Montana met with its Maket\u016b-based team on Monday to inform them of the sale and a proposal to close the factory when its lease ends in December.<\/p>\n
Montana Group chief executive Lizzi Pearson said it would support staff as they digested the news.<\/p>\n
She said the factory lease ending provided an opportunity to \u201ctake stock and consider how the brand\u2019s next-level potential can be maximised\u201d.<\/p>\n
The factory on Little Waihi Rd was established in 1982, the year Maket\u016b Pies was founded by a local family.<\/p>\n
Pearson said the factory had been extended several times and was no longer fit for purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe factory would realistically require a full rebuild to accommodate further production growth and product storage \u2013 without that, Maket\u016b Pies has reached capacity at the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether that next chapter takes place in Maket\u016b or in another manufacturing location will be the decision of the new owner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearson said the company was proud of its achievements with Maket\u016b Pies, including \u201csignificant growth\u201d in nationwide distribution, increased demand and positive feedback.<\/p>\n
Maket\u016b Pies general manager Craig Williams told the Rotorua Daily Post the team of 28 \u2013 including fulltime and casual workers \u2013 took the news \u201cas well as could be expected\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team have got a lot of respect for how the business has been run since Montana\u2019s taken it over.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never easy through these types of things because nobody knows at this stage what the outcome\u2019s going to be, but we\u2019ve got a team of people who really deserve to know what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams said a new buyer could be interested in running the business in the same facility, which would be the \u201cbest possible outcome\u201d for the team, hopefully enabling jobs to be retained.<\/p>\n
Another possible outcome was that a new buyer may already have a factory – in the Bay of Plenty or elsewhere, he said.<\/p>\n
Maket\u016b Pies general manager Craig Williams has led the brand\u2019s push to get its pies back into dairy and service station warmers. Photo \/ Annabel Reid<\/p>\n
Williams said the team had put a lot of energy, effort and resources into \u201cputting the brand back on the map and delivering a really good quality product\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a brand and a product that genuinely does exist out of a community of people \u2026 and I think if there\u2019s a new owner that can bring that on and continue the work that we\u2019ve done around making sure that we keep honouring that tradition, then that\u2019s the best outcome we can hope for, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams said if the factory proposal went ahead, \u201cwe\u2019re seeing this as the close of our chapter\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we really hope that the next chapter carries on the work that\u2019s been done and can leave our team really proud of what they\u2019ve done to get us where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said staff had the opportunity to provide feedback on the factory proposal. <\/p>\n
Decisions would be made next week.<\/p>\n
Almost tripling production <\/p>\n
Williams said Montana\u2019s strategy when it took over the business was a brand \u201crefresh\u201d.<\/p>\n
After buying the business out of liquidation, Williams said there was a \u201cfair perception\u201d that the brand and quality had \u201cslipped\u201d since its heyday.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that was one of the first things we needed to fix.\u201d<\/p>\n
The business focused on quality ingredients and \u201cdelivering a really top-quality product\u201d.<\/p>\n
For the first six to eight months, it tried to \u201cput Maket\u016b back on the map\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last 12 months, we\u2019ve very much been focused on \u2026 getting back into back into pie warmers.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its prime, the pies were in more than 1000 pie warmers nationally, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Montana picked up the business in late 2024, that number was down to less than 100 pie warmers<\/a>. Today, it\u2019s more than 600 and growing, as well as on more than 200 different supermarket shelves.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve more than doubled, almost tripled the production, and revenue of the business during that time \u2026 the team\u2019s been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n