Special Interest

Random

Limited edition to fund theatre

1 August 2021

Riso’s grains of hope

Polish food grows in UK

Times mags are ditching the plastic

THE institution of the Burns Supper, now an annual celebration of the works of Scotland’s – and one of the world’s – great poets, Robert Burns, began in the very early 19th century. In 1801 some chums who were great admirers of the recently departed Rabbie, and who were also pretty fond of a dram, met on the fifth anniversary of the great writer’s death to wine, dine, toast his memory and recite some of his works. The following year the celebration moved to the date of the bard’s birthday 25 January and the rest as they say is history. The Burns Supper habit spread across Scotland. Within a few years a Burns Supper was being held in Oxford University. Today they are held all over the world. These days formal suppers can be quite posh with a multi-course dinner, a piper, a toast to the immortal memory of our great literary hero, a cheeky toast to the lassies, an even cheekier reply from the lassies, an address to the haggis and a recitation of Burns’ great narrative poem Tam o’Shanter. Other celebrations in homes and elsewhere are often much simpler. But virtually all will include two items that retailers can highlight in Burns season each year ... haggis and whisky. It’s sad that, because of marketing restrictions on alcohol products in Scottish off-trade outlets, it’s effectively impossible to cross-promote the two Burns Supper essentials or even to place them together in a display. But that’s all the more reason to promote them individually. Try highlighting haggis in your meat chiller, carry a few different sizes to suit the variety of sizes of households, use point-of-sale material to remind shoppers of Burns Night and the part that haggis plays in the celebrations. And you could make January a special malts month or simply arrange to focus on whisky generally in your drinks area. If you have a whisky deal that’s giving you a good margin highlight it within your drinks section. And creating a Burns theme in store, with tartan and maybe even pictures of the man himself, will help get the message across.

Power of the Bard

Feta the Better and Urban Eat sandwiches

New year, more vegans

7 January 2020

PACKED sandwich maker Adelie Foods has doubled the size of its vegan range

Cocoa plans

1 February 2015

CADBURY Dairy Milk chocolate in the UK has carried the Fairtrade logo since 2009. Since then, Fairtrade certification has also been granted to Cadbury...

Cleaning up the pack

6 October 2020

Persil has a new pack, which is now 100% recyclable

More mill planned

1 April 2018

SPIRITS firm Eden Mill has announced ambitious plans to build a new distillery and brewery alongside its headquarters in St Andrew’s.

Partnership is too good

1 September 2022

Spar Scotland wholesaler CJ Lang has rolled out Too Good to Go across its entire company-owned estate.

Popping up again

6 January 2020

Quorn Southern Fried Poppers is a ready to eat snack that consists of vegetarian chicken in southern fried breadcrumb coating

Relish the Stateside opportunities

25 May 2016

AS the world food market has opened up, people have become more adventurous and are no longer content with standard tomato ketchup or mayonnaise...

A sweet choice

15 April 2015

THE alternatives to sugar market in the UK is worth £52m and a quarter of households buy products in the category four times a...

Whisky brand for the birds

6 April 2021

BIODIVERSITY and the preservation of Scotland’s landscapes are behind a partnership between The Famous Grouse and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Awards Profile – Sustainability Champion

17 July 2023

Scottish Grocer caught up with Shamly Sud, director at GHSL, and Leigh McCarter, store manager at Premier Racetrack Pitstop Bearsden, following the award win.