![\"Maketū](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/maketu-pies-are-in-600-pie-warmers-across-aotearoa-V6DG32TT45B4XAL72GPXNDV5BE.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMaket\u016b Pies is going up for sale less than two years after it was bought by the Montana Group, potentially impacting 21 full-time jobs.<\/p>\n
Montana met with the Maket\u016b-based team on Monday afternoon to discuss a proposal to close the Bay of Plenty factory when its lease ends in December. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Maket\u016b Pies team are an incredible group of people who are deeply passionate about Maket\u016b and the Maket\u016b Pies business. Understandably, team members need time to digest the news, and we will continue to support them throughout this process,\u201d Montana Group chief executive Lizzi Pearson said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so proud of what we have collectively achieved in a relatively short amount of time with Maket\u016b Pies. The entire team has worked incredibly hard to give the brand a new lease of life and could not have been achieved without the huge amount of nationwide support we have received.”<\/p>\n
A Montana Group spokesperson confirmed to 1News 21 full-time jobs would be potentially affected.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, the reason for this development is that the factory lease in Maket\u016b ends in December, so it\u2019s been the right time to take stock and think about next steps. Since purchasing Maket\u016b Pies nearly two years ago, the team and Montana have grown the business significantly \u2013 in short they have turned it around. So it\u2019s in a super positive place for someone to potentially pick it up and take it to another level.”<\/p>\n
Pearson said the factory, originally built in 1982, had been “extended in several iterations over the decades, resulting in a fragmented site that is no longer fit for purpose”.<\/p>\n
“The 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,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Whether that next chapter takes place in Maket\u016b or in another manufacturing location will be the decision of the new owner.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Maket\u016b Pies are in 600 pie warmers across Aotearoa. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
Stretching far beyond its roots in the Bay of Plenty, at its peak the pie brand was available in up to 1500 pie warmers across Aotearoa, Maket\u016b Pies general manager Craig Williams said.<\/p>\n
“When Montana picked up the business in late 2024, that number was down to less than 100 pie warmers. Today its more than 600 and growing, as well on more than 200 different supermarket shelves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maket\u016b Pies went into liquidation in November 2024 after five years of losses before being sold to the Montana Group.<\/p>\n
Williams said he was confident a new owner would be able to continue the growth of the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur team have rebuilt a solid foundation and set a framework and strategy that ensures Maket\u016b Pies has a place in what is a very competitive market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a brand that was invented by a marketing team on a whiteboard \u2013 it has grown over more than 40 years from a home kitchen helping to feed kids in the local community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Maket\u016b Pies legacy spans generations, and now is the right time for a new buyer to turn the next page.\u201d<\/p>\n
The consultation period would be completed next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maket\u016b Pies is going up for sale less than two years after it was bought by the Montana…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,144,111,139,69,1756],"class_list":["post-616360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-food-drink","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tauranga-bay-of-plenty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}