The Scottish steak pie manufacturer has also had to take on 20 new staff to keep up with demand, claimed the company.
John Bell, Bells Food Group chairman, said: “We’re incredibly proud of our steak pies and we’ve been baking them at the factory in Shotts for 85 years, so we know a thing or two about what makes the perfect steak pie.
‘Million steak pies a year’
“We bake more than a million steak pies every year and we are anticipating additional sales this month, so stock up as you prepare to bring in the bells.”
Bells predicted it would sell about 240,000 steak pies in December, enough to reach 14 times the height of Ben Nevis – the tallest mountain in the British Isles – and would be as tall as nearly 10,000 standard six foot Christmas trees.
Based in Shotts, Lanarkshire, Bells was established in 1931 and employs more than 200 staff across three sites. Its Lanarkshire factory produces about 60t of pastry a week and sells about 33M pies a year.
It struck a multi-million pound deal with discount retailer Lidl to supply it with a range of own-label pies in Scotland.
Multi-million pound deal
Lidl said the deal demonstrated its commitment to sourcing from local suppliers, and formed a key part of its strategy to develop its range of Scottish-sourced products.
Bells also completed the first phase of a £3.6M investment into its Shotts factory. The investment doubled its pastry production capacity, extending its overall capacity to 140t.
Meanwhile, don’t miss the Me and my factory profile of Bells md Ronnie Miles.
Bells’s steak pies and Ben Nevis
Steak Pies
- 33M pies sold a year
- More than 200 staff across three sites
- Christmas sales to top £2.5M
- 60t of pastry produced each week
Ben Nevis
- The tallest mountain in the British Isles at 1,345m
- Attracts about 100,000 ascents a year
- Name means venomous mountain