SCOTTISH RETAIL FOOD & DRINK AWARDS 2021

INDUSTRY AWARDS: WINNERS ANNOUNCED

SCOTTISH PRODUCTS HIT THE LIMELIGHT

The winners of the 2021 Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards were announced last Thursday, bringing producers and retailers closer together.

The winners of the Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards 2021 were announced last Thursday. The annual awards celebrate the wide variety of quality food and drink products locally produced in Scotland and have one clear focus: to get more of Scotland’s fantastic food and drink products onto more Scottish retail shelves.

The awards are unusual in encompassing the entire producer and retailer spectrums from the smallest retailers and artisan producers to the largest supermarkets and global brands. The only criteria were that the products had to be produced and marketed in Scotland.

Unusually, the awards also place a key focus on the convenience channel in Scotland, aiming to help local retailers capitalise on growing demand for locally, regionally and nationally sourced products.

Thule Ventus Salt Cod Pate from the Shetland Islands and Fife’s Lunun Gin were among the biggest winners on the day, each securing a coveted Platinum Small Producer prize.

Mackie’s of Scotland Traditional Real Dairy Ice Cream from Aberdeenshire and GM Spirits Edinburgh Rum also won Platinum awards for Large Producer whilst Aldi scooped two Platinum Own Label prizes.

After almost three weeks of intensive judging involving hundreds of products and more than 60 expert judges from across the food and drink sector, the results include a selection of outstanding Scottish products targeting retail listings in Scotland.

Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards director, Antony Begley, said: “The Awards have one very simple goal: to get more of Scotland’s fantastic food and drink products onto more Scottish retail shelves.

“The Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards were created with an unapologetically pragmatic and commercial focus at their heart. We want to help producers secure listings and we want to help retailers unearth fantastic Scottishproducts to stock in their stores. “With interest in locally, regionally and nationally sourced products arguably higher than ever among Scottish retailers and consumers, this has been a fantastic time to win a Scottish Retail Food and Drink Award.”

Helen Lyons, Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards co-founder, added: “Congratulations to all of our winners and in particular to our six Platinum award winners. Looking at the range and diversity of the winning products and the companies and top brands that have entered, the quality, standard and innovation has not disappointed.

“Our goal has always been to get more Scottish food and drink products onto more Scottish shelves and we look forward to seeing many of the winning products gaining new listings in Scottish retail stores over the coming months.”

Platinum winners – Food

Small Producer – ThuleVentus, Salt Cod Pate

Large Producer – Mackies ofScotland, Traditional DairyIce Cream

Own Label – Aldi, SpeciallySelected Steak & Porter AlePie

Platinum Winners – Drink

Small Producer – LununGin, Lunun Gin

Large Producer – GMSpirits, Edinburgh Rum

Own Label – Aldi, 12 YearOld Speyside ScotchWhisky

Highlights

Shetland’s Thule Ventus Salt Cod Pate and Fife’s Lunun Gin winPlatinum Small Producer awards

Aberdeenshire Mackie’s of Scotland Traditional Real Dairy Ice Creamand GM Spirits Edinburgh Rum win Platinum Large Producer awards

Falkirk’s Tilly Confectionery wins two Large Producer awards for MaltWhisky Tablet and Mrs Tilly’s Scottish Tablet Popcorn

Aldi scoops two Platinum Own Label prizes and 18 own label awardsoverall

Lidl wins own label award for Caulder’s Confectionery ScottishMacaroon