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Peter’s targets pie-eating football fans
by Michael Kavanagh - 02/11/2010
"Pastry munching football fans look set to benefit from a renewed bout of pie marketing wars with Peter’s Food Services aiming to win market share in sports grounds across England and Wales."
Mike Grimwood, managing director of Peter’s, said the Welsh foodmaker aimed to increase the number of stadiums it supplied from 38 to more than 70 after hiring the former managing director of Holland’s Pies, a key rival.
Privately owned Peter’s, which two years ago had a presence at four football grounds, is set to continue to offer free pies to fans travelling by coach to away fixtures at clubs where it wins new business.
Fans of Birmingham City are among those to have benefited from free pies this season after the club ditched a rival supplier.
The company also plans to tackle the main logistic problem facing football ground pie-sellers – the half-time queue. Its pie range will be “hawked” by mobile vendors, precluding the need for fans to go to food stands.
The initiative coincides with the contentious signing of Neil Court-Johnston, former managing director of Holland’s Pies, to the new post of managing director of Peter’s food service division.
In June, Mr Court-Johnston was suspended amid allegations he was negotiating a possible buy-out of the Holland’s Pies division without the consent of Northern Foods, its owner. Since then, neither side has commented directly on Mr Court-Johnston’s suspension and departure.
Holland’s is the dominant supplier to football clubs as well as fish and chip shops in north-west England.
Mr Grimwood said he was determined to establish the link between his own pie range and sporting prowess. “We are aiming to make our brand the sportsman’s pie,” he said.
Mr Court-Johnston believes new marketing techniques can raise the “penetration rate” or proportion of football fans eating pies from about 10 per cent to as high as 25 per cent.
Any significant uplift in sales would be relatively lucrative to Peter’s, which already supplies a range of pies, pastries and sausage rolls to most of the UK’s supermarket chains including Asda, Tesco, J Sainsbury, Aldi and Lidl.
Pies typically retail at grounds at between £2.50 and £3.50 ($4 and $5.70) but supply costs are estimated at between 50p and £1, offering high margins to stadium caterers and their suppliers.
More Details: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cdab9a4c-e542-11df-8e0d-00144feabdc0.html
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