A much-loved Sunshine Coast-based piemaker has been sold to Australia’s largest multi-brand retail food franchise manager.
Beefy’s Pies, which began on the Coast in 1997 and now has nine stores across South-East Queensland, has been acquired by Retail Food Group (RFG) in a $10 million deal.
RFG is headquartered in Queensland and is the owner of brands including Gloria Jean’s, Donut King, Brumby’s Bakery, Michel’s Patisserie, Crust Gourmet Pizza, Pizza Capers and more. It also supplies coffee under the Di Bella brand.
Beefy’s founder and CEO Mark Hobbs said the conditional sale and purchase agreement would allow the piemaker to continue to grow.
“We’re proud of what we have achieved as a family-owned business since opening our first store (at Aussie World) in 1997,” he said.
“Beefy’s is now a much-loved Australian brand, has nine strongly performing stores across Queensland and a manufacturing facility on the Sunshine Coast, employing 180 people.
“Joining the RFG network will help Beefy’s take the next step in its growth journey as we will become part of a team with many decades of retail experience, as well as benefit from being in a group with a larger balance sheet and access to support functions.”
RFG CEO Matt Marshall said there were a range of factors that attracted RFG to Beefy’s, including its loyal customer base, a passionate and capable team, a unique brand proposition, and a commitment to quality products and guest experiences.
“RFG is pleased to be in a position where it can look for inorganic growth opportunities,” he said.
“The acquisition of Beefy’s is significant not only because it is a great business that is complementary to our existing brand portfolio but because it marks the beginning of RFG’s next phase of growth.
“We look forward to working with the Hobbs family and all Beefy’s employees to ensure their pies can be enjoyed by more and more Australians.”
A media release on the acquisition said key members of the Beefy’s and RFG teams had been working collaboratively on the transition, with Mr Hobbs to continue in an advisory role during the first year to maintain standards and provide support.
There will be no immediate changes to the Beefy’s team, business operations or supply partnerships. All existing supply partner arrangements will remain unchanged, and there will be no impact on franchise partner operations across RFG’s existing brands.
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