Becoming a Carrs Pasties Trade Partner

Along with our four retail shops in Bolton we have over 200 trade partners across the UK who bake off every day in-store, but how do we look after those customers and guarantee a delicious golden bake every time?

Becoming a Carrs Pasties trade partner…

Most of our trade partners come through recommendations from existing customers but we also see a lot of enquiries through our website and social media channels. Potential partners complete the enquiry form and are then emailed a sales pack containing all the information they need, including the equipment needed for the products and preparation and storage facilities to store the products. We have a ‘Duty of Care’ that new partners must agree to, it’s essential to us that our standards and expectations are met and we review this every year with our partners to ensure quality is being upheld. A sales team member will then follow up with a phone call to discuss everything from plans to company values – the values must align. Once the account is set up the sales team arranges a training day where they show how to prepare and bake our products. On the day of the launch, the sales team will help bake pasties to give to the public so they can taste the products and hit the ground running.

Developing great relationships is key for us…

We have over 200 trade partners baking every day in-store. Our strongest areas are Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire so we’ll continue to grow those in the next couple of years. We have trade partners who have been working with us for over 40 years and have never switched suppliers due to our quality, customer service and the popularity of our brand. Developing great relationships with our trade partners is important to us, they need to care about our products as much as we do. The partnership needs to be right for us and them, it’s proven that our most successful partners are the ones who have the right attitude, love to work with us, love our products, and our brand and are proud to stock us in their store.

The better our relationship, the better their sales and opportunities to grow.? We aim to develop longstanding partnerships and brand loyalty.

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What makes Carrs Pasties different to other food-to-go options?

We are unmatched in quality and customer service whilst remaining competitive on price. Carrs Pasties delights customers and drives the frequency of visits to stores. Once a customer has tried a Carrs product, they continue to return.

How do we know if the partnership is right?

We know a partnership is right when they share our values on quality and they have pride in what they do. They have a sense of responsibility and accountability for hygiene, and food safety and share our ethos of “Little and often, the fresher the better.” Being community-driven and caring about their customers as much as they do their business is also a good starting point.

We’re learning how to branch out of Bolton…

As we grow out of Bolton, we learn about our customer product preference from area to area.? In Bolton, our Meat and Potato is by far our most popular pasty but outside of Bolton, we find that customers tend to reach for a Steak Pasty. The further afield we go, the more we have to learn.

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Our plan for 2025 and beyond…

We plan to grow our appeal in food-to-go with more product innovation, and tiered partnership levels which unlock opportunities to sell higher volumes through catering and events. It’s going to be an exciting couple of years for Carrs Pasties and our trade partners!

If you're interested in finding out more about becoming a Carrs Pasties Trade Partner please complete our form https://trade.carrspasties.co.uk/ or give us a call on 01204 387 117