Provenance king for porridge
Provenance is proving popular with consumers across the country, which is good news for porridge producer Hamlyns of Scotland, and the firm has suggested it can also be a brilliant sales driver for convenience retailers – but only if they up their game.
The firm has claimed the increased interest in all things local has allowed it to “prosper” as customers become increasingly concerned with “food miles”, paying close attention to where their food comes from.
Alan Meikle, managing director at Hamlyns, said consumers have a “heightened interest in buying Scottish brands from Scottish companies” which is a “big plus for Hamlyns”.
“We’ve seen multiple retailers capitalising on this by devoting a significant amout of space, and in many cases full aisles, to Scottish products, but the opportunity hasn’t been exploited to a great extent in the convenience sector.
“We believe that Scottish convenience stores would really reap the benefits of doing something similar.”
Hamlyns offers a range of Scottish oat products to the retail sector including Scottish Oatmeal, Scottish Porridge Oats, Scottish Porridge Oats & Branand Pinhead Oatmeal in a re-sealable tin as well as porridge pots and sachets for the on-the-go market.
The firm also relaunched its 500g packs of Scottish Oatmeal in new packaging last year. The new pack features a ‘suitable for home baking’ flash and Hamlyns said some retailers merchandise the product in both cereal and home-baking aisles.
