Yorkshire Handmade Pies has kicked off a crowdfunding campaign with the aim of raising £100k to help fund its move to a bigger production bakery.
Founded in 2020 by James Sturdy, the business currently makes 12,000 pies a week at its 4,000 sq ft factory in Ripon, North Yorkshire but is struggling to keep up with demand. As such, it is hoping to move into a 22,000 sq ft bakery a few miles up the road, which will enable it to make up to 50,000 pies a week.
The piemaker added that the new factory in its current condition is ‘a great place to start’ on this journey but it needs work to bring it in line with requirements – which is what the funding would be used for. Pledges will directly contribute to a whole factory and office refurbishment, new manufacturing equipment, production space design and optimisation, and increased freezer capacity.
Pies are sold via Yorkshire Handmade Pie’s website for delivery across the UK, and supplied frozen for bake-off by consumers. The pies are described by the firm as ‘an ode to Yorkshire food and drink’ and are made with local ingredients including beef from named heritage and rare breed free-range cows, chicken from Herb Fed Poultry, and ale from Hambleton Brewery. Flavours include Yorkshire Broccoli & Wensleydale Extra Mature Cheddar; Free-Range Pork, Black Garlic & Orchard; Yorkshire Steak & Kidney; and the vegan-friendly Yorkshire Samosa.
“We are passionate about producing delicious pies from the very best local ingredients and to fulfil demand we need to move to a bigger bakery,” said Sturdy, who serves as MD of Yorkshire Handmade Pies.
“Our success directly impacts the success of our farmers and producers so we need to continue to grow the business and bring pie-happiness to more people. Investments start from as little as £10 going up to £100 so it’s open to everyone.”
The crowdfunder is open until 15 August and each investment is entered into a prize draw to win a £5,000 holiday in partnership with Harrogate-based travel agent The Travel Journal. There are also discounts on boxes of pies, which ramp up with every donation.
- £10 = 1 prize draw entry and 15% off four orders
- £20 = 2 prize draw entries and 15% off 8 orders
- £50 = 5 prize draw entries and 15% off 20 orders
- £100 = 10 prize draw entry and 15% off 40 orders.
Crowdfunding has proved popular among bakery firms of late with Cambridge-based Stir Bakery smashing its fundraising target last month, plant-based brand Oggs exceeding a £450k target in April, and Srsly Low Carb surpassing its goal of £200k late last year.
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