Four'N Twenty

Four'N Twenty is an Australian pastry brand whose name has become closely associated with the country's meat-pie tradition. Its principal product is a hand-sized pie containing meat in gravy and enclosed in a shortcrust pastry base with a folded, slightly flaky upper crust. The brand also sells related products such as sausage rolls, alternative-flavour pies and filled pastry snacks. In Australia, Four'N Twenty products are commonly sold through supermarkets, bakeries, petrol stations, convenience stores and sporting venues. The brand originated in Bendigo, Victoria, where baker Leslie Thompson McClure created the pie in 1947. McClure initially sold the product under the name Dad & Dave Pie, after his cafe. An employee suggested the name Four'N Twenty, drawing on the English nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” whose best-known pie-related line refers to “four and twenty blackbirds.” Early brand imagery reportedly incorporated this association by depicting blackbirds emerging from a pie. The name was later standardized in a text-focused logo. McClure's pies gained attention after he took samples to the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show. Demand led to the opening of a bakery in a showgrounds pavilion in 1949, followed by a factory in Union Road, Ascot Vale, in 1953 and later a larger facility in Kensington. Production expanded substantially beyond the approximately 50 pies per day made during the brand's earliest period. In 1960, McClure sold his interest to the Victorian arm of Peters Ice Cream. The brand subsequently passed through corporate ownership linked to Pacific Dunlop and Simplot before being acquired by Patties Foods in 2003. Under Patties, production was consolidated at the company's Bairnsdale manufacturing operation after the Kensington factory was closed. The expanded facility was reported as capable of producing approximately 21,000 pies per hour around the clock. Four'N Twenty thereby became part of Patties Foods' broader portfolio of Australian bakery and snack brands while retaining a distinct identity and a strong association with sporting occasions. The classic pie uses a meat filling based on mutton and beef, with Food Standards Australia New Zealand rules requiring at least 25 percent meat in a product marketed as a meat pie. The filling is generally described as using mostly shoulder meat in a seasoned gravy with carrot and onion. The range has broadened over time to include chicken and vegetable, pulled pork, grass-fed Angus beef, butter chicken and meat-free products. The brand has also experimented with novelty and co-branded offerings, including a Cheese and Vegemite pie, the Topper filled-pastry line and a limited-edition Beef & CC's Nacho Cheese Pie. Four'N Twenty's cultural positioning rests on familiarity, portability and sporting ritual rather than premium culinary presentation. Meat pies are frequently eaten with tomato sauce and are especially associated with Australian rules football matches, where pies are a conventional stadium food. The brand has also pursued exports and international distribution. It announced an American-market launch in 2006 and held a promotional launch in Japan in 2019. In 2024, Four'N Twenty pies were named among the official provisions supplied to the Australian Olympic Team, alongside other well-known Australian food brands. The brand remains active, with its core pie continuing to anchor a portfolio of frozen, chilled and hot-served pastry products.

Four'N Twenty was created in 1947 by Leslie Thompson McClure in Bendigo, Victoria. McClure operated a cafe whose name initially inspired the product's working name, Dad & Dave Pie. The final name was suggested by an employee and refers to the traditional English nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” which includes the phrase “four and twenty blackbirds” in connection with a pie. This literary reference also influenced some early visual identity, including imagery of blackbirds leaving a pie. At the beginning, production was reported at roughly 50 pies a day. McClure took samples to the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show, where the product attracted strong interest. Rising demand led to a bakery in a showgrounds pavilion in 1949 and then to a factory in Union Road, Ascot Vale, in 1953. Production later moved to a larger Kensington factory as the brand developed a wider retail and institutional presence. In 1960, McClure sold his stake in the business to the Victorian arm of Peters Ice Cream. Subsequent corporate ownership connected the brand with Pacific Dunlop, which sold Four'N Twenty to Simplot in 1995. Simplot later sold Four'N Twenty and other bakery brands to Patties Foods in 2003. Patties expanded its Bairnsdale manufacturing facility and consolidated Four'N Twenty production there, closing the Kensington plant. The expanded Bairnsdale operation was described as capable of producing around 21,000 pies per hour, continuously throughout the day. The brand's core product is a compact savoury meat pie. Its traditional filling combines mutton and beef in a seasoned gravy, with carrot and onion commonly included. The standard formulation has been described as using mostly shoulder meat, while Australian food standards require a meat pie to contain at least 25 percent meat. The pastry consists of a flour-and-margarine shortcrust base and an upper layer that is rolled and folded to create a somewhat flaky texture. Tomato sauce is a common accompaniment. Four'N Twenty became particularly prominent through Australia's sporting and convenience-food networks. Meat pies are a familiar food at Australian rules football grounds, and Four'N Twenty has been treated as an iconic example of the category. Its availability from pie warmers, supermarkets and convenience outlets supports a positioning built around portability and familiarity. Rather than relying only on the original recipe, the brand has periodically extended its range with chicken and vegetable, pulled pork, grass-fed Angus beef and other variants. Product development has included a Cheese and Vegemite pie launched for the brand's seventieth anniversary in 2017, followed later that year by the Topper, a breaded filled pastry available in lasagna, macaroni-and-cheese and chicken-cordon-bleu versions. In 2020, the company introduced a vegan-friendly meat-free pie. A butter chicken variant followed in 2021. In 2025, Four'N Twenty worked with CC's Corn Chips on a limited-edition beef and nacho-cheese pie. Four'N Twenty has also pursued international distribution. The brand announced an American-market launch in 2006 and launched in Japan in April 2019 through a promotional event in Tokyo. Its symbolic domestic status was reinforced in 2024 when its pies were included among the official provisions for the Australian Olympic Team. The brand is owned by Patties Foods and remains an active Australian pastry label.

• 2025

  CC's collaboration released

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Four'N Twenty and CC's Corn Chips introduced a limited-edition Beef & CC's Nacho Cheese Pie.

• 2024

  Australian Olympic Team provision

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Four'N Twenty pies were included among the official provisions for the Australian Olympic Team.

• 2021

  Butter Chicken Pie launched

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Four'N Twenty expanded its range with a butter-chicken-style pie.

• 2020

  Meat-free pie introduced

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  The brand added a vegan-friendly meat-free pie.

• 2019

  Japanese launch

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Four'N Twenty launched its meat pies in Japan at a promotional event in Tokyo.

• 2017

  Seventieth-anniversary product extensions

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Four'N Twenty launched a Cheese and Vegemite pie and later introduced the Topper filled-pastry line.

• 2006

  American-market launch announced

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  The brand announced plans to sell Four'N Twenty pies in the United States.

• 2003

  Patties Foods becomes owner

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Simplot sold Four'N Twenty and several other bakery brands to Patties Foods.

• 1995

  Simplot acquires the brand

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Pacific Dunlop sold Four'N Twenty to Simplot.

• 1960

  McClure sells his stake

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Leslie Thompson McClure sold his interest in Four'N Twenty to the Victorian arm of Peters Ice Cream.

• 1953

  Factory established in Ascot Vale

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Production expanded into a factory on Union Road in Ascot Vale, Victoria.

• 1949

  Showgrounds bakery opens

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Growing demand after the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show led McClure to open a bakery in a pavilion at the showgrounds.

• 1947

  Four'N Twenty pie created in Bendigo

  [1]Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org

  Leslie Thompson McClure created the pie in Bendigo, Victoria; it was initially associated with the name Dad & Dave Pie.

Traditional, convenient Australian savoury pastry with strong associations with football, petrol-station pie warmers and everyday national food culture.

• Meat pie · 1947

  Classic Four'N Twenty Meat Pie

  The signature product is a hand-sized savoury pie filled with mutton and beef in seasoned gravy, traditionally accompanied by carrot and onion. The base uses flour-and-margarine shortcrust pastry, while the folded upper crust provides a slightly flaky texture. It is widely associated with Australian football grounds, convenience stores and tomato sauce.

• Sausage roll

  Four'N Twenty Sausage Rolls

  Sausage rolls are a related savoury pastry offering in the Four'N Twenty portfolio. They extend the brand's core proposition of portable, ready-to-heat Australian bakery food and are sold through channels that also carry the company's pies, including supermarkets, convenience outlets and food-service locations.

• Flavoured meat pie · 2017

  Cheese and Vegemite Pie

  Introduced for Four'N Twenty's seventieth anniversary in 2017, this variant combined the established pie format with cheese and Vegemite. The product connected two recognizable Australian food brands and represented a deliberately local flavour extension rather than a change to the brand's basic pastry format.

• Filled pastry snack · 2017

  Topper

  The Topper is a crispy breaded pocket-style product launched in 2017. Reported fillings included lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and chicken cordon bleu. It broadened Four'N Twenty beyond the conventional round meat pie while preserving the brand's emphasis on hot, portable savoury snacks.

• Plant-based pie · 2020

  Vegan-Friendly Meat-Free Pie

  Launched in 2020, the meat-free pie was positioned as a vegan-friendly alternative to the traditional Four'N Twenty product. The brand described it as aiming to replicate the taste, texture and flavour experience of the original pie while addressing demand for a non-meat option.

• Flavoured chicken pie · 2021

  Butter Chicken Pie

  The Butter Chicken Pie, introduced in 2021, uses a butter-chicken-style filling built around chicken, tomato and chilli. It applies a familiar international flavour profile to Four'N Twenty's established Australian pie format.

• Limited-edition collaboration pie · 2025

  Beef & CC's Nacho Cheese Pie

  This limited-edition collaboration with CC's Corn Chips combines a beef pie filling with nacho-cheese cues associated with the snack brand. It was made available frozen in supermarkets and hot through selected petrol stations and convenience stores.

• 2014

  Complaints over halal-certified export pie

  A halal-certified export variation of the Four'N Twenty meat pie prompted social-media complaints and calls from some consumers for a boycott. The available reference does not establish a regulatory finding or financial consequence.

  Source

Read more

• 2025Four'N Twenty x CC's Nacho Cheese Pie

  Australia

  Four'N Twenty collaborated with CC's Corn Chips on a limited-edition Beef & CC's Nacho Cheese Pie.

  Outcome. The product was distributed through supermarkets in frozen form and through petrol stations and convenience stores as a hot pie.

  Source
• 2024Australian Olympic Team food provision

  Australia · France

  Four'N Twenty participated in the Australian Olympic Team's official food provision, alongside other nationally recognizable Australian brands.

  Outcome. The inclusion reinforced the brand's association with Australian identity and sporting culture.

  Source
• 2019Four'N Twenty Day Japan launch

  Japan

  The brand marked its Japanese market launch with a Four'N Twenty Day celebration at the World Beer Museum in Tokyo.

  Outcome. The event supported the brand's introduction to Japanese consumers and highlighted Four'N Twenty as an Australian cultural food export.

  Source

• 2025

  Limited-edition CC's collaborationProduct launch

  Background

  The brand pursued a snack-food collaboration to create a novelty flavour and attract attention across retail and convenience channels.

  Action taken

  Four'N Twenty and CC's launched the Beef & CC's Nacho Cheese Pie.

  Aftermath

  The limited-edition product was offered frozen in supermarkets and hot through selected petrol stations and convenience stores.

  Source

• 2021

  Butter Chicken Pie launchProduct launch

  Background

  Four'N Twenty continued expanding its flavour range beyond the traditional beef-and-mutton filling.

  Action taken

  The brand introduced a butter-chicken-style pie containing chicken, tomato and chilli.

  Aftermath

  The launch added an internationally familiar flavour profile to the brand's Australian pastry portfolio.

  Source

• 2020

  Introduction of a vegan-friendly meat-free pieProduct launch

  Background

  The company responded to demand for a plant-based alternative while retaining the familiar Four'N Twenty pie format.

  Action taken

  Four'N Twenty launched a meat-free pie marketed as vegan-friendly.

  Aftermath

  The product extended the brand into plant-based savoury pastry; the available reference does not report its commercial performance.

  Source

• 2017

  Seventieth-anniversary range extensionsProduct launch

  Background

  The brand used its seventieth anniversary to introduce products beyond the standard meat pie.

  Action taken

  Four'N Twenty launched the Cheese and Vegemite Pie and later introduced the Topper filled-pastry line.

  Aftermath

  The launches broadened the range into novelty Australian flavours and alternative filled snack formats.

  Source

• 2006

  International expansion into the United StatesStrategy

  Background

  Four'N Twenty sought to extend its Australian meat-pie proposition to an overseas consumer market.

  Action taken

  The brand announced that its pies would be sold in the American market.

  Aftermath

  The announcement established the United States as an international distribution target, but the available source does not provide sales or market-share results.

  Source

• 2003

  Patties Foods acquires Four'N TwentyM&A

  Background

  Simplot decided to sell Four'N Twenty and several other bakery brands after owning the brand from 1995.

  Action taken

  Patties Foods acquired the brand and subsequently integrated its manufacturing into the Bairnsdale operation.

  Aftermath

  Four'N Twenty became part of Patties Foods' Australian bakery portfolio, with production consolidated after the Kensington plant closed.

  Source

1. 1Four'n Twentyen.wikipedia.org