Patties Foods

Patties

Type	Public
Industry	Food
Founded	1966
Founder	Rijs family
Headquarters	Bairnsdale, Australia
Area served	Australia, New Zealand
Key people	Steven Chaur (CEO)
Products	Meat pies Pastries baked goods frozen fruits and desserts
Divisions	Four'N Twenty Patties Herbert Adams Nanna's Chefs Pride Snowy River brands Creative Gourmet.
Website	pattiesfoods.com.au

Patties Foods, is an Australian food manufacturing company that produces meat pies, baked goods, frozen fruits, and pre-made desserts. Patties Foods is represented in the Australian market by the Four'N Twenty, Patties, Herbert Adams, Creative Gourmet, Nanna's, Chefs Pride and Snowy River brands. Patties is the largest Meat pie producing company in Australia, and the world. They are the producers of several well-known Meat pie's, including the Patties, Snowy River pie, Herbert Adams pie, and as of 2003, Four'N Twenty pies. Patties Foods is headquartered in Bairnsdale, Victoria.

History

Founded in 1966 by the Rijs family, immigrants from the Netherlands.
Based in Bairnsdale in Victoria's Gippsland region.
Publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
In 2003 Patties Foods expanded substantially, purchasing the Victorian brand Four'N Twenty from US multi-national Simplot, along with Simplot's other Australian bakery product lines and brand names.

A family company

Founded as Patties Bakeries, Originally a cake shop in Lakes Entrance, Victoria, in August 1966 Patties Bakery, originally named for the owner's wife Patty Neat,^[1] was purchased by Peter and Annie Rijs, whom emigrated from the Netherlands in 1956. In 1967 the Rijs family began to build business by introducing pies and bread rolls. The demand for Patties' product increased, prompting a series of shops and bakeries to be built, bought and sold. In 1985 a new factory was built and production was moved to Bairnsdale, where it continues to this day.

The business continued to expand over the years, Patties began distribution in Melbourne in 1986, and in 1995 exporting to New Zealand. In 1993, Patties launched Arriba, a Mexican food range. In 1996, after pastry sales grew, Patties sold its bread business to Sunicrust in order to concentrate on pastry products. Demand for pastry products continued to grow, resulting in significant expansions to the factory. In 1998, a two million dollar plant renovation and extension took place, including installation of a spiral freezer. In 2000, a new parallel manufacturing line, capable of making all pasties, sausage rolls and finger foods, was installed, substantially increasing capacity.

Australian iconic brands Four’n Twenty, Herbert Adams and Nanna's were purchased from American multi-national Simplot in 2003 and Patties began manufacturing the associated products in the Bairnsdale factory in 2004. In 2006, Patties was inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame^[2] and the Gippsland Business Awards Hall of Fame.

A public company

Patties Foods was publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and became publicly listed in 2006.^[3] The Rijs brothers, sons of the founding Mr and Mrs Rijs, retained 40% shareholding of the company. In 2007 Patties acquired the Chefs Pride and Creative Gourmet businesses,^[4] and introduced gluten free foods to its product roster.^[5]

Since its founding, Patties Foods has grown into one of the largest pie manufacturers supplying the grocery market in Australia.

The long-standing family MD and CEO, Richard Rijs, retired in November 2007. The non-executive director, Michelle Allen was appointed his replacement at that time.

In September 2008, Greg Bourke, took over as MD/CEO after 20 years experience in senior executive roles for George Weston Foods in Australia and New Zealand. He resigned in September 2013 with the CFO Michael Knaap and Sales Director Tim Peters becoming acting CEOs.

In April 2014 named Steven Chaur as their new Chief Executive Officer .^[6]

During 2014 the company's frozen fruit packing line was closed with 18 people redeployed.

In early 2015 a recall was ordered on Nanna's frozen berries which had been imported from China and Chile, after 5 people contracted hepatitis A.^[7]

Brands and product lines

Patties's Pie's

Pies, pasties, sausage rolls and quiches in three different sizes (standard, party and mini party), there is also a gluten free range of patties pies

Four'N Twenty

Pies, including the 'traveler pie', pasties and sausage rolls.

Wedgewood

Pies, party pies and sausage rolls.

Nanna's

Frozen fruit, family and snack sized fruit pies, waffles, danishes, crumbles and jam filled donuts.

Herbert Adams

A range of gourmet pies, pasties and sausage rolls.

Snowy River

Pies, pasties and sausage rolls in two different sizes (standard and party).

Arriba

Burritos

Creative Gourmet

A range of frozen foods including mixed berries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, pitted cherries, rhubarb cuts and cranberries.

Chefs Pride

A range of bistro items, desserts, finger foods, fruits, vegetable and specialty items which are supplied to hotels, restaurants and other leading hospitality establishments.

Contamination of products by hepatitis A

Beginning in February 2015, four people contracted hepatitis A due to the consumption of "Nanna's frozen berries" manufactured by the Patties Food Company .^[8]^[9] The NSW Food Authority advised consumers to dispose of foods recalled due to the incidents in the following manner:

Consumers should not consume this product. Consumers can return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.

As of 18 February, the number of people who contracted hepatitis A from consuming infected products rose to 12.^[10]

The products affected include:^[11]

Nanna's Raspberries 1 kg packs
Nanna's Frozen Mixed Berries 1 kg packs
Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries 300g and 500g packs

As at 5 April, Patties had provided no further press releases indicating the outcome of the testing.

References

↑ "Patties Foods - Company History". Retrieved 27 April 2014.
↑ "Makers, big and small, get place in spotlight". The Age. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
↑ "PATTIES FOODS LTD (PFL)". ASX. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
↑ "Patties Foods warns of impact of costs". The Age. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
↑ "Gluten free drives a new mini-industry". The Age. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
↑ "Patties appoints new CEO. Patties Foods has appointed Steven Chaur as its new chief executive.". Australian Associated Press. SBS (Australia). 28 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
↑ "Distributor of frozen berries linked to hepatitis A defends response.". ABC News (Australia). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
↑ "Recall: Nanna's Mixed Berries, frozen". NSW Food Authority. 15 February 2015. Retrieved Feb 16, 2015.
↑ Schmit, Julie (Feb 16, 2015). "Nanna's frozen berries recalled over Hepatitis A link". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved Feb 16, 2015.
↑ Schmit, Julie (Feb 18, 2015). "Frozen berries hepatitis A scare: Nanna's raspberries product recalled from sale". ABC News. Retrieved Feb 18, 2015.
↑ Schmit, Julie (Feb 18, 2015). "Frozen Berries Hepatitis A Outbreak Sees Focus Narrow On Raspberries As Prime Cause". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved Feb 18, 2015.