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BRAND PROFILE MRS MAC’S MAINTAINS ITS RECIPE FOR SUCCESS A commitment to quality and convenience while being ever alert to trends has inspired and sustained this prominent Aussie pastry product company since the 1950s. By Emily Devon. T he name Mrs Mac’s sounds just as comforting as having a piping hot pie in your hands – and appropriately so. The business has a long history, dating back to 1954 when Ken Macgregor moved his family across Australia from Melbourne to Perth. Since then the company has kept evolving, adapting and staying on top of whatever consumer trends have emerged. Originally, Mr Macgregor opened a pie and cake business, Bakewell Pies, and earned a strong following of loyal customers, who followed over when Mrs Mac’s branding began. The proudly owned family business is focused on maintaining its commitment to the highest quality, in terms of both its people and products. “We use only the freshest and highest quality ingredients, over 80 per cent being sourced locally, and only 100 per cent Australian beef,” Head of Fuel & Convenience Daniel King said. In addition to maintaining strong relationships with local suppliers and using fresh, quality ingredients, the team at Mrs Mac’s takes pride in its ability keep up with consumer trends. “Mrs Mac’s is a business that has continued to evolve in recent years, and that includes our product range... and ability to deliver products that meet sustainability and consumer trend expectations and beyond,” Mr King said. The business has strengthened its relationship with Optus Stadium in Perth, while being “proud of our long and ongoing support of Foodbank, providing product back to those communities who need it most”. Moving on with on the go To capitalise on consumer purchases in the fuel and convenience space, Mrs Mac’s provides high-quality products via food to go, Mr King says, adding that the food-to-go category is now much more attractive “through innovation offers such as snack-based smaller- portion products and breakfast offers”. “\\\[Food to go is\\\] one of the fastest 40 CONVENIENCE WORLD SEP/OCT, 2020 growing categories within the fuel and convenience channel, and with more users seeking on-the-go food offerings, it’s critical that we ensure we meet the consumer need,” he said. “We’ve also introduced a bakery style product, Bake Your Own, which enables stores to bring a bakery style product to the P&C channel, to lift the quality and freshness of hot pastry beyond what you’d normally expect.” Quality with plant-based pies Mrs Mac’s is launching its plant-based range into the P&C channel over the next few months. Research from the AACS State of Industry Report 2019 showed that customers are willing to spend more if it means guaranteed freshness and quality, giving impetus to Mrs Mac’s goal of maintaining the high quality of pastries it has produced since the beginning. “Mrs Mac’s has created a range that will meet the freshness and quality requirements for the category and will also deliver value for money for the customer, which we believe will be a winner with FTG \\\[food to go\\\] customers,” Mr King said. Explaining Mrs Mac’s move into a plant- based range, Mr King said: “Plant-based products are a consumer trend across a raft of food offerings, with one in three Australians actively reducing their meat intake. “The Smokey BBQ & Jackfruit Pie and the Black Bean & Chipotle Burrito Roll are all natural and assured to attract the health-conscious consumer.” Resilience and sustainability The Mrs Mac’s business has proved it can withstand anything consumers, and the world for that matter, throws at it, says Mr King. “We refuse to sit still,” he declared. On its response to Covid-19, he added: “With petrol and convenience as our key channel, we’ve seen some impacts from a sales perspective. However, the hot pastry segment has been very resilient during this time.” Mrs Mac’s is keen to promote its sustainability initiatives. “We’re proud to support Australian businesses and of the work we’ve undertaken to ensure our products meet our sustainable objectives, with hormone-free high-quality 100 per cent Australian beef, RSPCA approved chicken and free-range eggs,” Mr King said. “Recent investment in operations has seen significant improvements in reducing our waste and use of plastics, with an increase in fully recyclable packaging.” Mr King concluded: “Our target is to be the leader in quality hot pastry products, delivering them as a proud and sustainable business.”