Daniel Button has recently opened a state of the art, automated crumpet factory, which produces a high quality product in a spotlessly clean factory environment.

In a few months up to 5000 packets a day will roll off the new hi-tech production line at Button Family Crumpets.

The small business was a big step change for owner Daniel Button who spent five years in Saudi Arabia working for a "gargantuan" food company that churned out five million croissants and a million loaves of bread a day.

While working overseas he learned via Honeycomb Crumpets' Facebook page that the factory had been destroyed in the earthquake.

DAVID WALKER/FAIRFAX NZ At Button Family Crumpets Christchurch factory worker Janet Stone checks the crumpets as they come out of the oven.

He offered to join the then owner as a partner to get the business up and running again. "But he'd had a stroke and said he wanted to sell it."

After taking ownership in mid-2013, Button Family Crumpetsinvested $1.5 million in new equipment to mix and bake the distinctive square crumpets.

"Most the machinery was damaged in the earthquake or not fit to use. We kept the frame of just one machine."

The old method of making crumpets was labour intensive, and the new mechanised production line changed all that.

"The crumpets were being handled continuously, but in our operation the crumpets don't get touched. When you open a packet of our crumpets, you're the first person to touch them."

An air filtration system keeps the crumpets in a sterile environment while they cool, and a packing line imported from Italy packages them with an inert gas to keep them fresh.

"You see it used for some high end cheeses and Italian meats such as prosciutto. We had it customised to get the right mix [of gas] and it works very, very well."

This new packaging has increased the crumpets' shelf life from about two days to 10 days.

"With the old packaging they would spoil and go mouldy within 48 hours."

Button said the extended shelf life meant the company could supply shops nation-wide and exports to Australia were a possibility.

Down the track, he has plans for a gluten-free crumpet.

As far as marketing is concerned, the company focuses on promoting its product on Facebook and through in-store tastings.

Button pushes the nostalgia of crumpets and the memories associated with them. "I still remember walking down the road with my grandfather to buy them from a dairy in Addington."

Thanks to his wife Elizabeth, who is a chef, Button has branched out into eating dessert crumpets served with caramelised dates and vanilla icecream, and a savoury version with prosciutto rock melon and a balsamic reduction.

"I used to be staunchly butter and golden syrup, but I've taken to listening to what other people tell me I should try."