King Pie is a firm South African favourite, often hailed as the country’s most beloved pie and considered a heritage brand by many. King Pie started as a single, open-style bakery in 1990 and rapidly grew into one South Africa’s most popular quick-service restaurant (QSR) franchises. Today, King Pie counts more than 300 franchise locations across Southern Africa. The King Pie menu includes several classics that have endured the test of taste and time, but the company has also demonstrated a drive to innovate over the years. In 2023, King Pie pioneered a plant-based pie range inspired by traditional South African vegetable dishes. The range specifically catered for vegetarian and vegan customers but proved through its wider popularity that plant-based menu items could be enjoyed by all. Though firmly rooted in its South African identity, King Pie is guided by a desire to be world-class in all its endeavours – evidenced in their proud standards of quality and value.

Vetro Media has enjoyed a 10-year partnership with King Pie and has played an instrumental part in the growth phases of the brand during that time. Like many heritage brands, King Pie faced a significant challenge in migrating to digital marketing channels and utilising digital marketing tools to full effect. At the time that Vetro Media came on board, the brand was in danger of becoming a fond memory. Whilst much public affection remained for the brand, consumer relevance had declined. A major job of customer acquisition, retention and upsell had to be done.

Vetro Media began work for King Pie on a project basis in 2014 with a campaign for a brand JV between King Pie and Tropica. The following year, we started running loyalty and rewards campaigns which would eventually evolve into the highly successful King Pie Royal Rewards platform and programme. In 2018, Vetro Media became King Pie’s digital lead agency responsible for Google and social media marketing, website development and SEO, mobile marketing and digital in-store promotions. When the pandemic hit in 2020/21, King Pie had a flourishing online presence with an engagement rate several orders of magnitude higher than industry average, ensuring the brand was not left behind in the new normal.