Kavinda Herath/Things
Simon Owen, marketing manager of Fat Bastard Pies, with a freshly made batch of cranberry chicken and brie pies at the company’s bakery in Invercargill.
About 3000 people are ready to join a club that will bring Invercargill feet straight to their door.
Fat Bastard Pies is introducing a subscription that delivers a refrigerated box of eight pies every month, anywhere in the country. Multiple boxes can be ordered.
When owner James Owen and his cousin Simon Owen, the company’s marketing manager, opened Fat Bastard Pies in Invercargill about six years ago, they were making about 350 pies a day.
That number is now 1000 and the pair expect it to increase to 5000 when the footclubs become operational later this year.
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There is already a huge interest with about 3000 people on a waiting list to join the club.
“As the brand has grown, we get messages on our Facebook from all over the country wanting our pies,” Simon said.
“It’s not realistic for us to open stores everywhere, so getting them online is great.”
The store in Invercargill continues to sell over the counter.
Flight attendants who have landed in Invercargill have told James to tell passengers that the store is a must-visit attraction.
“As soon as people get off the plane from Auckland, taxi drivers bring them straight to us,” James said.
Their large customer base was due to their feet meeting a consistent standard, he said.
Simon added: “You have to have a good product, then you have to have a concept, idea and brand that people can buy into.”
The way people talk about the brand makes them feel like they’re part of it, he said.
When the club is up and running, the pair expect the workforce to grow from nine to 19 full-timers in various areas of the business, including baking, food preparation and packaging.
James and Simon agreed that the growing support they’d received since opening was humble.
“I think there’s a bit of a revolt at the moment, not just with us, but with other bakeries in New Zealand, where quality of cakes and appreciation are coming back,” said Simon.
The prices for the cake club have not yet been announced.