A Newcastle-based mac ‘n’ cheese business is looking to work with local shops in the northeast of England after trebling its independent retail base in the past three weeks.

Redheads Mac ‘N’ Cheese started out as a side business for chef Jamie Pagett selling hot food to go at street food markets, but has since expanded and also sells frozen microwaveable meals to retailers.

Pagett recently passed the 20-retailer milestone, up from six three weeks ago, having started working with his first retailer in 2021. Average weekly sales across these stores stand at £500-£600.

He says he has benefited from a strong local social media presence, with 10,000 Facebook followers and more than 25,000 across two Instagram pages. “We post on Facebook asking where people would like to see us next, and they tag the shops,” he said. “I’d like to see how far we can take it.

“At the minute, I’m going with the flow and responding to recommendations. It’s all word of mouth.”

Retailers can currently stock Original, Chorizo and Sticky Rib varieties, at an RRP of £5.95 (Original) and £6.50 (Chorizo and Sticky Rib). Convenience stores receive a 25% margin.

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Pagett is planning to expand the range with BBQ Brisket and Broccoli lines later this year, which will both carry a £6.50 RRP.

He also provides branding for retailers to put on their freezers. “We had a freezer unit and a local One Stop got in touch and said they’d like it, so we branded it and put it in,” he said. “Another One Stop said they’d like one so we did the same. Once we got more enquiries, I thought I couldn’t buy a £1,000 freezer for each shop, so I’ve gone down the route of branding existing freezers in stores and the retailers seem to like it.”

Retailer Jag Singh, of Horsley Hill Premier in South Shields, sold 120 lines within three days of first stocking them after fans tagged his store’s Facebook page in one of Pagett’s posts. “It’s attracted so many new customers,” he said.

“We try to look for new products locally and in the UK that are big sellers. Supermarkets can’t move as quickly as we can. The mac ‘n’ cheese contributed £650 in sales, but customers were also coming in for alcohol and pop.”

For now, Pagett is only looking for retailers in north-east England, but “would love” for the business to be available nationally.

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