Savoury pastry manufacturer, Pukka Pies is to sink £5m in its Leicestershire bakery to boost manufacturing capacity, as its gears up for future growth.
The news comes as the group announced that in the 12 months to 25 May 2019, turnover rose to £52.7m up from £49.3m in like-for-likes, and pre-tax profits increased to £3.6m, up from £2.6m.
Chief executive Deborah Ewan said, 'The last year has marked a significant step-change for the business, including the launch of a successful and bold new marketing and TV campaign, as well as investment in a new look and more environmentally friendly packaging.
'So, it is very exciting to reinforce our growth and development with the announcement of further investment in our bakery.'
Pukka has introduced new fully recyclable plastic free packaging across its chilled supermarket range. The packs are made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified cardboard and removing the plastic window saves 11.4 tonnes of plastic annually.
Ewan added, 'We introduced some big changes last year, and the good news is that they have paid off with an increase in demand for our pies. But we’re not resting on our laurels.
'Our ambition is to put more pies on more plates and in order to do that we need to increase production in the bakery. That means a significant investment in upgrading machinery to ensure we are enhancing the capability and capacity of the bakery.
'We’ve been making and baking pies for over 55 years and are continuously looking for ways to innovate and improve our business to make sure we are giving the people of Britain what they want.'
Ewan concluded, 'We are planning more innovation for 2020 and are confident that Pukka will continue to grow for many years to come.'
Founded by the Storer family in 1963, Pukka Pies now employs 360 people in the Leicestershire. The company sells around 60 million pies a year in the UK and abroad.
