Wolverhampton pie-makers on the rise after devastating blaze

by Graeme Brown, Birmingham Mail

Maxine Chapman of MAS-WM with the firm's MD Sean Young.

A
MIDLAND pie-making firm which was devastated by an arson attack five
years ago looks set for a tasty future after developing two new product
ranges.

The blaze halted Quick Food Products’ production for
eight months – giving an edge to the firm’s competitors – but now it is
aiming to grow after developing a new range aimed at the Nigerian
market, along with patties certified to carry a Halal label.

Quick
Food Products, which employs ten people at its factory in Cross Street
North in Wolverhampton, worked with the Manufacturing Advisory
Service-West Midlands (MAS-WM) to develop the new products.

Managing
director Sean Young said: “They were very difficult times, but we now
have a new sense of direction and an exciting project that will
hopefully boost sales across new markets.

“We approached MAS-WM
at the beginning of the year to help with sharpening up our
manufacturing control systems and to free up capacity for new ranges of
patties for the British-based Nigerian community and also for patties
certified to carry the Halal label.”

Quick Food Products makes
Jamaican patties with a range of beef, lamb, poultry, fish and
vegetable fillings. The firm teamed up with food processing specialists
NPD Services who helped it develop systems that require minimal upkeep
yet still meet stringent legal requirements.

Investigations
into working practice found there was too much variation in the weight
of filling in the patties and by standardising quantities savings could
be made.

A second project was later launched to reduce
distribution and packing costs. Packaging and labelling has also been
addressed for the benefit of both the Nigerian community and the key
issue of Halal certification for Muslims.

Maxine Chapman,
specialist manufacturing adviser with MAS-WM, said: “Quick Foods is an
excellent example of a small company that combines a passion for its
product with a willingness to branch into new markets.”

Quick
Food Products was established in 1988 by Mr Young’s parents, Maureen
and Oswald, who had started a single Caribbean bakery shop – named Hot
Bake – in Manchester in the 1960s.