Meat Pie (Australia and New Zealand) - Commercial Production

Commercial Production

Manufacturers of pies in Australia tend to be state-based, reflecting the long distances involved with interstate transport and lack of refrigeration capabilities in the early years of pie production. Many pies sold ready-to-eat at smaller outlets are sold unbranded and may be locally produced, produced by a brand-name vendor, or even imported, frozen pies heated prior to serving.

The Australian meat pie manufacturer Four'N'Twenty says that its pie was invented in 1947 by L. T. McClure in a small Bendigo bakery, to become the brand Four'N'Twenty. Due to its relationship with Australian rules football, Four'N'Twenty has iconic status in Victoria and high popularity outside the state.

Other manufacturers predate this, and the pie manufacturer Sargent can trace their pie making back to 1906. Sargent meat pies were served at the opening of the Old Parliament House in 1927 — or rather 10,000 pies were not served and the left-over pies had to be buried nearby.

In South Australia, Balfours has been making pies since the early 1900s and remains (with Vili's) one of two major pie manufacturers in the state. Both of these pie makers supply pies to various venues hosting Australian Rules Football games.

Produced in Western Australia, Mrs Mac's Pies are now sold nationwide, found mostly in service stations and corner stores, competing with other brands in the contested takeaway hotbox market on the basis of quality and fillings other than the normal fare.

In Victoria, some of the well known and famous pie makers are Pie in the Sky from Olinda, Clarke's Pies from Mortlake, Kings Pies from Hamilton, Gillies from Bendigo, Beaumont's Pies from Geelong and Patties Pies from Bairnsdale.

In Tasmania, the main manufacturer of pies is National Pies. National Pies make typical beef mince pies, as well as "Cottage Pies", which are topped with mashed potato. National Pies' mince pies are rectangular in shape, as opposed to most other brands, which are round.

Australian Meat Pies were introduced into the United States in 1994 by Mark Allen, of Boort, Victoria, when he and his wife, Wendy, began operation of Pacific Products, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia.Stutchbury, Michael (20 June 1995). "Pies de resistance in the Land of the Feed". The Australian Financial Review. Almer, Sean (3 June 1996). "Aussie strives to put meat pies into diets of Yankee sports fans". Business Sydney.Pacific Products was a wholesale only business, selling their pies to chain retailers throughout the United States. Although Pacific Products is no longer in business, Mark Allen and his Partner Neville Steele opened the Australian Bakery Cafe in Marietta Georgia, a retail bakery which also ships its products throughout the USA.

In 1977, during the time that American fast food restaurants moved into New Zealand, Progressive Enterprises created Georgie Pie, a fast food restaurant with a menu based on meat pies. The pies were batch made and frozen at Progressive's Mangere plant. The first Georgie Pie restaurant opened in Kelston, Auckland, and at its peak in the mid-1990s had become a chain of 32 restaurants across New Zealand. However, after a major expansion, Georgie Pie became uneconomic to run and was eventually sold to McDonald's New Zealand in 1996. The last restaurant at Mission Bay, Auckland, closed in 1998.