From humble beginnings to an BY G E O R G I E D E S A I L LY
What started with a homemade chunky steak pie recipe from a Charters Towers roadhouse and a bold vision to supply Australia with premium quality convenience pies has since become a multi-awardwinning company that manufactures over 6,000 pies an hour and sells their products to several countries across the Asia-Pacific. Established in Townsville in 2003, The Outback Pie Co. has a long-standing reputation for its quality range of pies and baked goods that have graced the shelves of various regions throughout Australia for nearly two decades. Managing Director, Milo Gaffney, and his wife, Camilla Jorgenson, who has been instrumental in building the business, says the company’s commitment to quality and consumer satisfaction is at the core of building the business into an aspiring iconic Australian brand. “The idea of The Outback Pie Co. was born from a discussion at a family barbeque about the opportunities for pies in the greater Australian market and from that conversation stemmed the seed of an idea which we worked on and developed,” explains Milo. “In 2003, we invested in purchasing a small business in Aitkenvale which gave us a manufacturing base and a platform to set up our distribution roots which we used to build the foundations of the business.
Photo credits: Sonia Warrell, Hello Muse Photography
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“Fast forward to today, we now employ many locals and take great pride in having a dedicated team who are passionate about the brand and our products.” Their distribution strategy has been heavily focused on the food service and petrol and convenience market segments. Despite tough competition from much larger competitors, the business has yielded success by focusing on standout marketing and leveraging its specialist manufacturing capabilities. “The goal was always to develop the petroleum and convenience industry and we really focused on the innovation of the product and providing a key point of difference,” says Camilla. “We also decided to brand the pastry lid on our pies as a unique marketing strategy that reinforces our brand strapline ‘Pies So Beefy, We Brand ‘em’. This strongly supports the brand’s core proposition of products made with 100% Prime Australian Beef.” The business soon identified export potential for its products and in 2011 began designing and building their factory in the Bohle to accommodate this new business venture. The North Queensland based export accredited facility is now one of only three in Australia, and the only export pie making factory in Queensland.
