Ready for a celebration

Fortnight highlights history and heritage A celebration of Scotland’s larder, the Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight 2017 takes place on 2 - 17 September,...
Meatsnacks new range

Chewing over changes for 2018

MEATSNACKS Group has been gearing up for the New Year by enhancing the recipe and revamping the packaging of its jerky range
Linds McCartney vegetarian Lincolnshire sausages

Vegan pea sausages

VEGETARIAN meat alternative brand Linda McCartney’s has added some Lincolnshire flavour to its sausage range.
James Withers, above left, chief executive of Scotland Food and Drink.

A food and drink year in the making

WE are now at the halfway point in Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink which set out to promote the country’s natural larder. Scotland Food...

Breakfast thoughts

THINK Food To Go. Many research studies point to increasing incidence of people breakfasting while commuting or when they reach an office desk. If...
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High five

WHITWORTHS reckons consumers want be more informed about the choices they make. Its latest snack packaging has been designed to communicate that its dried apricots,...

A slice of the market

Allied Bakeries has entered the free-from category with the launch of two new products from its seeded-loaf range Burgen. Burgen Soya & Linseed 500g and Burgen...
Mars Chocolate & Drinks vegan dairy free drinks

Dairy free is flying

The non-dairy drinks category is worth £29 million annually, according to Mars Chocolate Drinks & Treats (MCD&T).
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,...

Taking beer all the way to the top

Scotland’s favourite lager brand, Tennent’s, takes the top spot for the first time

Get ready for the RVM revolution

PREPARATIONS for DRS are well underway, with the Scottish Government, scheme administrator and retailers now all working towards an August 2023 live date.
Belhaven beer

Local brews go down well

BELHAVEN is in the ascendancy in the Scottish off trade, according to the East Lothian brewery’s marketing controller Steven Sturgeon.
Irn Bru

Scots seeking Scottish

CONSUMERS want brands that reflect their Scottish heritage for Burns Night
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Investment is paying off

CONFECTIONERY producer Lees of Scotland is looking to take some major strides in 2020, having spent big on infrastructure last year

Melting into a makeover

IT’S more than 40 years since Helen Dean set out to bake shortbread in her Huntly kitchen to raise funds for the local pipe...
Dundee’s The Yard awarded £10,000 from SPAR Scotland as part of its national Community Cashback campaign

Dundee’s The Yard wins £10k from Spar’s Community Cashback campaign

Dundee’s The Yard has been awarded £10,000 from SPAR Scotland as part of its national Community Cashback campaign. The specialist charity creates play opportunities...
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