Georgie Pie Pilot Adds Six New Restaurants to the Menu

17 July, 2013

Georgie Pie Pilot Adds Six New Restaurants to the Menu

• Georgie Pie pilot extended to see iconic Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese pie sold through six additional McDonald’s restaurants, taking the total tally to 17 restaurants
• Two more Auckland restaurants began selling pies this week
• Two restaurants in Palmerston North, one in Feilding and one in Bulls to begin selling Georgie Pie from early August
• National rollout still being evaluated

McDonald’s New Zealand today announced that six further restaurants will begin selling Georgie Pie, taking the total tally of restaurants in the pilot phase to 17, as the company continues to evaluate a national rollout.

Two additional McDonald’s restaurants in Auckland, Quay Street and New Lynn, began selling the iconic Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese pies on Monday. From 5 August, the pies will also be available at two of its restaurants in Palmerston North, its Feilding restaurant and its restaurant in Bulls.

McDonald’s New Zealand managing director, Patrick Wilson, says the response from the New Zealand public so far has been fantastic. Since the pie was launched, McDonald’s flagship restaurant in Greenlane has had to double the amount of ovens to cope with demand.

“The sales to date have been far greater than we projected which tells us Kiwis are still passionate about Georgie Pie and all the work we did to stay true to the original recipe was worth it,” says Mr Wilson.

“Bringing back a product after 15 years is a complex process and the addition of these restaurants will help us continue to test the product operationally across a range of our restaurants and inform the options for a nationwide rollout,” concludes Mr Wilson.

Pilot restaurants already selling Georgie Pie:
• Auckland: Greenlane, Queen Street, Albany (Coliseum Drive), Kelston, St Lukes Mall, Ti Rakau Drive, Mangere, New Lynn (new) and Quay Street (new)
• Waikato: Frankton, 5 Cross Roads, The Base and Te Awamutu

Pilot restaurants selling Georgie Pie from 5 August:
• Feilding
• Bulls
• Rangitikei Street and Princess Street in Palmerston North

The Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese Georgie pie will be priced at $4.50 for the single pie. Where applicable the pie will be available 24/7 and through Drive-Thrus.

Progressive Enterprises sold parts of the Georgie Pie business to McDonald’s in 1996, including 17 restaurant sites, trademarks and intellectual property. McDonald’s converted a number of Georgie Pie sites to McDonald’s restaurants, including the flagship Greenlane site. Georgie Pie employees in affected restaurants were offered jobs with McDonald’s, and several franchisees became, and still, own and operate McDonald’s restaurants. Progressive Enterprises continued to operate other Georgie Pie restaurants until the final restaurant on Kepa Road in Auckland closed.

The Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese pie is made using quality New Zealand beef and Georgie Pie’s unique short pastry, formed in the distinctive square shape. The only significant alteration to the original Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese recipe is the removal of added MSG.

The pies are produced at the former Georgie Pie production facility in Manukau, which pie supply partner, Goodman Fielder, had previously purchased from Progressive Enterprises.

About McDonald’s New Zealand
New Zealand’s first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Porirua in 1976. Today there are 161 McDonald’s restaurants across New Zealand, 80 per cent of which are franchised and run by local business men and women. The organisation employs over 9,000 people in restaurants nationwide, and is one of New Zealand’s largest employers of youth. McDonald’s was awarded ‘retail employer of the year’ by Retailworld. In 2012 McDonald’s spent around $180 million with local suppliers, while New Zealand producers exported over $320 million of food to other McDonald’s markets. For more information visit www.mcdonalds.co.nz

Check out McDonald’s New Zealand on Facebook www.facebook.co.nz/mcdonaldsnz or Twitter @Maccasnz.

ENDS

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