An Oxon pie business has said sales have doubled in the last four weeks of supplying its products to Budgens, British Baker can reveal.

Coleshill-based Paul’s Pies, founded by former poultry and game dealer Paul Sykes, has been supplying a range of its savoury pies to six of the independent food retailer’s stores within the Oxfordshire region, which has helped the company to increase sales within the four-week period.

Speaking exclusively to British Baker, Sykes said: “I started out at farmers’ markets in Notting Hill selling my pies and customers told me that my products were good and I should be selling them in shops.

“When the business started back in April 2011, I was making 28 pies each day for local markets. Now, we have a dedicated pie kitchen, with small team making around 500 pies on a daily basis. We are still a small firm, but reaching this level of production is a quite a big milestone.”

He added that Paul’s Pies is looking to supply its products to other local and national retailers, and will be attending the IFE food and drink trade show in London next month with a view to finding new customers.

Paul’s Pies currently employs four members of staff, two of whom joined the company four weeks ago to help with increased production, working in a dedicated manufacturing site based in The Old Slaughterhouse in National Trust village Coleshill.

The company has introduced four new pie varieties into its product range this month, including steak and Guinness, venison and mushroom, and chicken and mushroom, as well as a vegetarian Homity Pie.

Other new products which the company is launching include a minced beef and onion pie, sausage rolls and a cold picnic pie, as well as a Moroccan Lamb pie due to launch this spring.

Looking at the company’s future, Sykes explained: “We are developing new products all the time, we are spending thousands of pounds on new ovens and equipment, and we will be investing in expanding our production of units per day. We are looking at major expansion this year.”

He added that he will look to extend on Paul’s Pies’ existing premises in the future to cope with increased demand for products, as well as taking on new members of staff.

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