Poutama is proud to support Ruatoria Pies, a pie manufacturing business based in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne region.
Ruatoria Pies are a whānau oriented business, owned and operated by Bobbie Morice and Pakanui Webb. Almost all of their employees have a whānau connection to Bobbie or Pakanui. The business has been in Bobbie’s whānau for four generations having operated through the Great depression, World War II and most recently battled their way through COVID-19 disruptions.
On average, Ruatoria Pies produce 30,000 pies per year. The busy business are Foodstuffs approved and quickly moving into supplying Four Squares throughout the East Coast of the North Island.
Ruatoria Pies are one of only two manufacturing/exporting businesses in Ruatoria, the second is a garlic sauce company – both of which are Māori owned and operated.
There are many reasons Bobbie and Pakanui have kept their business in their home town, one of which is the employment they are able to create for whānau and members of the community. It would be easy enough for the business to pack-up and move the operations closer to main supply towns and routes, but then they would not be the grassroots business they pride themselves on.
Ruatoria Pies, are one of those businesses that came out of last year’s alert level four lockdown better than they entered it. Production increased, new staff were hired and they have also been fortunate enough to secure a school lunches programme contract for six kura (covering about 454 lunches per day).
In 2021, Poutama was able to financially assist the business via the Provincial Growth Fund Programme to purchase additional pie manufacturing equipment.
