A Tasmanian pie maker with around 130 staff at its Hobart bakery is banking on national expansion to keep its business brand growing.
National Pies has landed its cheeseburger pie in Woolworths stores across Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and select locations in New South Wales.
It is the latest move in a strategy the company has been pursuing since the pandemic, when it shifted from a purely Tasmanian operation to one chasing national reach – living up to its namesake.
Scott Purtill, head of sales, marketing and new product development at National Pies, said the pivot happened during COVID.
“During COVID, we relaunched our business with a national focus,” he told Pulse.
That push has taken the company from selling through local retailers and service stations to stocking products in Woolworths, Coles and Bunnings cafes across the country.
Purtill said the growth was directly tied to keeping jobs in Tasmania.
“It’s really important for us to continue to grow our brand around the country as it keeps our people employed,” he said.
The cheeseburger pie driving the Woolworths rollout started as a limited-time offer through Bunnings cafes in 2022.
It became the brand’s best-performing limited release and was brought back to Bunnings in March this year, where strong demand again prompted the move into supermarkets.
Purtill said the product tapped into a simple idea.
“Australians love both burgers and pies, so combining the two felt like it was gonna be fun and a natural fit for us,” he said.
The company already sells a chilled range in the ready meal sections of Woolworths and Coles stores around the country, meaning the cheeseburger pie joins an existing national footprint rather than starting from scratch.
In Tasmania, National Pies sells through Woolworths, Coles, IGA, Hill Street stores, service stations and on the Spirit of Tasmania.
“It’s exciting to see a Tasmanian product continue to grow nationally and to be in Woolworths supermarkets is really good for our brand,” Purtill said.
For the Hobart bakery and its 130 workers, the bet on national expansion appears to be paying off.
