For the love of Pies

Jesters is a well-established franchise, with 13 stores around the North Island each with mobile pie vans taking pies to the people.

Tony Aikman opened his Jesters at Auckland’s Westgate Centre in 2007. In a recent article in Franchise New Zealand magazine, he explained: ‘I came from the corporate world, but I’d always wanted my own business and when I got to my mid-40s I found Jesters. It’s a good product and our customers have always been loyal fans, so it’s a matter of making the most of the opportunity.

‘My store is just 43 sqm, which keeps the overheads down, but the Jesters system is very efficient and so I’m serving not just the busy take-away and delivery trade from it, but my van, too – and I’m about to add a second van. I have 5 full-time equivalent staff who open the store at 6am, cook the first pies, then go out on the road for a few hours visiting workplaces around my territory. We can also service events in the evenings and at weekends, so my little store generates a lot of revenue.

Tony added, ‘The franchise is very supportive – they’ve added consistency, improved systems and introduced new products, and they are always open to ideas.  It’s still got that family feel – we work as a team.’

Read more about Tony’s experiences as a Jester’s franchisee in the full article here.