The \u201cplanets aligned\u201d, and Williams was brought in to lead the brand\u2019s rebuild.<\/p>\n
Maket\u016b Pies began in 1982 when a local grandmother began making pies in her kitchen and handing them out through her window, Williams said. <\/p>\n
They proved so popular the next generation set up a small shop attached to the house.<\/p>\n
The family then expanded the original home by adding new rooms, extensions and production spaces as demand grew.<\/p>\n
That same house is still at the centre of operations, forming what Williams described as a \u201crabbit warren\u201d of production rooms, chillers and ovens.<\/p>\n
The brand soon expanded across NZ, becoming one of the country\u2019s most recognisable pie names in the 1990s and early 2000s.<\/p>\n
For locals, Maket\u016b Pies became a point of pride – something from their backyard that made it big.<\/p>\n
The Maket\u016b Pies factory, where the iconic Bay of Plenty brand began and still operates today. Photo \/ George Novak. <\/p>\n
Williams said the reduced product range of 13 pies, from its height of 40, meant fewer staff were needed. <\/p>\n
He is no stranger to the food industry.<\/p>\n
The 52-year-old spent most of his working life in food and hospitality, starting as a teenager at Georgie Pie<\/a> before studying business and moving into senior management roles, including running high-end supermarket chain Farro Fresh.<\/p>\n He described pies as a core part of NZ\u2019s food culture and something people took seriously.<\/p>\n Kiwis were happy to spend about $15 on a burger or sushi, but expectations were much higher when spending \u201cfive or six bucks on a pie\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a tradie\u2019s lunch, it\u2019s a family meal … it\u2019s important to people,\u201d he said – and people go looking for a good pie. <\/p>\n Before taking on the Maket\u016b role, Williams had been considering semi-retirement and even explored opportunities overseas, including working in Antarctica and running a business in Vanuatu.<\/p>\n Since taking over, Montana Group focused on fixing the foundations of the business before pushing for growth.<\/p>\n The company returned to the pies\u2019 original handmade pastry recipe, which used higher-quality ingredients. <\/p>\n It had invested in repairing and upgrading equipment at the Maket\u016b factory, tightening food safety systems and reducing the range to focus on consistency and quality.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to go out too early and still be delivering a product that might not have been great,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to get it right first.\u201d<\/p>\n He saw Maket\u016b Pies as something that belonged to the community as much as the company, and something he was meant to be a part of.<\/p>\n The focus was on steady growth and rebuilding relationships with New Zealanders.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about going back to the foundation of the business,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n Crowded market, limited warmer space<\/p>\n Williams said the pie market could appear \u201cpretty saturated\u201d from the outside, but he believed there was still a gap for Maket\u016b Pies.<\/p>\n Its industry data suggested about 80 million pies were sold in NZ each year, with the country ranking among the highest per-capita savoury pie consumers in the world.<\/p>\n He estimated Maket\u016b Pies was operating alongside about 20 other pie brands nationally in a similar \u201cmainstream, good-quality\u201d segment – not budget pies, but not gourmet either.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t view those brands as rivals to \u201cknock over\u201d, and said Maket\u016b Pies didn\u2019t need to be everywhere to succeed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe only need to be in 10% of them to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams said retailers had generally been receptive, with particularly good responses from the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.<\/p>\n Many in those regions had dealt with the brand before, held \u201cgood memories\u201d of the pies and had noticed they were \u201cmissing\u201d.<\/p>\n Some were open to stocking more uncommon parts of the Maket\u016b Pies range, such as its fish or mussel pie. <\/p>\n Williams said he was \u201cvery confident\u201d the brand could return to its former standing and believed people\u2019s faith in Maket\u016b Pies was still there.<\/p>\n A worker who\u2019s seen the highs and lows<\/p>\n Production and scheduling manager Nina Kingham has worked at Maket\u016b Pies for 15 years.<\/p>\n The Te Puke local joined the business straight out of high school in 2010, starting in the packing room.<\/p>\n Kingham said there were \u201cbugger all\u201d opposition pie brands at the time and Maket\u016b Pies were \u201ceverywhere\u201d, stocked in \u201call the supermarkets\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were real busy\u201d.<\/p>\n Many families had multiple generations working there.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I had first started there, it was locals … so many different lots of families\u201d, Kingham said.<\/p>\n Kingham said Maket\u016b Pies began \u201cslowly going downhill\u201d about three years into her job.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything was getting smaller\u201d, with reduced hours and declining output. <\/p>\n Maket\u016b Pies general manager Craig Williams is leading the brand\u2019s push to get its pies back into dairy and service station warmers. Photo \/ Annabel Reid<\/p>\n
Pies on the production line at the Maket\u016b Pies factory. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n