The variety explosion that ignited roughly five years ago in the fresh pie category within the instore bakery marketplace continues to accelerate at a brisk pace.

Gone are the days when three or four core varieties of fresh pie would suffice for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday period, which once accounted for the lion’s share of fresh pie sales in the supermarket for the year.

For instance, Tippin’s Original Pies shares that one emerging favorite is chocolate walnut, a traditional Southern pie made with Tippin’s famous flaky crust, packed with a rich, buttery filling and generous scoops of sweet chocolate chips, topped off with English walnuts.

Today Tippin’s Pies and Heartland Pies by Tippin’s can be found in select grocery stores across the country. These include timeless classics, along with exciting new flavors ready to become favorites. Tippins seasonal favorites include Chocolate Walnut, Pecan, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Cream, and Sweet Potato.

Creative options

The flavor train continues across the industry. Gardner Pie’s new product expansion also reflects a growing appetite for variety among American shoppers.

Gardner Pie now features the following creative pie options:

  • Unbaked Apple Berry Delight – a Gardner kitchen exclusive brings together the best of summer’s offerings in every delightful bite. Crisp apple slices are paired with premium blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and tart rhubarb. It’s a unique combination that is perfectly at home all year ’round.
  • Pre-baked & Unbaked Strawberry Rhubarb – red ripe strawberries and tart rhubarb are a classic combination. One taste of this old-fashioned favorite and you’ll remember why. This tasty treat is sure to boost pie sales, especially during early spring and summer.
  • Unbaked Apple Cranberry – apple cranberry pie is a holiday favorite, delicious any time.
  • Unbaked Peach Blueberry – East Coast meets West Coast in this delicious pie featuring two favorite fruit flavors. This classic pie is as refreshing as it is colorful, making it a great seasonal feature.
  • Unbaked Delightful Strawberry Rhubarb – red ripe strawberries and tart rhubarb are a classic combination. One taste of this old-fashioned favorite and you’ll remember why. This tasty treat is sure to boost pie sales, especially during early spring and summer.

Growth through acquisition

Recent acquisitions have also led to a stronger supply chain. For instance, this summer, leading bakery manufacturer Rise Baking Company acquired Worcester, Mass.-based Table Talk Pies, Inc.

Making freshly baked pies in Worcester since 1924, family-owned Table Talk is one of the country’s leading full-line pie producers, specializing in 4-inch snack pies and 8-inch to 10-inch dessert pies.

“Rise’s commitment to innovation and uncompromising quality aligns perfectly with Table Talk’s values, making this a win-win opportunity that sets Table Talk up for success going forward,” said Table Talk president Isaac Long. “We’re excited to bring our century of experience and expertise in the pie industry to the Rise platform, joining its trusted brands in delivering exceptional quality and continued growth. We remain committed to our customers, the partnerships we’ve built, and driving innovation in the category together.”

A portfolio company of the private equity firm Olympus Partners, Rise is a leading provider of premium cookies, icings, cakes, pies, muffins, brownies, dessert bars, artisan breads, and flatbreads in North America to retail bakeries, foodservice operators, and distributors.

“We’re excited to welcome Table Talk and its employees to the Rise team,” said Brian Zellmer, chief executive officer of the Minneapolis-based Rise Baking Company. “As our second pie acquisition, we’re eager to grow our slice of the pie industry, unlocking new possibilities while preserving the valued heritage of the Table Talk brand.”

Already under the Rise umbrella are the trusted brands Brill, South Coast Baking, Best Maid Cookie Company, Henry & Henry, New French Bakery, Bakestone Brothers, and Karp’s. With the Table Talk acquisition, the combined business will now have 20 Rise Baking Company manufacturing facilities across the US and Canada with an estimated 3,700 total employees.

“We’re thrilled to see Rise grow in the pie category, continuing to expand their offerings to better serve their customer base,” said Mike Horgan, partner at Olympus Partners. “The Rise team continues to demonstrate an exceptional ability to create and implement business strategies that grow their existing and newly acquired brands.”

Rise Baking Company is a North American bakery manufacturer that produces a broad portfolio of products for in-store bakeries and foodservice customers, including leading national grocery chains, convenience stores, QSRs, and mass merchandisers.

Limited-time offers

Promotions are driving demand for more pie. Earlier this year, Crumbl, the renowned dessert destination, introduced a limited-time offer with its launch of Key Lime Pie. Crafted with citrus lovers in mind, the Key Lime Pie is made with fresh lime zest and a buttery graham cracker crust, adorned with decorative whipped cream, and topped with a fresh lime slice.

Distinguishing from Crumbl’s Key Lime Pie cookie, the new dessert was presented in a small pie tin, similar to the popular tres leches cake and carrot cake previously introduced as limited-time offerings. And Key Lime Pie did not replace the fan favorite Key Lime Pie Cookie. The pie simply further expands Crumbl’s vast rotating menu of delicious gourmet desserts beyond cookies.

Crumbl is a popular dessert franchise with a mission to bring friends and family together over a box of the best cookies in the world. Crumbl was founded in 2017 in Logan, Utah, by Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley. In just six years, Crumbl has grown from a humble cookie shop to the fastest-growing dessert chain in the US, with over 1,000 locations across all 50 states, plus Canada and Puerto Rico. The rotating menu offers new flavors every week, while regularly bringing back crowd favorites and unique original recipes, all served up in Crumbl’s iconic pink boxes.

This article is an excerpt from the September 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Pies feature and more in the digital edition here.