S01 E25: Handpies with Heart: Redefining Convenience from Island Ingredients to Grocery Freezers

In this episode of Recipes for Success, we sit down with Red Seal Chef Sarah Bennetto O’Brien, founder of The Handpie Company, makers of chef-crafted, savory personal handpies that bring quality, local ingredients, and real flavor to Atlantic Canada’s frozen food aisles.Launched in 2017 with a mission to create grab-and-go meals that don’t compromise on taste or integrity, The Handpie Company uses real butter, Island beef, potatoes, and more. Every pie is chef-made in a CFIA-licensed production facility, ensuring consistent quality in every bite.Sarah shares how she turned a love of local ingredients into a thriving brand, navigating challenges like scaling artisan quality for the freezer aisle, maintaining local sourcing, and expanding into new retail channels. Today, their products are stocked in over 100 locations throughout the Maritimes, including grocery frozen food aisles, cafés, and taprooms.We also dive into the early “pie in the sky” idea, the leap from café menus to owning their name and space, and how the team has stayed true to their core values, chef-made, locally sourced, and convenience without compromise.This conversation is about more than pies, it’s about building a local food brand with community, blending taste and integrity, and pushing the boundaries of what a frozen product can be.Website: https://www.handpie.ca/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehandpieco/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehandpieco/ If you like what you heard leave us a comment or a review and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you would like to be on the show, send us an email :[email protected] or  [email protected] informed and up to date about the latest news in the food industry, and follow us on social media:Join our weekly SKUFood newsletter Connect with Peter on LinkedIn Follow us on Instagram Thanks for listening!