Patties Foods, maker of Four'n Twenty pies, has signed a multi-year deal with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers to launch its pies into the United States to ride the success of the NBA's hottest new star, Australian guard-forward Ben Simmons.

Pacific Equity Partners acquired the formerly ASX-listed Patties Foods last year for $230 million and since then has been in an aquisition phase, including acquiring South Australian meal solutions business Australian Wholefoods and New Zealand group Leader Foods. This latest deal is set to spearhead its launch into the US.

The hype around 21-year old Simmons, the No.1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft who was signed on an $18.5 million playing contract and who has also signed a lucrative sneaker deal with Nike, is growing as the young Melburnian is compared with LeBron James and the game's other superstars, giving Patties the perfect launching pad into the US.

Philadelphia 76ers guard, Australian Ben Simmons. AP

"This is about getting pies in the hands of Americans," Patties chief executive Paul Hitchcock told The Australian Financial Review.

"Eating a Four'n Twenty pie is part of the ritual of our game here so we want to start with the 30 million people in the Philadelphia region, using the 76ers as our hook, our anchor and platform to grow," Mr Hitchcock said. "We start with the stadiums and get them in people's hands, then they will want to buy them in supermarkets, universities and convenience stores and we can role it out to other geographies in the US."