Carrs Pasties – a look back on 2024

Well, how quickly did 2024 go? It feels like only yesterday that we were making plans for 2024 and yet here we are making even bigger plans for 2025.

We’ve had a great year this year. Like every business, we’ve had some challenges, but we’ve also had some brilliant moments. It’s important to look back and reflect on those so that we can take the time to learn, grow, and be proud of our achievements.

This year we’ve done more events than ever before and if there’s one thing we love at Carrs Pasties it’s talking to and getting to know our customers. We’ve done Christmas markets, weddings, work parties, and summer events and we’ve loved them all. We would really like to focus on events in 2025 so you can expect to see us popping up at more festivals and markets as we try to grow our audience outside of Bolton.

It was a huge year for us as we finalised phase 2 of our investment in our production facility. We’ve built new blast freezers, storage freezers, and our Finishing Room. The investment has vastly increased our capacity and elevated the quality of our products. It’s a huge step for us and will provide the team a better working environment while allowing us to produce more products.

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Looking after our people

Being a part of The Living Wage has had its challenges but it’s something we are passionate about and proud to be a part of. Over the last two years we have increased wages by 21 per cent, joined GroceryAid which provides support to all team members and received the award for ‘Most Improved Employer’ this year from the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter – we are committed to being a great place to work.

We’ve welcomed new people into the business which is always great as it provides fresh eyes and ideas for how we do things, we love growing the team and look forward to welcoming more team members in 2025.

Introducing new products

It’s been a busy year for new products too – with our most popular being our Chicken Curry Pasty. We launched it at the Bolton Food & Drink Festival to get some feedback on the product and it was the fastest we have ever sold out of a product – we couldn’t keep up! So of course, we had to bring it back as part of the range. Along with launching the Chicken Curry Pasty we also had a Jerk Chicken Curry which was a part of Ainsley Harriot’s special event at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival.

2024 saw us trial sweet pasties for the first time with our Sweet Apple Pasty and our Sweet Mince Pie Pasty, both of which have been popular with our customers and provide a sweet treat to accompany a savoury product.

Strengthening our trade partnerships

Our trade partners are such an integral part of our business so we must build strong relationships with them. We now have trade partners all over the north-west and beyond and in 2025 we plan to expand even further by strengthening our offering and continuing to develop our relationships.

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Being a part of the community

As we branch out of Bolton, it’s important to us that we remember where our heart is and that’s why it’s so important to us that we continue to be a part of the Bolton community. It’s an incredible town and we are proud to be a part of it. We support several charities in the town and we love being a part of their events and helping them raise money for the fantastic work they do for the community.

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Plans for 2025

In 2025 we plan to grow our trade partners across the north-west while building our brand awareness in areas outside of Bolton, mainly Yorkshire, Merseyside and Manchester. We also have plans to introduce some new products (still to be revealed…), and to be at many more events. We’re excited to see what 2025 holds for Carrs Pasties!

From everyone at Carrs Pasties, we wish you a very Happy New Year.