Here’s what it takes to make your Tippin’s pie.
Your neighborhood grocery store is just starting to buzz with shoppers planning their holiday meals. For Mark Boyer, though, Thanksgiving started a while ago.
Boyer is the president of local food company Tippin’s, whose pies have become a tradition for many Kansas City families.
The company will sell about 600,000 pumpkin pies during 2016. The bulk of them will be produced during the fourth quarter, just in time to land on Grandma’s dinner table.
“During this time of year, we’re making pumpkin pies all day long,” Boyer said. (Apple and French silk—the company’s leaders on a unit and dollar basis—are in high demand during the holidays, too.)
On a typical day, the Tippin’s production facility ships 8,000 to 10,000 pies to customers across the Midwest. The company accomplishes this with a team of about 60 bakers. While there’s some machinery involved, a surprising amount of the work is hands-on, Boyer said.
Which, of course, is one reason why the pies are so popular: “They all look homemade, handmade.”
‘WE BABY THE CRUST’
What’s the secret to making a Tippin’s pie?
It starts with a delicious, but relatively simple recipe. Most of the ingredients are items you could find at your local grocery store, Boyer said. What makes the difference is how they’re put together.
Tippin’s pampers its crust. The average person, armed with a rolling pin, places the pie dough under far more pressure than Tippin’s does. All that rolling “is what destroys a great pie crust,” Boyer said. Tippin’s process is gentler, which creates a lighter and flakier final product.
“If you had a microscope, you’d find layer and layer and layer of crust,” Boyer said. “We baby the crust.”
Tippin’s also takes its time. The filling for the pumpkin pies is aged about two years. The company has already purchased the pumpkin for the 2018 season. The apple pie filling, which doesn’t take as long, still rests overnight. So does the dough.
“A lot of it is having the patience to let the dough rest overnight,” Boyer said.
Tippin’s might be known best for its pies, but it makes a surprising array of other baked goods: bagels, croissants, cheesecakes, tea breads and a few cakes. Wander into the deli section, and you’ll find soups and salad dressings that Tippin’s prepared.
Ultimately, it all comes back to the pies. If you account for all the different flavors, sizes and sugar vs. no-sugar added options, Tippin’s has more than 100 stock-keeping units (SKUs) for its pies.
“That’s what’s core to us,” Boyer said. “That’s what we’re really good at.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR TIPPIN’S?
Historically, Tippin’s has been a Midwestern brand. Now, though, the company is expanding into new markets in California, Texas, Arizona and New York. (The pie-maker’s market penetration is so strong locally that it pretty much had to look at other markets as a way to grow.)
Tippin’s is also working to create a gluten-free pumpkin pie for the holidays. It’s a challenge, but they’ve made real progress. However, Boyer said, the company will only put a gluten-free product on store shelves if it’s the same level of quality as its signature pumpkin pie.
“When our taste testers say, ‘I can’t tell the difference,’ then we know it’s ready.”
