Proof’s in the pudding – or pie! – as Daily Bake land £1M+ contract

by
Micheal McKenna
November 13, 2014

An Armagh business has landed itself a contract worth more than £1 million – producing a range of pies made with Northern Ireland only ingredients!

Daily Bake, which is renowned for its range of ready made meals, is producing three new varieties of own brand pies for Spar, which is owned by the Henderson Group, alongside the Fresh team of the family-run retailers based in Mallusk.

The range is the idea of Armagh man Steven Kennedy, who is part of the Henderson Group team.

They will retail at £3 each and be on sale at Spar, Eurospar, Vivo, Vivo Essentials and VivoXtra stores across the Province.

“At the Henderson Group we strive to work with local farmers and growers for the majority of our fresh range,” Mr Kennedy said.

“Their products currently represent 75 per cent of our entire fresh offering. We know what our customers want and our consumer research led us to a gap in the market for a savoury pie with a homemade feel.

“Northern Irish consumers are quite particular when it comes to baked goods, so it was important for us to source the best local products to go into them and to choose the best suited business to produce it for us.”

Three varieties are being produced – chicken and leek, mince and onion, and steak and vegetable.

And the ingredients for the are being sourced as follows: Onions, leeks and carrots – Gilfresh, County Armagh; Beef mince and beef steak – Hewitt Meats, County Armagh; Chicken – Rockvale Poultry, Armagh; Margarine – Andrew Ingredients, Lisburn; and flour and seasoning – Henderson Foodservice.

Even the very packaging is made here, with packaging by Priory Press in Holywood and the foil from Brow Packaging, Belfast.

Daily Bake managing director Jonathan Stinson said being awarded the contract by the Henderson Group was a “commendation to the quality of our convenience foods”.

He added: “Daily Bake was first established by my mother Sheila Stinson, in 1988, and since then we have continued to produce high quality pies and pastry products.

“We are especially delighted to be chosen to produce the Spar own brand pie range. It is a great testament to our capabilities and presents a huge opportunity for us in terms of their size, scale and reach.”

Steven Kennedy, of the Henderson Group, which owns Spar, and Jonathan Stinson, Daily Bake managing director, pictured in the shadow of St Patrick’s Cathedral as they launch the ‘Northern Irish pie’.