Home » Products » Highlight of the Month » Kai Pai News: Bakery Awards & National Accolades
Kai Pai Bakery has taken gold at the 2026 New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards, with its Mince & Cheese Pie winning Gold in the Commercial/Wholesale category.
Announced at the awards ceremony held on Tuesday 4 August, the result reinforces Kai Pai Bakery’s reputation as one of New Zealand’s leading pie producers and recognises the quality and consistency of its flagship pie.
Kai Pai head baker Jason Danielson said the award was particularly meaningful given the bakery’s long-standing success in the competition.
“We’re incredibly proud to win Gold again in the Commercial/Wholesale category. Our commercial Mince & Cheese Pie has been recognised at every Bakels Supreme Pie Awards held since 2017, and that’s something we’re pretty proud of,” Danielson says.
Danielson credits their success to consistency. “Our pastry and filling are very consistent, and that’s what wins awards. The pie the judges taste comes straight off the production line and is exactly the same as the pie our customers buy every day.”
The New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards were established in 1996 and have grown into one of the country’s most prestigious food competitions, attracting around 600 entries annually. Pies are judged blind by independent baking industry experts across multiple criteria, including pastry quality, filling, flavour profile, baking performance and overall presentation.
“What’s especially pleasing is that our Mince & Cheese Pie has also been recognised three times in the traditional Mince & Cheese category, where we’re often competing against smaller-batch and sometimes handmade pies,” he says.
“It shows that large-scale production and exceptional quality can go hand-in-hand.”
The award continues a remarkable run of success for Kai Pai’s Mince & Cheese Pie, which has picked up two Gold and two Silver Awards in the Commercial/Wholesale category. It has also earned recognition three times in the traditional Mince & Cheese category since 2019.
Danielson says the winning formula isn’t complicated.
“You’ve got to have enough cheese in there, your mince has to be great, and we’re known for having very good pastry.”
Produced in Wānaka and sold throughout New Zealand, Kai Pai’s Mince & Cheese Pie remains one of the bakery’s most popular products.
“The support we receive from customers around New Zealand means a lot to us. Every award is a reflection of the hard work our team puts in every day, and we’re grateful that people continue to choose Kai Pai.”
Employing 45 staff, Kai Pai Bakery is a Kiwi-owned family business with all pies and savouries produced in Wānaka. The bakery has collected more than 30 awards at the Bakels Supreme Pie Awards over the past decade and is recognised as New Zealand’s most awarded commercial pie manufacturer.
For more information, please contact:
Jason Danielson, Kai Pai Bakery (NZ)
E: Jason@kaipai.co.nz
P: +64 27 426 4444
