A pork pie company is cooking up 30 jobs with the opening of a third bakery.

Vale Of Mowbray, at Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, has invested £2m over the past two years to increase the capacity of two existing bakeries and build a new one.

Its pies and sausages sell to supermarkets and independent shops across the region.

The company employs 190 staff and expects to create between 25 and 30 jobs when the new bakery opens, before Christmas.

It was also given the ingredients it needs to review its design and packaging at a series of workshops designed by Business Link York and North Yorkshire.

The programme, put together by Business Link and York marketing specialist In-House Marketing, was designed to encourage companies to seek expansion through the application of design and was run in association with the Design Council, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Food, Technopole and Yorkshire Pantry.

For Vale Of Mowbray, which has an annual turnover of £11m the focus was on the design of its branding, from packaging to promotional material.

Vale Of Mowbray sales and marketing manager Paul Keeton said: "At the moment we are concentrating on getting our new bakery up and running, but we will be switching our attention to branding, including the launching of a website, early in the New Year."

Business Link design advisor Gareth Barber said: "Packaging and presentation is vitally important for a company like Vale Of Mowbray, where appearances can make all the difference.

"Both Business Link York and North Yorkshire and In-House Marketing are glad to have helped the company.