Peter's Food Service is a Bedwas,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

based baker and supplier of pies, pasties, slices, sausage rolls and factored products into retail, food service, catering and hospitality outlets across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Today it is one of the largest employers in Wales, and one of the largest cold meat distributors in the United Kingdom.

History

Sir Stanley and Peter Thomas were brothers born above a bakery run by their father in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

. They joined the family business, but after it was sold Sir Stanley decided to start his own venture. In 1971 Sir Stanley bought a factory unit on the Pant Glas Industrial Estate Bedwas in Mid Glamorgan. A few years later was joined by his brother and sister, selling pies to local fish and chip shops under the name Peter's Savoury Products. In 1976, the business moved to a new factory at Bedwas House Industrial Estate, to enable distribution down the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

and eventually into

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1988, the business was sold to Grand Metropolitan for in excess of £95m. Peters Savoury Products purchased Harry Thomas & Sons (Newport butchers chain, and factory) in the mid 1980s and Henry Telfers van sales business in August 1989. After Grand Metropolitan merged with

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

to form

Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...

, the food businesses were demerged. Peter's Food Services became an independent listed company. However, after acquiring the UK assets of Irish foods producer Glanbia in 2002, by 2004 the company was in severe trouble, and sold its catering business to

Brake Brothers Brakes (previously known as ‘Brake Bros Ltd’) is a food and distribution company supplying food, drink and other products mainly to the catering industry in the UK through more than 20 distribution centres. It provides delivered wholesale ...

. In 2007, Peter's launched their Seriously Tasty range, and products through brand partnerships with Quorn,

Heinz The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...

, Sharwoods and

Bisto Bisto is a popular and well-known brand of gravy and other food products in the United Kingdom and Ireland, currently owned by Premier Foods. History The first Bisto product, in 1908, was a meat-flavoured gravy powder which rapidly became a best ...

. They also expanded production, securing “own label” contracts with major supermarkets including

Sainsbury’s J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

, Lidl and

Coop Coop, COOP, Co-op, or ''variation'', most often refers to: * A chicken coop or other enclosure * Cooperative or co-operative ("co-op"), an association of persons who cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefit ** Housing co ...

Today

The company today retains manufacturing assets in Bedwas, its van sales network as well as 10 regional depots (located at Bedwas, Swansea, Bristol, Birmingham, Warrington, Durham, Ossett, High Wycombe, Sidcup and Brighton and employ circa 900 staff. Peter's Pies celebrated 40 years in business with a special "Cardiff pie", which contained beef cuts, onion and gravy encased in shortcrust pastry.

References

External links

* {{British pies Caerphilly Food and drink companies established in 1971 Food and drink companies of Wales Meat companies of the United Kingdom British pie brands