Ginsters

Ginsters /ˈɡɪnstərz/ is a company based in Callington in Cornwall, in the south-west of England. The biggest selling pasty maker in the UK, it specialises in making mass-produced pasties, sausage rolls, sandwiches, pasta bowls and other savoury snacks.

History

The Ginsters family were farmers in the small Cornish town of Callington. In 1967 they started buying in fresh pies and pasties to sell by van sales to various local retail outlets. After a while, founder and head of the company, Geoffrey Ginster saw the limitations of this trade and decided that the family itself should start manufacturing pasties. They started the business in a near-derelict egg-packing station, with a staff of four. Geoffrey Ginster started production of pasties from a 'secret recipe' he claimed to have obtained from a ship's cook. Production slowly increased until by 1970 a staff of 30 was producing 48,000 units a day. Initially Ginsters pasties were sold to pubs, cafés, corner shops and other small stores in Plymouth and nearby seaside towns, before expanding further to cover southern England.