IT is the trademark row that left a bad taste in the mouths of bakers and football fans alike.
Now the famous Killie Pie has been rebranded as the Kilmarnock Pie. As changes go, it is not the most radical, and makers Brownings the Bakers yesterday insisted the pasty-covered snack is still “the same delicious savoury treat” it has always been. However, the longer moniker has been cooked up to settle a hotly contested legal battle between the baking firm and Kilmarnock Football Club.
Brownings began supplying the Rugby Park side with the pies 13 years ago. The fan favourite became so popular that it is now sold in almost 70 Aldi branches from Elgin to Dumfries, as well as eight of Brownings’ own shops, selected branches of Spar and Scotmid plus independent shops, pubs and clubs in Ayrshire.
Multi-award-winning, the snack has been described by bakery boss John Gall as “the pie equivalent of Cristiano Ronaldo”. However, football chiefs accused Brownings of scoring an own goal by attempting to trademark the name Killie Pie last summer.
Kilmarnock FC became the registered owner of the Killie trademark in 1998, use of which covers pies, and the club challenged the food firm’s plan, announcing plans to find a new caterer and severing ties with the 71-year-old supplier.
But yesterday Gall said he was confident of cooking up future success, claiming the new name could bring in more dough by making the steak-and-gravy edible a renowned regional speciality.
He said: “I hope that by renaming our pie the Kilmarnock Pie and making its origins clearer to people outwith the town, that Kilmarnock can become as well known for its pies as Forfar is for its bridies and Arbroath is for its smokies. The recipe will stay the same with Brownings secret blend of gravy and seasonings along with the finest cuts of meat.”
Tracy Murray, chair of Kilmarnock Business Association, added: “I think it’s fantastic that Brownings are renaming their pie to the Kilmarnock Pie. The pie may be known locally but a lot of people don’t make the link between Killie and the town, so it’s great that a local company is helping raise awareness of Kilmarnock and trying to help boost the local economy.”
Brownings first became matchday caterers to Kilmarnock FC in 2003 in a deal which allowed them to use the Killie trademark on pies without paying royalties.
Back then the company sold just a few thousand pies every year but now boasts an annual turnover of £7 million, producing 100,000 rolls and 25,000 tattie scones each day.
The 13-year relationship ends later this month and Brownings, which has 200 staff, said the trademark dispute left them “no choice” but to act.
To mark the rebrand, 10 per cent of takings from each pie sold in Brownings shops this week will be donated to Ayrshire Samaritans.
Charity supporter Jim Todd, Provost of East Ayrshire, said: “As Provost, I am honoured to be the first to say Aye to the Kilmarnock Pie.”
In a statement issued last month, Kilmarnock FC said: “The board of directors has worked very hard over several years to maintain a working relationship with Brownings in spite of a lack of transparency about sales and an absence of financial reward in relation to the club’s Killie Pie, but the step taken by Brownings of attempting to register a competing trademark while being treated as a trusted business partner left the club with no alternative but to follow expert legal advice and give notice that the relationship would cease at the end of May 2016.”
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