Georgie Pie added to six more restaurants

McDonald’s New Zealand today announced that 6 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 of the traditional favourite.The pie trial has also attracted considerable interest from McDonald's management in other countries.

A single Georgie Pie product was launched on a trial basis on 5 June 2013, but only a few Auckland and Waikato outlets were included in the trial. Now, as well as two more Auckland restaurants, Quay Street and New Lynn, being added to the trial, from 5 August, the pies will also be available at two McDonald's in Palmerston North as well as restaurants in Feilding and Bulls.

'Fantastic Response'

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.'

Overseas Interest

Mr Wilson told delegates to the recent Franchise Association Conference in Auckland that the Georgie Pie trial was also being keenly watched by McDonald's management overseas. 'There was a lot of risk our going down this track. It's early days but it's looking very good. At a recent Asia Pacific conference I had the opportunity to talk to the managing directors and senior leadership responsible for 37 countries and over 9,000 restaurants in the region. They had no idea what a meat pie is, or any understanding of the Kiwi infatuation with that product, but I showed them some news clips and went through some of the numbers and now I am being asked for daily updates by the company president for our area of the world.'

He also offered a glimpse into the wider implications of the test for McDonald's. 'It's not so much the Georgie Pie brand itself but the concept of baked goods. The idea of fresh-baked goods in our restaurants is a very interesting space. The baked goods category in the informal eating out market is bigger than the QSR market so it has big potential for us.'

You can read more about McDonald's aspirations for Georgie Pie in the latest issue of Franchise New Zealand magazine.

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