Home-made pie firm planning for triple growth
A home-made pie business is planning for triple growth after gaining support from Boost – Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.
Pie Mezzanae was set up by Zainab Bilal, a qualified science teacher and former biomedical scientist.
The firm is behind the award-winning Pie Heroes brand and specialises in recipes such as lamb tikka pies, burger pies, samosa pies and chicken taco pies.
Zainab started baking pies in her kitchen. Since gaining advice from Boost, she has relocated to a purpose-equipped unit in Blackburn and is receiving on-going support from to develop a funding application.
She has already started to build a team to support her and is looking to recruit more people as the business continues to grow.
Boost is Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub and is led by the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership and Lancashire County Council and supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
Yusuf Musa, growth explorer for Enterprise4All, said: “Zainab manages her pie production between working as a support facilitator at Blackburn College.
“She aims to work full-time on the business but is seeking support to learn more about the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market and distribution in particular, and to determine how much investment she needs to make along the way.
“Zainab benefitted from the Boost Launchpad workshop and various masterclasses through the Growth Support Programme as it fits with her needs and aspirations for the business.”
In March 2017, four of Zainab’s pies won silver medals at the British Pie Awards in Melton Mowbray, and she believes she may even be the first award winning halal baker at the contest.
Zainab said: “The Boost workshops and advice has been brilliant. Preparing a strategic plan changes your perspective and thinking. It makes you explore your ideas and tap into other areas you may not have considered.
“The professional connections I’ve made though Boost have also really helped me.
“I now have great plans including recruiting two more staff this year and developing a wider distribution network across the UK for 2020.”
Zainab has aspirations to grow turnover to £260,000 in three years.
Zainab said: “Meeting people through Boost who are also starting up in business has also given me tremendous confidence. When you first start out it’s hard to know where to turn or who to talk to. It’s so reassuring to meet other people experiencing the same thing.
“Since Boost I have moved to a unit, my little pie factory. Now I want to smash turnover targets and double, even triple them over the next three years.
“My aim this year is to launch my pies at local Blackburn Rovers football club, as a true celebration of diversity and community.”
