Pat the Baker is an Irish bread-making company founded in 1953 by Pat Higgins. After acquiring the previously rival "Irish Pride" brand in 2015, the company became the second-largest bakery in Ireland. As of 2007, the company reportedly had over 400 employees.

History

Pat the Baker was founded in 1953 by Pat Higgins, a Mayo native who married a woman from

Granard Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD 236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 nationa ...

in County Longford and settled in the town. In 1977, the company expanded its business from a local bakery with a view to becoming a "nationwide brand". Pat the Baker opened its first depot in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1984, and by 1992 was providing 80% of the

own brand A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

bread sold in

Quinnsworth Tesco Ireland is the Irish subsidiary of supermarket group Tesco. Tesco Ireland was formed by Tesco plc's 1997 purchase of the Irish retailing operations of Associated British Foods, namely Powers' Supermarkets Limited and its subsidiaries, tra ...

. A "high profile trade union recognition case" in the mid-1990s, involving the company, was one of several cases cited in debates on the proposed introduction of

union recognition A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

legislation in Ireland. By the time of the death in 2007 of its founder, Pat Higgins, the company employed over 400 people. Following Higgin's death, the company remained within the control of the Higgins family. One of Higgins' sons, also named Pat Higgins, subsequently adopted the title "Pat the Baker". In 2015, Pat the Baker bought Irish Pride, a rival bakery which was then in receivership, for €4.5 million. The sale, which was approved by the Competition Authority, followed a report that Irish Pride "could have been saved". After the acquisition, the combined company became the country's second-largest bakery firm. At the time of the sale, Pat the Baker had distribution centres in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

Castleisland Castleisland () is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry in south west Ireland. The town is known for the width of its main street. As of the 2016 Census, Castleisland had a population of 2,486. Castleisland was described by one of its ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, and

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

. A television advert (which ran from 1980 to 2002) contributed to the "popularity of the brand throughout Ireland", and it was one of the "top 20" retail brands in the country as of June 2021. The company has sponsored a marathon in

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

, and began sponsoring ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' on Virgin Media Television in 2021. In June 2022, the

Workplace Relations Commission The Workplace Relations Commission (also known as its abbreviation, the WRC and sometimes referred to as the Commission) is the independent State agency responsible for industrial relations in Ireland, established under the Workplace Relations Ac ...

upheld an unfair dismissal claim by a former employee of the company.

Products

The company produces sliced pans, speciality bread, scones, white bread, brown bread and catering bread. Its products have received the Master Bakers Association Award eight times. During 2022, some of the company's products were subject to a precautionary recall by the

Food Safety Authority of Ireland __NOTOC__ The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) ( ga, Údarás Sábháilteachta Bia na hÉireann – USBE) is the statutory body responsible for ensuring food produced, distributed or marketed in Ireland complies with food safety and hygiene ...

References

External links

* {{official, http://patthebaker.com/ Food and drink companies established in 1953 1953 establishments in Ireland Bakeries of the Republic of Ireland