Game for a trade

EVERY banana, cup of tea or coffee and spoonful of sugar consumed by athletes, officials, workers and visitors to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games benefitted...
Marking September’s Craft Beer Rising, left to right: Matt Johnson, Pilot Brewery, Leith; Pat Jones, also Pilot; Alessandra Confessore, Drygate Brewing Co, Glasgow; Graeme Martin, Tempest Brew Co, Kelso; Peter Stuart, Thistly Cross Cider, Dunbar.

City to host the craft

GLASGOW’S new Drygate brewery is hosting the Craft Beer Rising festival at its city headquarters next month, the first time the event has been...

Out is in for 2019

Research found that sustainable packaging, gut-friendly foods and sugar-free will feature prominently in 2019

RTD lactose-free coffee rolling out

HIGH street coffee brand Starbucks has reformulated its ready-to-drink Chilled Classic Skinny Latte, making the flavour suitable for consumers with a lactose intolerance. The reformulated...

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...

Different kind of Monster

Range extension for kids cereal CHILDREN’S cereal brand Honey Monster has launched an oat variant with the same recently-reduced sugar content as core variant Honey...

Cooking up new uses

PORRIDGE sales in the UK continue to grow, as the oat cereal’s many health benefits make it the year-round breakfast of choice for health-conscious...

Saying cheese

SCOTTISH brand McLelland returned with revamped versions of two of its red cheddar cheeses, Mature and Extra Mature, last month. But for now at...
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,...
Kallo-Protein-Packed-Lentil-cakes

Have your lentil cake and eat it

WESSANEN UK has launched a new lentil-based rice and corn cake under its Kallo natural food brand.
Bryce Cunningham, founder of Mossgiel Farm, stands in a field with cows behind him with a pack shot of a Mossgiel Dairy Farm Chocolate Milk bottle.

Mossgiel Farm launches zero-waste Chocolate Milk

Scottish dairy farm Mossgiel Farm has launched a new all-natural chocolate milk variant with its Mossgiel Brown Cow Milk, using a unique waste-free method.
Pure vegan cheese

Alternative choices for the display

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

Premium chocolate brand adds to its range

PREMIUM chocolate brand Nero & Bianco has added orange and butterscotch flavours to its range. The brand started out in 2010 with three...
Perkier Tiffin

Perky option for breakfast on the move

PERKIER, the free-from brand created by coeliac Ann Perkins, has added breakfast-on-the go options and snacking treats to its product roster. Perkins estimates that some...
tuno-spring-water

Seafood dish without a fish

Vegan brand Loma Linda has launched what it calls the UK’s first fish free tuna
Scotty Brand neeps and tatties, an easy -to-prepare Burns Supper accompaniment.

Sales rising off the pie chart

NEW Year, celebrated just a few days ago, is marked in many houses by a family dinner where steak pie is the star of...