Scottish pie maker Bells Food Group has made its first foray into the frozen category, unveiling a new range of bake-at-home pies.
Three variants are being produced – the Bells Scotch Pie, Macaroni Cheese Pie, and new Scotch Chilli Pie. They are available in packs of three (rsp £2.30 to £2.50) in Iceland stores throughout Scotland and in all Farmfoods outlets nationwide.
The family-owned firm, based in Lanarkshire, bakes around 16 million Scotch pies annually. It estimates sales of the new range will be around £2m in the first year.
“Launching into the frozen category is a natural progression as we look to extend the reach of our products to more customers and consumers,” said finance director and part of the third generation of the Bell family to run the business, Samantha Murray. “The new range tastes great and provides excellent value for money.”
Bells announced last month it had been awarded a major contract to supply own-label pastry to Tesco throughout the UK, resulting in the creation of 15 new jobs. The contract will see it produce 5.5m packs of puff pastry in five different formats including ready roll, block, and Tesco Finest butter pastry. They will be available in 862 Tesco stores across the nation, with the first batches on shelves now.
The company also received funding from Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland earlier this year to help make healthier products, which it will use to reduce fat in its pies.
Bells currently has an annual turnover of £26 million, with around 220 employees on the books. It operates two bakeries plus a distribution centre in Shotts, and says it holds 60% of the hot pie market in Scotland.
The group moved up to third place in Kantar’s analysis of the top 50 Scottish take-home food and drinks brands (excluding alcohol) in 2022, behind soft drinks brand Irn-Bru and Grahams Family Dairy.
No comments yet