Georgie Pie Launch Dates Announced

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
29 May, 2013
Georgie Pie Launch Dates Announced
• Iconic Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese pie will be sold from Wednesday June 5th at Greenlane and Queen Street McDonald’s restaurants. Nine other Auckland and Waikato restaurants will start selling the pies in the week following
• 50 Georgie Pie fans will be hosted at exclusive event tonight where they will be the first group of consumers to taste a Georgie Pie in 15 years
• Two fans bought tickets to the event for $450 which will be donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities
• Further pricing options announced

McDonald’s New Zealand today announced that Kiwis will be able to purchase the iconic Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese Georgie Pie at its Greenlane and Queen Street restaurants from 10.30am next Wednesday 5th of June.

Another five restaurants in Auckland will begin selling the pies in the week following, along with four restaurants in the Waikato.

The announcement comes as the company is set to host 50 fanatical Georgie Pie fans at an exclusive pre-launch tasting event held at McDonald’s Greenlane restaurant tonight. The fans, who won a competition on McDonald’s Facebook page, will be some of the first consumers in the country to try the pie, a week before they are available to the public.

Along with the Facebook fans will be Andy Hill who paid $450 to win a TradeMe charity auction for himself and a friend to attend the event. Mr Hill will travel from New Plymouth to enjoy the original Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese pie. 100% of the auction proceeds have gone to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

McDonald’s New Zealand managing director, Patrick Wilson, says he is looking forward to hearing what these Georgie Pie fans think of the pie after so many years.

“There has been phenomenal interest since we made the announcement we were bringing Georgie Pie back, and we’re keen to see if Kiwis still have a big appetite for their favourite pie brand,” he says.

The Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese Georgie pie will be priced at $4.50 for the single pie, $6.90 for a medium combo or $4.00 for a menu add-on when the pie is purchased with any other McDonald’s combo meal. Where applicable the pie will be available 24/7.

McDonald’s restaurants selling Georgie Pie Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese pies:

• From 10.30am, Wednesday 5th June, 2013: Greenlane and Queen St
• From 10.30am, Friday 7th June, 2013: Kelston, 500 Ti Rakau Drive, Howick and St Lukes Foodcourt
• From 10.30am, Monday 10th June, 2013: Mangere and Albany Coliseum Drive
• From 10.30am, Tuesday 11th June, 2013: Frankton, 5 Cross Roads, The Base and Te Awamutu

ENDS

Note to Editor:

Progressive Enterprises sold parts of the Georgie Pie business to McDonald’s in 1996 as it refocused on its core business. McDonald’s purchased the entity primarily for the real estate and repurposed 17 restaurant sites. The trademarks and intellectual property were included in the transaction.

McDonald’s converted a number of Georgie Pie sites to McDonald’s restaurants, including the flagship Greenlane site. Georgie Pie employees in affected restaurants were offered jobs with McDonald’s, and several franchisees became, and still, own and operate McDonald’s restaurants. Progressive Enterprises continued to operate other Georgie Pie restaurants until the final restaurant on Kepa Road in Auckland closed.

Why aren’t the pies $1 anymore?

The original Georgie Pie ‘dollar menu’ is fondly remembered, but even in 1996 Georgie Pie began increasing prices. The Steak Mince ‘N’ Cheese pie uses quality ingredients including New Zealand beef chuck steak, which is minced, and Georgie Pie’s unique short pastry. The price is comparable to other ‘baked fresh’ pies of a similar size and quality.

About McDonald’s New Zealand

New Zealand’s first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Porirua in 1976. Today there are 161 McDonald’s restaurants across New Zealand, 80 per cent of which are franchised and run by local business men and women. The organisation employs over 9,000 people in restaurants nationwide, and is one of New Zealand’s largest employers of youth. McDonald’s was awarded ‘retail employer of the year’ by Retailworld. In 2012 McDonald’s spent around $180 million with local suppliers, while New Zealand producers exported over $320 million of food to other McDonald’s markets. For more information visit www.mcdonalds.co.nz

Check out McDonald’s New Zealand on Facebook www.facebook.co.nz/mcdonaldsnz or Twitter @Maccasnz.

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