THE makers of the award-winning 'Killie Pie' are rebranding their meat and pastry masterpiece while a legal battle over who owns the trademark drags on.
Brownings the Bakers have been looked in a bitter dispute with Kilmarnock Football Club over who owns the name of the pie after their 13-year contract to supply match day catering came to an end.
The company wanted to keep using the brand, but the club insists that is their trademark, and now the bakers say that their pie will henceforth be known as the 'Kilmarnock Pie.'
However, the firm is not cashing in its chips and insists that the name change is temporary while the courtroom battle is underway.
The Killie pie is famous among football fans for its status among the best matchday fare in Scotland, and has twice been awarded the best pie in Scotland prize.
As well as selling the pies at matches, Brownings have a retail version which cane be found in supermarkets including Waitrose and Aldi.
Brownings Managing Director, John Gall, said: "I hope that by renaming our pie the Kilmarnock Pie and making its origins clearer to people outwith the town, that Kilmarnock can become as well known for its pies, as Forfar is for its bridies and Arbroath is for its Smokies.
"The recipe will stay the same with Brownings secret blend of gravy and seasonings along with the finest cuts of meat."
Tracy Murray, Chairwoman of Kilmarnock Business Association said: "I think it’s fantastic that Brownings are renaming their pie to the Kilmarnock Pie. The Pie may be known locally but a lot of people don’t make the link between ‘Killie’ and the town, so it’s great that a local company are helping raise awareness of Kilmarnock and trying to help boost the local economy."
The mark the launch of the Kilmarnock Pie, the bakers plan to dote 10 per cent from every pie sold from their won shops in the first week to the Ayrshire Samaritans charity.
Councillor Jim Todd, Provost of East Ayrshire, said: "Brownings the Bakers are a very successful local business, and are a great ambassador for Kilmarnock, employing over 200 local employees.
"Brownings have been awarded the best savoury pie in Scotland two years running which is testament to John Gall and his bakery.
"I would like to thank Brownings for the generous donation toward my chosen charity, Ayrshire Samaritans; this will go towards helping a great cause. Kilmarnock has a lot to be proud of and the award winning Kilmarnock Pie is definitely one thing worth returning for."
Kilmarnock FC began legal moves to fight the Brownings bid to call the 'Killie Pie' their own, employing trademark attorneys Marks & Clerk to protect the brand last month.
The club insists that the name belongs to them, stating that Brownings were not even the first baker to make the Killie Pie.
A spokeswoman confirmed that the legal fight is ongoing.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here