Building for the future

HAVING jumped a place from number eight to seventh in our Top 50 Scottish take-home brands last year, Stirlingshire-based Graham’s The Family Dairy has...
Guylian chocolates

Eco-relaunch

SUSTANABILITY was central to Belgian premium chocolate brand Guylian’s recent relaunch.

McIntosh adds mac

THE Italian influenced Scottish favourite of macaroni has been a big hit for Scottish food and ready meals producer, and McIntosh brand owner, Strathmore...

Cathedral on the right track

Saputo shooting for fully recyclable packs
Perfectly Clear

The world of health

WE’RE often told that health considerations are increasingly important to food and drink shoppers. According to figures from the global retail research firm HIM...
Pure vegan cheese

Alternative choices for the display

Showing off your vegan credentials can help sales, says dairy-free alternative brand Pure.

Adapting to expectations

SUSTAINABILITY isn’t just good for the planet, it’s also good for a retailer’s bottom line, according to Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I.
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Guidance updated

THE latest edition of the SGF Healthy Living Programme – Guidance for Promoting Produce is available online at the Scottish Grocers Federation website. The programme...

Snacks set to cut calories and more

DEMAND for healthier snacking products is likely to continue to grow over the next few years, and is a key area of focus for...
The award-winning Killie Pie has new silverware for the trophy cabinet: it has been voted Scotland’s Best Savoury Product for the second year running.

Pie goes sky high

KILMARKNOCK-based Brownings the Bakers has done the double: its Killie Pie has been voted Scotland’s Best Savoury Product two years in a row. The...

Top of the drinks and here to serve

2017 has been an outstanding year for Tennent’s and what a way to round it off by becoming Scotland’s top-selling alcohol brand

Environmental cups for COP

GRAHAM’S, The Family Dairy has introduced new environmentally friendly packaging for its Skyr range.

Healthy outlook for cereals sales

CEREAL is involved in 62% of British breakfasts according to Kellogg’s and, it says, c-stores have played an influential part in putting porridge and...

Rising fortunes

Irish free-from bakery brand BFree is looking to expand its distribution channels further after securing new listings with Waitrose. The supermarket will be the first...
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More info please – Animal welfare concern

ANIMAL welfare is a growing consumer issue, with a new study showing that eight out of 10 UK shoppers want labels which clearly show...
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

THE institution of the Burns Supper, now an annual celebration of the works of Scotland’s – and one of the world’s – great poets,...
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