The iconic Four’N Twenty pie is celebrating its 70th birthday this year, and producer Patties Foods continues to watch the brand increase sales volumes.
In 2016, Four’N Twenty sold a staggering 21 million pies, pasties and sausage rolls, equating to more than 57,000 of the hot savoury pastries consumed each day in Australia
Four’N Twenty GM, Marketing & Innovation, Stuart Smyth said that sales of Four’N Twenty pies had grown by 19% in supermarkets, and 2% in convenience stores.
According to Smyth, meat pies have long been Australia’s favourite food because of their taste, convenience and value. He said that the continuing growth in Four’N Twenty sales has been driven by flavour innovations and increased quality.
Roy Morgan Research’s latest findings show the number of Australians (aged 14+) who like eating pies (and pasties) has grown from 8.1 million (42.6%) in 2013, to 9.4 million (47.5%): That’s almost one of every two Australian adults who enjoy meat pies – and Patties says that the number is growing.
Four’N Twenty began in 1947 when Mr LT McClure began baking “the most delicious meat pies in Bendigo”.
To keep up with orders, McClure opened a store at the Melbourne Showgrounds, before eventually building a larger bakery in Ascot Vale, where deliveries were sent to cities and towns all across Australia.
In 2003, Patties Foods bought the Four’N Twenty business and has grown the market by steadily increasing its ready-to-eat range to a staggering 41 variants today.
Overall it has become Australia’s biggest selling brand, with Four’N Twenty products making up four of the ten top-selling pies in the convenience channel (AACS SOI Report 2015-16).