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Pukka Pies to invest £4.5m in Leicestershire site
Pukka Pies is to make a further £4.5m investment to significantly enhance manufacturing capacity and capability at its Syston bakery as it gears up for future growth. The announcement comes 12 months after the pie manufacturer invested £5m at the site.
The investment was announced as the company revealed annual figures to May 2020 showing turnover rising to £53.1m and profit up 13.5% at £4.1m, reflecting a successful year despite an impact on its foodservice division due to Covid-19.
Pukka has also continued to focus on sustainability across the bakery with 100% of its electrical supply now generated from renewable schemes accredited by Ofgem. This followed the introduction of fully recyclable plastic free packaging across its chilled supermarket range in 2020. The packs are made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified cardboard and removing the plastic window saves 11.4 tonnes of plastic annually, marking an important step towards achieving greater sustainability across the bakery.
Pukka Pies has announced it will invest a further £4.5m to increase capacity at its Leicestershire factory / Picture: Pukka Pies
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Pukka’s chief executive officer, Deborah Ewan, said: “Despite the challenges we have all faced since March last year, with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, our business remains in good health, which is why we are pleased to be able to announce this continued investment in our business at this time.
“Our announcement of continued investment in the Syston Bakery will further reinforce Pukka’s position as a key employer in the region, with local people being at the heart of our success and future vision. It is all thanks to the ongoing care and consideration of our committed Pukka colleagues that we have been able to continue baking under stringent health and safety measures in order to do our bit to feed the nation, whilst safeguarding the business for everyone involved with Pukka.”
Pukka’s sales in retail have continued to rise over the last year, Ewan confirmed. Whilst sales in foodservice have reflected the difficulties its customers in this sector have had over this same period.
Ewan concluded: “Despite all the turmoil in the market, our ambition hasn’t changed. We want to put more pies on more plates more often and that means a significant investment to ensure we are enhancing the capability and capacity of our bakery.
“We’re a family run business that started making and baking pies in 1963 and we are still looking for ways to innovate and improve our business to make sure we are giving the people of Britain what they want. We have exciting plans for 2021 and are confident that Pukka will continue to grow for many years to come.”
During the course of last year, Pukka reached several milestones including the launch of the brand’s first step into plant-based food with an innovative range of vegan pies, together with the introduction of a new ‘Just For Two’ range of pies that are designed especially for two to share. The business also saw its largest ever investment in marketing with ‘The People’s Pie’ multi-channel campaign.