 Company logo | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Baking |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Founder | Pat Higgins |
| Headquarters | , Ireland [1] |
| Products | Baked goods |
Number of employees | 400 (2007) [2] |
| Website | http://patthebaker.com/ |
Pat the Baker is an Irish bread-making company founded in 1953 by Pat Higgins. After acquiring the previously rival "Irish Pride" brand in 2015, the company became the second-largest bakery in Ireland. As of 2007, the company reportedly had over 400 employees.
Pat the Baker was founded in 1953 by Pat Higgins, a Mayo native who married a woman from Granard in County Longford and settled in the town. [3] In 1977, the company expanded its business from a local bakery with a view to becoming a "nationwide brand". [4] Pat the Baker opened its first depot in Dublin in 1984, [5] and by 1992 was providing 80% of the own brand bread sold in Quinnsworth. [3] A "high profile trade union recognition case" in the mid-1990s, [6] involving the company, was one of several cases cited in debates on the proposed introduction of union recognition legislation in Ireland. [3] [7] [8]
By the time of the death in 2007 of its founder, Pat Higgins, the company employed over 400 people. [2] Following Higgin's death, the company remained within the control of the Higgins family. One of Higgins' sons, also named Pat Higgins, subsequently adopted the title "Pat the Baker". [2]
In 2015, Pat the Baker bought Irish Pride, a rival bakery which was then in receivership, for €4.5 million. [9] [10] The sale, which was approved by the Competition Authority, [11] followed a report that Irish Pride "could have been saved". [12] After the acquisition, the combined company became the country's second-largest bakery firm. [13] At the time of the sale, Pat the Baker had distribution centres in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny, Letterkenny, Castleisland, Galway, and Armagh. [14]
A television advert (which ran from 1980 to 2002) contributed to the "popularity of the brand throughout Ireland", [2] and it was one of the "top 20" retail brands in the country as of June 2021. [15] The company has sponsored a marathon in Longford, [16] and began sponsoring The Graham Norton Show on Virgin Media Television in 2021. [17]
In June 2022, the Workplace Relations Commission upheld an unfair dismissal claim by a former employee of the company. [18]
The company produces sliced pans, speciality bread, scones, white bread, brown bread and catering bread. [19] Its products have received the Master Bakers Association Award eight times. [5] During 2022, some of the company's products were subject to a precautionary recall by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. [20]
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