Maketū Pies

Maketū Pies is a New Zealand food brand and manufacturer specializing in meat pies. The business was established in Maketū in 1982 and developed a local identity around handmade pies produced in the Bay of Plenty. Its products have been sold through major New Zealand supermarket channels, including Countdown, now Woolworths, Pak'nSave, and New World, as well as through Qantas flights. The brand's stated production proposition during its 2019 financial difficulties was that its pies were handmade, distinguishing the business from larger industrial bakery operations. The company experienced a major ownership and financial transition in 2019. In late 2019, Maketū Pies entered receivership while employing approximately 40 people. In October of that year, it was acquired by Te Arawa Management, an organization owned by Te Arawa Lakes Trust Incorporated. The acquisition placed the local food business under Māori-owned regional stewardship, although the purchase price was not disclosed. The receivership period also highlighted the brand's distribution footprint and its continuing presence in supermarket and airline channels. Maketū Pies later encountered further financial pressure. In 2024, its parent company, Te Arawa Management Ltd, placed the business into voluntary liquidation because it was unprofitable. Liquidators were appointed to operate the company while seeking a purchaser. Approximately two weeks later, the business was acquired by the Montana Group, a catering company. This transaction provided a new ownership platform for the brand and kept the business connected to the New Zealand food-service sector. The brand remains associated primarily with savory meat pies rather than a broad packaged-food portfolio. In December 2025, a hot-pie vending machine manufactured by PieBot was installed at Redwoods Forest in Rotorua and offered ten Maketū Pies flavors. The installation illustrated a newer retail and food-service route for the brand, allowing hot products to be sold in a visitor attraction outside the company's home town. Specific flavor names, current production volumes, executive leadership, and a dedicated corporate website are not identified in the available reference material.

Maketū Pies was founded in 1982 in Maketū, a coastal settlement in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty region. From its origins, the business focused on meat pies, a staple of New Zealand takeaway and convenience-food culture. The Maketū name gave the company a strong geographic identity, linking the product to its home community rather than presenting it as an anonymous national bakery brand. The company operated as Maketū Pies Ltd and expanded its route to market beyond local sales. Its pies were available through major New Zealand supermarket groups, including Countdown, which later became Woolworths, Pak'nSave, and New World. The brand also supplied Qantas flights, indicating that its products reached an airline-catering channel in addition to conventional retail. During the company's later receivership, Maketū Pies stated that its products were handmade. That claim formed an important part of its differentiation and communicated a more craft-oriented production model despite its participation in national distribution. In late 2019, Maketū Pies went into receivership. The business had approximately 40 staff at the time. The receivership created uncertainty around the continuity of a long-established regional manufacturer, but the company was acquired in October 2019 by Te Arawa Management. Te Arawa Management was owned by Te Arawa Lakes Trust Incorporated, giving the acquisition a regional and Māori institutional ownership context. The amount paid for the business was not made public. The transaction allowed the brand and its operating business to continue under new ownership. The company later faced another period of financial difficulty. In 2024, Te Arawa Management Ltd placed Maketū Pies into voluntary liquidation because the business was unprofitable. Rather than immediately closing the operation, the liquidators were tasked with running the company while searching for a purchaser. Roughly two weeks after the liquidation process began, the Montana Group acquired the business. Montana Group is a catering company, and its purchase shifted Maketū Pies into a new ownership structure within the New Zealand food-service landscape. The available record does not identify the company's founder, detailed product history, named executives, individual pie recipes, or financial results. It does, however, show a business that moved through several ownership phases while retaining its core identity as a New Zealand meat-pie maker. In December 2025, a PieBot hot-pie vending machine was installed at Redwoods Forest in Rotorua and stocked with ten Maketū Pies flavors. This placement represented an additional point-of-sale format for the brand and connected its products with tourism, automated retail, and on-demand hot-food service. The available material does not specify the names of the ten flavors or whether the vending installation was permanent.

• 2025

  Hot-pie vending installation in Rotorua

  [1]Maketū Piesen.wikipedia.org

  A PieBot vending machine at Redwoods Forest offers ten Maketū Pies flavors, extending the brand into automated hot-food retail.

• 2024

  Voluntary liquidation

  [1]Maketū Piesen.wikipedia.org

  Te Arawa Management places Maketū Pies into voluntary liquidation because it is unprofitable, while liquidators seek a buyer and operate the business.

• 2024

  Montana Group acquisition

  [1]Maketū Piesen.wikipedia.org

  Montana Group acquires the business approximately two weeks after the voluntary liquidation begins.

• 2019

  Receivership and ownership transition

  [1]Maketū Piesen.wikipedia.org

  The business enters receivership in late 2019, and Te Arawa Management acquires it in October. The company has about 40 staff during the receivership period.

• 1982

  Maketū Pies is founded

  [1]Maketū Piesen.wikipedia.org

  Maketū Pies Ltd is established in Maketū, Bay of Plenty, as a New Zealand meat-pie manufacturer.

A locally rooted New Zealand meat-pie brand emphasizing handmade production, regional identity, and availability through supermarkets, food-service channels, airline service, and hot-food vending.

• Savory meat pies · 1982

  Maketū Pies meat-pie range

  The brand's core offering is a range of savory meat pies manufactured in New Zealand. Available reference material describes the pies as handmade and confirms distribution through supermarkets, airline service, and other food channels. Individual recipes, fillings, sizes, and flavor names are not specified in the available sources.

• Hot prepared food · 2025

  Hot vending-machine pies

  In 2025, Maketū Pies products were offered through a PieBot hot-pie vending machine at Redwoods Forest in Rotorua. The machine carried ten flavors, although the available source does not identify the individual varieties or indicate whether this constituted a separate product line.

• 2024

  Voluntary liquidationOther

  Background

  Te Arawa Management determined that Maketū Pies was unprofitable.

  Action taken

  The parent company placed Maketū Pies into voluntary liquidation and instructed liquidators to operate the business while seeking a buyer.

  Aftermath

  Montana Group acquired the business approximately two weeks later.

  Source

• 2024

  Acquisition by Montana GroupM&A

  Background

  The business was being operated by liquidators after its parent company initiated voluntary liquidation.

  Action taken

  Montana Group, a catering company, acquired Maketū Pies.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition placed the brand under new ownership and maintained its connection to New Zealand food production and catering.

  Source

• 2019

  Acquisition by Te Arawa ManagementM&A

  Background

  Maketū Pies entered receivership in late 2019 while operating as a regional meat-pie manufacturer with supermarket and airline distribution.

  Action taken

  Te Arawa Management, owned by Te Arawa Lakes Trust Incorporated, acquired the business in October 2019 for an undisclosed amount.

  Aftermath

  The brand continued under Te Arawa-linked ownership, although it later became unprofitable and entered voluntary liquidation in 2024.

  Source

1. 1Maketū Piesen.wikipedia.org