Pukka Pies, the family-owned business which supplies football grounds, chip shops and supermarkets around the UK, has seen its sales rise on the back of millions of pounds of investment.
The food business said it was spending £2.6 million improving its Leicestershire operations this financial year, on the back of £4 million last year and almost £4 million the year before.
Pukka said turnover increased from £58.1 million to £65.2 million last year thanks to new product launches, improved distribution and growing its slice of the retail market.
But it said it was working hard to maintain value for money in the face of what it called the “demanding and volatile nature of the current market”.
Pre-tax profits, it said, were down from £5.85 million to £4.35 million, due to factors such as the added costs of launching two new ranges, investment in marketing and the impacts of inflation. Prices had also gone up as a result, it said.
The business was founded by Trevor and Valerie Storer in 1963, and is still owned by family. It has 375 people on its payroll.
The brand, based in the town of Syston, north of Leicester, launched a new Pukka slices handheld range in September 2021, and is also confident its expanded frozen ranges will build sales even further over the next 12 months.
As well as chilled and frozen pies it now supplies pasties, slices, sausage rolls and bakes.
Chief executive Deborah Ewan said the past year had been full of milestone moments for Pukka, particularly when it came to innovation.
She said: “We’re in a strong position at Pukka, but the market conditions have deteriorated significantly since the end of the financial year, with food and energy inflation ramping up to levels not seen in 50 years.
“We have worked hard to mitigate the impact of inflation through improved efficiencies and collaboration with our suppliers.
“This year we’re celebrating our 60th year in business, we remain focused on our number one priority to keep feeding the nation, and continuing to invest in our people, bakery, brand and environment, so that we can put Pukka on more plates and on even more eating occasions through our innovation all year round.
“Along with our major move to launch our chilled Pukka slices, sausage rolls and pasty – which we supported with a £2.4 million marketing campaign urging Brits to ‘stand up for full on flavour’ – we also recently boosted our presence in the frozen category by increasing our Pukka pie range and adding pies, bakes and sausage rolls to our frozen line-up to drive incremental sales.
“This wave of demand-driven, insight-led innovation is all part of our cohesive strategy to ramp up visibility of chilled and frozen savoury pastry products across the store to propel growth for both our customers and the savoury pastry category.
“The fast pace of this exciting innovation pipeline is fuelling even greater demand for our products across all of our retail channels, as well as our chip shop and stadia heartland, which remains a key focus for us.
“Now, as we go from strength to strength, we are opening up more opportunities for Pukka in the out of home sector – and, of course, continuing to invest in our team and our bakery.”
She said Pukka also remained focused on supporting the local community and sustainability across the bakery, sending zero waste to landfill and ensuring that all edible pies which aren’t sold are packed and distributed to local and national charities.
Ms Ewan said: “Giving back to the community is part of what makes us Pukka.
“Last year, we donated more than 280,000 pies to charities across the UK – and we’re committed to continuing to play our part in feeding the people of Britain in the years to come.”
