Aus Pie Co, parent company of the Mrs Mac’s pie brand, will take control of Balfours on August 1.

Previous owners, the Adelaide-based pasta firm San Remo, said that Aus Pie Co planned to take the Balfours brand founded in 1852 national and expand it to New Zealand

San Remo – a successful South Australian pasta business owned by the Crotti family since 1936 – took over Balfours in 2008. That purchase followed an extended period of financial strain suffered by the bakery brand which fell into receivership and came close to closing its doors twice, in 1996 and 2000.

The initial collapse in the 90s was the result of Balfours being “crippled by debt” according to reports at the time. In 1996, the business was picked up by a consortium of merchant bankers which paid off $14 million of debt the bakery owed to the SA Government through the State Bank.

A second receivership in 2000 led to a management buyout.

“We’re proud of our efforts to rejuvenate the Balfours business over the last 15 years and we’re happy to give Aus Pie Co the chance to write the next chapter for an iconic South Australia business,” San Remo said.

“It’ll be business as usual for now.”

Aus Pie Co acquired the Mrs Mac’s brand in 2022.

The company is reportedly owned by Melbourne-based billionaires who own United Petroleum and takeaway baked goods company Pie Face.

Aus Pie Co and Mrs Mac’s CEO Bruce Feodoroff said that it would be “business as usual” for staff working at the Balfours factory in Dudley Park and that Aus Pie Co was looking to grow the brand.

“It’s a business-as-usual plan at this point in time,” he said.

“Currently the market for Balfours is about 85 per cent in South Australia and we look to take it nationally.

“We’ll look to take the Balfours brand into New Zealand as well. It’s part of our broader strategy to utilise the strength of Mrs Mac’s.”