Hill said. ‘‘Covid made us have a hard look at our business and we have come out stronger. We have the footprint and potential production
capacity but will definitely need a bigger team.’’
The company supplies Z Energy with pies ‘‘naked’’ in the hot cabinet.
The other armof the business, Focus Distribution, suppliesmore than 1000 smaller customers including dairies, cafes, schools and lunch bars, as well as larger district health board and industrial canteens through a supply deal with Compass catering.