Filling adventures

The traditional British pie has come under fire in recent years, with consumers often mistrustful of the quality of pie contents. Competition from the wealth of other options on offer to consumers has never been so great, and suppliers are recognising that it's now time for more innovation if the traditional British pie is to survive.

Robert Burt, managing director of luxury pie maker Mr P's Premier Pies, comments: "The slow but steady decline of the consumption of pies in the UK must be arrested. It's up to manufacturers to provide better-quality products, and buyers to demand the best available for their customers. When the consumer is offered a high-quality, luxury pie with that home-made look and filled with first-rate ingredients, the perception of the pie will shift."

He continues: "It's the common perception that pies are a frozen product with poor-quality meat. Frozen doesn't necessarily mean low quality, but perception is incredibly important when consumers are going through the purchasing process."

Burt compares pies with another British staple - the sausage. "Last year, the sausage market enjoyed an 11% increase in sales in the UK," he says. "The sausage is, similarly, a traditional British dish that has suffered from the perception of low-quality, cheap ingredients, in addition to the negative attitude held by consumers towards British meat since BSE and the foot-and-mouth crisis. However, with innovative new product development and high-quality ingredients, sausage and mash is back on the menu everywhere, from trendy city-centre brasseries to local village pubs."

The largest of Mr P's markets is with national contract caterers, which demand a high-quality product, from the filling recipe to the home-made look on the plate. Buyers in this sector work closely with manufacturers such as Mr P's, says Burt, to develop new products, and to forecast and respond to trends in the food market. He says that they are always looking for innovative ingredients and presentation ideas. One result of this is the company's recently developed Chicken and Asparagus in Stilton, which was launched in direct response to the increased popularity of Stilton throughout the food service and retail markets.

According to Debbie Dillon, marketing manager of savoury pastries for Brake Bros, the prime driver for Brake Bros in the pie and pasty market is the increasing number of people eating on the move. The company's new range of hand-held pastry snacks have been designed to be easier to eat than traditional pies but with familiar - and some less-familiar - fillings. Choices include Bombay Vegetable and the all-day breakfast lattice, aimed especially at office workers who tend to eat breakfast at their desks.

Traditional favourites such as the Cornish pasty have been revamped and transformed into the Cornish Roll - a Cornish pasty in an oblong shape. The Mediterranean Vegetable Roll is a similar idea for a vegetarian alternative. "We're taking pies and pasties to a new level where they don't have to be eaten with salad and chips on a plate," claims Dillon.

Mr P's is also developing luxury pies for the "on the go" market. "Pastry presentation of a hand-held product is very important, as it mustn't disintegrate," Burt says. "This also applies to the filling, which mustn't be too liquid or it becomes an inconvenience food."

Pies and pasties are still proving popular in the workplace, too, according to Dillon, with vending machines and microwaves increasing in number, reflecting workers' growing tendency to graze throughout the day.

Large brewery groups such as Whitbread, Scottish & Newcastle and Yates also make up a substantial piece of the pie market. Burt says they tend to concentrate on more traditional products such as steak and ale and chicken and mushroom, with pub customers demanding a filling, tasty, home-made pie in preference to those with more adventurous ingredients. "Most importantly," he says, "the pie must be perceived as excellent value for money."

Pubs, especially, are asking for more premium pies, according to Dillon, as more and more want to offer decent pub food with a pint. "Maybe, after BSE and foot-and-mouth, people were wary of pies," she says, "but they're now coming back, and our premium range, where they know they are getting quality meat, is proving very popular. The best seller is Chicken, Ham and Leek followed by Pork, Apple and Cider." Brake Bros also has a Chilli Con Carne filling, which is not yet proving as popular.

For a vegetarian alternative with a meat pie feel, vegetarian food specialist the Redwood Company has introduced Cheatin' Bites: meat-like "pieces" that come in Barbecue, Five Spice, Tikka and Chicken styles. Redwood says that the Bites have all the flavour, texture, appearance and "bite" of meat yet are totally free from animal ingredients, being made from a blend of soya and wheat protein. Cheatin' Chicken and Leek pie is one of Redwood's suggestions, topped with puff pastry, to provide a high-protein meal free from lactose and cholesterol.

Making up a smaller sector of the market, says Burt, and supplying to a diverse customer base including individual pubs and restaurants, are wholesalers and leisure groups such as Pontin's and Butlin's. Here, price and quality meet head-to-head, the choice - and the price that can be charged - often being down to what type of meal the consumer perceives the pie to be, whether it is a formal meal or fast food.

Quantity, not quality
At the other end of the "pie meal" spectrum sit fish and chip shops and football stadia, where, says Burt, price overrides all other requirements. "Presentation is not at the forefront of priorities on a mid-November afternoon at half-time," he says. "Hot, cheap and filling are the consumer's main concerns."

Dillon agrees, adding that universities and sporting events such as football matches are target areas for Brake Bros, these being areas where eating on the move is on the increase. Penny's hand-held pies, for example, is a range which again mixes the traditional with a convenient shape - oblong pastries come in their own holders in traditional varieties such as Steak and Kidney, and Chicken and Mushroom. "The target market is primarily male and found at football matches, chip shops, etc," says Dillon. "There are no low-fat options here."

Contacts

Brake Bros
0845 606 9090
Freshbake Foods
0161-868 6847
Mr P's Premier Pies 01889 565414
The Redwood Company 01536 400557

Freshbake Foods

One of Europe's largest pastry factories is the Freshbake Foods plant in Salford, Greater Manchester, which has spent £5m since 2000 to improve its facilities.

Among the changes is the introduction of a laminating technology (a form of rolling out and layering the pastry), which pastry quality manager Nick Goodwin says is crucial to high-quality bake-off results that ensure consistent presentation in food display cases and on the plate.

Food service customers, from fish and chip shops to industrial caterers, now account for more than 46% of total sales from the plant in the form of frozen, unbaked pies.

Freshbake is also targeting a wide spectrum of "grazing requirements", from quick-service, roadside, take-out and event catering to pubs, schools and hospitals.

The Baughans brand began in the 1960s as a van sales operation in Essex. Freshbake started making pies and pasties in 1974 and acquired Baughans in 1982. The brand now offers premium-quality pies with preglazed puff pastry and traditional fillings.

The company has also extended its Microbake range of pies to six varieties. The pies bake from frozen in a microwave and have either a shortcrust top on a puff pastry base or a new Mashtop concept, with a mashed potato topping that browns and crisps on a shortcrust pastry base.