Top Scottish Brands 2016 by Peebles Media Group

Scottish brands 2016

Innovation key to home wins SG exclusive – The most valuable Scottish brands in the Scottish food and drink market I cannot quite believe how quickly 2016 has disappeared. It’s been a busy year with many standout moments. The biggest came with Brexit; although we can’t yet realise the impact it will have on our industry, the pound has lost 15% of its value since June. The market and manufacturers are now beginning to feel the effects of this alongside ingredient and on-shelf price increases. There has also been much discussion about the effect of Brexit upon the supply of labour, as well as exports. However we mustn’t overlook the importance of the UK market to Scottish manufacturers, where sales of Scottish brands are now worth £2 billion – with many of our well-known brands, such as Borders Biscuits, Deans and Stoats, growing their presence. Until recently, consumer confidence had remained positive in Scotland – that this is now dipping may be a sign of things to come. Dealing with uncertainty in any market is challenging, but having appropriate strategies in place will be key to driving longer-term business stability for food and drink producers and retailers. And consideration should always be given to having a range strategy across price tiers in a product portfolio, as well as a multi-channel strategy. The retail landscape in Scotland continues to evolve and, whilst the growth of the dis34 l

Amanda’s overview AMANDA Brown, strategic insight director for Scotland for market research company Kantar Worldpanel – which provides the listing of the top 50 Scottish nonalcohol brands in Scotland and the Top 25 Scottish alcohol brands in Scotland – analyses the year for the leading Scottish brands in Scottish food and drink retailing.

counters is slowing, they are still growing well ahead of the market. We have also seen promotional levels drop to their lowest level since September 2010 as the major multiples adjust their strategies to attract shoppers back into stores. The grocery market in Scotland has now returned to growth and is worth just over £10bn, albeit the price of an average basket is still lower than last year. The convenience and inde-

number of transactions are undertaken on mobile devices by an increasing number of shoppers. It is also worth noting the strong performances of Iceland as well as M&S, Waitrose and The Co-op during 2016. From a health perspective, the introduction of a sugar tax has been significant, with many focusing on the impact it will have on the soft drinks industry, as has the SACN recommendation that free sugars should contribute no

Our insight does suggest that Scottish shopping baskets are getting healthier pendent sector continues to increase in importance, and whilst online continues to move forwards, it is still underperforming when compared with the rest of the UK. Yet it remains a category worth paying attention to, as a growing

more than 5% of the average shopping basket. Our insight does suggest that Scottish shopping baskets are getting healthier – but that this is driven not only by consumer choice, but also by reformulation and changing pack sizes.

This Top 50 is testament to the dynamic food and drink sector we have in Scotland. It is always great to see how well Scottish brands continue to do, and this year much success has been driven by innovation, as well as the development of new market and category opportunities. There are also many positive stories about investment, such as plans to develop new and expanded facilities, demonstrating the optimism within the industry, despite increasing competitiveness. Within the top 50, we see two new entries this year – the first from Mrs Unis at number 41 and Grants at number 45. Both have seen strong performance in the multiples with new products helping to drive success. We also see strong moves up the rankings from Genius (a new entry last year), We Hae Meat (moving up 12 places), Deans and Mrs Tilly’s – all of which have developed their ranges this year with new product and packaging at the forefront of their strategies. Looking forward to next year, we will continue to see strong performances from Scottish brands in Scotland driven by growing distribution and innovation – and this will result in further movement in the Top 50. Scottish shoppers have a strong affinity with Scottish brands, and with provenance higher on everyone’s agendas, there are still great opportunities to drive growth across all channels in the local market.

l December 2016

make up fD p34 and 35 Scottish brands non alc section a C.indd 1

22/11/2016 14:20

Top 50 Scottish take-home food and drink brands in Scotland – excluding alcohol Brand

Rank 2016

Rank 2015

Irn Bru

Graham’s the Family Dairy

Malcolm Allan

Baxters

Moving Up

Rank 2016

Rank 2015

Marshalls

Scott’s

Genius

▲

Paterson’s

▲

Bells Pies and Pastry

We Hae Meat

▲

Tunnock’s

▲

Mackays

McIntosh

▲

Buchanan’s

▲

Wiseman

Mrs Tilly’s

▲

Mackie’s

▲

Lawson’s

Seriously Strong

▲

Highland Game

Simon Howie

Dean’s

Barr

Tarbert Fine Foods

Rowan Glen

Orkney Cheddar

▲

Albert Bartlett

Macsween

▲

Scotty

Big and Scottish

Mac B

▲

Mrs Unis

Border Biscuits

▲

Hamlyns of Scotland

Scottish Blend

▲

Lees

Galloway Cheddar

Scottish Favourites

Highland Spring

Grants

Mothers Pride

Family Favourites

Hall’s

Glenrath

Great Scot

Stockan’s

JG Ross

Swankies

Nairn’s

Brownings

▲

Brand

Moving Up

▲

NE ▲

▲

Source: Kantar Worldpanel take-home sales in Scotland 52 weeks to 22 May 2016 v 52 weeks to 24 May 2015. NE = New entry. December 2016 l

make up fD p34 and 35 Scottish brands non alc section a C.indd 2

l 35

22/11/2016 14:21

Scottish brands 2016

Irn-Bru

Once again Scotland’s most valuable non-alcohol Scottish food and drink brand is Irn-Bru. It has been ringing the changes in 2016 – with a whole new look and an Xtra attraction. IRN-BRU, famously Scotland’s other national drink, has taken top position in our top 50 brands for several years and, once again, it has powered its way to the number-one spot in 2016. And Irn-Bru is also the one food and drink brand that can seriously challenge the giant beers and spirits lines on sales totals. It’s a colossal brand in its home market. It’s not unusual for Irn-Bru to have a busy year but 2016 has proved a period when several changes have occurred that affected the drink directly. After the announcement in the late summer of 2015 that brand owner AG Barr would revamp its 750ml glass bottle pack – investing to ensure the continuation of the bottle but changing from a cash-deposit returnable model to a no-return system – the changes actually took place from the New Year onwards. Spring saw a very major redesign and repackaging programme, the first new look

Jonathan Kemp, commercial director of Irn-Bru brand owner AG Barr: IrnBru Xtra taking 20% of Irn-Bru sales in mulitples and around 10% in impulse outlets. 36 l

p36 grocer.indd 1

Irn-Bru is ending 2016 as, once again, Scotland’s most valuable Scottish non-alcohol brand in food and drink retail. And it’s doing so with a special Christmas look that marries its revamped 2016 design with a seasonal Christmas jumper theme.

for the brand for a number of years and a very major new look for Irn-Bru Sugar Free. And then the summer saw the launch of an entirely new variant, Irn-Bru Xtra – with zero sugar but produced in such a way that it tastes very similar indeed to regular IrnBru. And things have been going well for the brand, AG Barr commercial director Jonathan Kemp told Scottish Grocer. “Core Irn-Bru has had a very strong year,” he said. “New packaging came in around March and I think that really helped the brand. “There’s no doubt that it helped Irn-Bru Sugar Free sales.

“Sugar Free is now clearly part of Irn-Bru but it’s also quite distinct, a much stronger looking can.” The launch of Irn-Bru Xtra took place in August, which meant it won’t have figured in the sales totals for the year to May that Kantar Worldpanel uses to draw up the top 50. It was a launch, said Kemp, that responded to consumer demand but it was also one that recognised that the UK government has promised to introduce a soft drinks sugar levy which could raise prices of drinks like core Irn-Bru from 2018. So it’s also designed, he said, to extend the range and give retailers a way to prepare their stores for such a change.

“The EPOS data we’ve been getting out of the multiples shows Xtra at around 20% of sales. In impulse it’s around 10%. It also looks to be quite incremental. We need a bit more time and a bit more data to know just how incremental. “We know, however, that when it’s guilt-free people do consume more.” Marketing of the brand continues at pace but the nature of some activity is changing. To reach 18-24 year-olds much of the brand’s advertising has moved onto digital platforms. The firm still pays for ads, Kemp explained. But then there is also a very useful amount of sharing of ads on platforms like Facebook.

l December 2016

22/11/2016 13:58

No.1 Scottish food brand. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re wellie delighted.

And we continue to be Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no.1 dairy brand for 2016. Source: Kantar Worldpanel

Grahams - SG - linda.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:55

1.oN hsittocS doof .dnarb .dethgiled eillew er’eW

The lead agency behind their success. Helping Graham’s the Family Dairy become a household name involved everything from branding and packaging to design and advertising. And we’re delighted to have been behind Graham’s every step of the way. If you’d like the kind of award-winning, incisive thinking that gets these kinds of results, get in touch with threebrand now.

threebrand.com

s’dnaltocS eb ot eunitnoc ew dnA .6102 rof dnarb yriad 1.on lenapdlroW ratnaK :ecruoS

ThreeBrand - SG - Ashley.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:49

Scottish brands 2016

Graham’s

Once again, significant growth and successful launches have seen Graham’s the Family Dairy move up the chart. It’s now Scotland’s most valuable Scottish food brand. AFTER years of steady upward movement in our top Scottish brands in Scotland chart Graham’s the Family Dairy has finally made it to the number-two spot. It means, given that soft drinks brand Irn-Bru takes the top spot, that Graham’s can now say it is number-one Scottish food brand in the Scottish market. That’s been achieved by a combination of distribution and sales growth in its core product category of liquid milk and launches, product development and sales growth for Graham’s branded lines in a widening range of other dairy categories – including butter, cheese, soft cheese, cream, yogurt and ice cream. The Graham’s range is also backed by an extensive marketing programme that includes TV and on-line activity and collaboration with experts including Great British Bake Off contestant Flora Shedden and Three Sisters Bake. An especially busy 2016 for the Bridge of Allan-based company began just after it had completed the purchase

Graham’s says it’s seeing progress with organic and Jersey milk. It is numberone block butter brand and Graham’s Spreadable sales are up.

of the Glenfield Dairy operations in Cowdenbeath at the end of last year. The brand is active in many parts of the dairy market but liquid milk remains by far the major part of the Graham’s company business. “A big part of what we do on liquid milk is brand and a lot of that is in convenience retailing in Scotland,” said managing director Robert Graham.

“But it’s not just about conventional milk. We do quite a bit around organic, and with Jersey milk our Gold Top milk line has been a star performer. We’re actually seeing a bit of traction for that in convenience, it’s going really well in Scotmid.” If milk is the bedrock of the Graham’s business butter is where the firm and the brand has seen some of its most sig-

Graham’s the Family Dairy Quark already takes around a third of a market that is growing at 50% year on year, says MD Robert Graham. The current Natural and Vanilla variants will be joined by savoury flavours in the new year.

nificant recent successes. “We’re number-one block butter and number-two BSM brand.” Robert said. “Our spreadable should overtake Anchor by the end of the year in terms of market share, becoming the numbertwo spreadable brand.” Yogurts, launched last year, are said to have done well and are distributed throughout the company’s range of customers – multiples, convenience outlets and in foodservice. Ice cream is now produced at a new facility at Glenfield. The branded range introduced new flavours last year and the firm also launched one-litre family packs. The purchase of the Glenfield facility also provides Graham’s with significant opportunities to expand its soft white cheeses business. Next year will see the introduction of a range of Graham’s branded cottage cheese. But if there’s a dairy category that gets Robert, and indeed Graham’s, especially excited it’s Quark. He sees it as having major potential for growth. It’s healthy, protein-packed, and fat-free. It already has a loyal following among slimmers, quark fans tend to be frequent purchasers, and it has wide appeal to cooks because of its wide range of culinary uses. “As a brand we have about a third of the market and the market itself is growing at 50%,” he said. “We have natural and vanilla that are in full UK distribution and we’ll launch a couple of savoury flavours in the new year.” December 2016 l

make up fD p39 Scottish top 50 No 2 Graham's D.indd 1

l 39

18/11/2016 11:13

Scottish brands 2016

Malcolm Allan

The meat product business hasn’t got any easier in the last year but Scotland’s market leader continues to grow volume by reacting quickly to new shopping trends. MEAT products, and especially traditional butcher’s lines from Scottish companies have been successful over many years in our top 50 chart. And at the head of the Scottish meat pack once again in 2016 is Larbert-based producer of traditional steak pies, and market leader in lorne sausage, Malcolm Allan. But, as director Gordon Allan explained, it isn’t all plain sailing in the meat business right now. Multiple grocers have accounted for a substantial proportion of branded meat product sales in recent times. But that market has been disrupted by competition from discounters and shifts in consumer shopping patterns. It has led to some supermarkets condensing ranges across many categories, including meat lines. Malcolm Allan has invested heavily in new facilities in the last couple of years – it’s currently two-thirds of the way through the final major project of its development programme, the building of its new bakery – and Gordon is

The Malcolm Allan classic steak pie. The company has been busy making a huge number of pies that will play a starring role on family tables all over Scotland on New Year’s Day.

glad it has chosen that route. Such investment provides crucial flexibility, he reckons. On the one hand it allows easier new product development when that’s what the market demands. On the other it also allows a responsive company to make efficiencies, change aspects of production runs, and prioritise different sizes and products at a variety of price points when value for

money is the main concern. “We’ve had four years of consistent growth,” he said. “We’ll do less this year but we’re just trying to become more efficient. “If you haven’t invested in the last two or three years and become more efficient you’re going to struggle because inflation is going to come into the market. “Pies is quite a difficult mar-

ket in Scotland. Traditionally a steak pie is lid only but we are seeing people moving to base and lid with half the meat fill to make a price.” The company is also famous for lorne sausage and that has proved to be a bright spot. “We’ve expanded the lorne range and that’s been successful. “We’ll sell the best, healthiest lorne in the country and we’ll do it in four qualities. That sounds confusing but actually there’s a market for each of them. “We’ve invested in new technology to be more efficient in packing without changing quality or pack size.” Beyond the multiples the company has been building business in the convenience channel. “We do very well with Spar, they’re very nice people to work with,” Gordon said. “We can sell you all the things that will work well in convenience. Something has worked well is skin pack steak. “We put skin pack sirloin and ribeye into Spar and that’s been hugely successful.”

According to which data you read, says Malcolm Allan director Gordon Allan, the brand accounts for between 55% and 65% of lorne sausage sales in Scotland. The company now produces lorne in four qualities. Gordon reckons it has a very good offer for convenience outlets and symbol groups as it can supply everything from sausages and pies to mince, burgers and fresh meat lines. Skin pack steaks have sold very well in Spar outlets. 40 l

l December 2016

make up fd p40 Scottish top 50 No 3 Malcolm Allan A.indd 1

18/11/2016 11:14

MrsTilly - SG - linda.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:50

Scottish brands 2016

4 HIGHLAND-based Baxters takes number-four spot in the top 50. And that’s thanks in most part to its particularly strong position in the soup market. Christine Clarke, head of marketing for Baxters Food Group said: “Despite the challenges of the overall decline in the canned soup market, we are significantly over trading in Scotland, retaining 25.2% of total soup market share. “We have continued to fo-

cus on original recipes that appeal to the shopper looking for powerful, tasty nourishment but with the convenience of a canned soup. “We batch cook the best ingredients to deliver a product that our customers can trust, giving them the taste of Scotland they want in their lunch break. As a result, rather than cutting back on ranges, we have extended them, now offering Favourites, Vegetarian, Hearty and Chef

Selections.” Outside of soup there have been developments too. “Street food and casual dining is booming in Scotland and across the UK. Baxters recognised this to create Deli Toppers, a new range that taps into this adventurous way of eating. Deli Toppers is a step away from the traditional for Baxters - it’s pickle power for the modern dining experience,” Christine said.

Bells

BELLS, the brand covering fresh pies and pastry and owned by Bells Food Group, had a good year last year, in fact in some ways its best-ever year, is doing well again this year and is set to ring some changes in the new year, director of sales and marketing Gordon Smith told Scottish Grocer.

Gordon Smith, director of sales and marketing, Bells Food Group. 42 l

Baxters

“Last year 2015-16 was our best year in terms of turnover and profitability, it was outstanding,” he said. “This year we’re on course to have an even better year, in terms of turnover certainly.” The firm – which produces pies and chilled savouries, including a full range of Scotch pies, as well as pastry for retail and foodservice, and has a cake division which includes Kirriemuir Gingerbread – has invested heavily, spending £3.6m in new machinery that doubles pastry production capacity at its Shotts plant in Lanarkshire. “The market in Scotland is actually pretty good, it’s up slightly,” Gordon said. “In terms of consumption, purchases of chilled pies in the Scottish market index at 166 versus the UK overall. So we love our pies. “According to Kantar just over 40% of the Scottish population will purchase a Bells pie and three out of four Scotch pies will be a Bells pie

Bells Scotch pies, said to be bought by 40% of Scottish consumers and to account for more than three in four purchases in their category. 2017 will see significant brand and product development, says the firm.

purchase. So, we know how to make good pies that Scottish people like to consume.” But the firm isn’t content to leave it like that, he said. There haven’t only been significant changes in terms of production, there have been developments in other areas and more are on the way. “We are becoming more and more market-driven and more and more brand-driven,” he said. “We’re putting more emphasis on product development and on the brand itself. On NPD we launched a new steak and haggis pie, which has gone down very well. We launched a deep-filled mince and onion pie and a deep-

filled chicken pie, which are also doing well. “We have a lot more planned for next year. In fact, consumers will actually see a change to the look of our brand and that will come in the early part of 2017. The consumer is looking for innovation and we know that.” For the moment around 90% of Bell’s chilled pies distribution is taken up by the major multiples but the convenience channel is something Gordon also wants to “crack”. Things like Scotch pies, especially singles and twopacks are almost food to go, ideal convenience store lines, he said. The firm has just to nail down the right logistics.

l December 2016

make up fD p42 Scot brand 4 and 5 Baxter Bells C.indd 1

07/12/2016 09:07

Bells - SG - linda.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:55

Scottish brands 2016

Tunnock’s

SCOTLAND is a nation of biscuit lovers. And the Scottish brand that sells more than any

other in the home market, Tunnock’s, has had a good year in the top 50 Scottish brands.

Tunnock’s Teacakes part of the range produced by the biggest-selling Scottish biscuit brand in Scotland - Tunnock’s

It moved up from its number seven position last year to number six in the latest table. The Tunnock’s range includes its famous Tunnock’s teacakes as well as caramel wafers, snowballs, caramel logs and more. The firm is heavily committed to investment, especially at its factory in Uddingston in Lanarkshire, and to product development and marketing support. For example, since the arrival of commercial radio in the UK over forty years ago Tunnock’s has been backed by many radio ad campaigns. Now a new series of ads is

running across Scotland featuring the voice of Scots comedy actor Sanjeev Kohli. In the ads, one for each of Tunnock’s biggest-selling products, Sanjeev is the proudest of proud Scots, happy to tell the world that nothing made or achieved anywhere else comes anywhere close to a Tunnock’s chocolate biscuit. Fergus Loudon, Tunnock’s sales director said, “Sanjeev can make stone walls laugh. For years I’ve enjoyed his talent on TV and on stage and we were very pleased that he was happy to support the brand and our workforce.”

McIntosh ON the way up in the Scottish brands top 50 is chilled foods and ready meals brand McIntosh of Strathmore, which jumps from number eight in the 2015 table to number seven this time round. A company spokesperson for brand owner Strathmore Foods said it was proud that McIntosh of Strathmore is Scotland’s favourite ready meal brand and was delighted to see the brand move up to seventh place. “We’re the number one Scottish ready meal choice for customers,” the firm said. “With year-on-year growth, the brand is continually developing including adding new independent customers, gaining extended listings in multiple retailers and releasing its new pie product - Macaroni & Bacon Pies – using the same best-selling macaroni cheese as our ready meals but in a pie shell.” 44 l

The past year has seen the development of a number of new marketing campaigns, the Strathmore spokesperson said. McIntosh’s first Burns adverting campaign launched in January 2016 and is set to run again in January 2017, bigger than last time. McInvest – the brand’s community grant awards programme – allowed the brand to give back to local communities who have supported it through the years. McIntosh of Strathmore also took its products and message to the student market when the brand team showcased products at Glasgow’s largest student fair in September. McIntosh was present also at the BBC Good Food Show Scotland in Glasgow recently. And it will be at Taste of Grampian in June next year for the first time. The limited-edition Burns

Supper pack will launch again in multiple retailers in January, including limited-edition 340g packs of Haggis Neeps & Tatties and Vegetarian Haggis Neeps & Tatties, backed by a full advertising campaign.

And the company expects to release exciting new prodcuts in the new year – both extensions to its current range and products which will see it enter new categories for the brand.

l December 2016

make up fd p44 Scot brand 6 and 7 Tunnocks McIntosh B.indd 1

22/11/2016 15:46

BOYD TUNNOCKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GRANDSON WINS THE MULL CAR RALLY SUNDAY OCTOBER 16TH 2016 CONGRATULATIONS STUART! Be a winner and sell one of the 6.5 million wafers we produce every week!

www.tunnock.co.uk Tunnocks - SG - linda.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:54

Scottish brands 2016

Müller Wiseman

WISEMAN has been a name to reckon with in Scotland and the UK’s milk industry for many years. And milk lines that carried the Wiseman name including Black & White and the low-fat milk The One have been very important in the Scottish dairy market. Wiseman grew to have dairy and other facilities in many parts of the UK. After the company was purchased by Müller the firm was said to have 30% share of fresh milk consumption in the UK. But times have been changing once again. Since the group bought the milk interests of Dairy Crest last year the enlarged group has been restructured. Now the milk operation is known as Müller Milk & Ingredients, there’s no mention of Wiseman. The Wiseman name had al-

ready come off of packs of The One. And, while the company looks likely to expand the Black And White brand into butter and perhaps other products, it might not be a huge surprise if the Wiseman branding disappears. Müller Milk & Ingredients is a huge player in the Scottish dairy industry, of course. Earlier this year it announced a major restructuring north of the border, which sees the closure of two dairies at Aberdeen and East Kilbride and major investment to develop new facilities at Bellshill in Lanarkshire. The firm says the £15m investment, over three years, in its dairy at Bellshill is designed to create a fresh milk and ingredients centre of excellence. Work will include the commissioning of a new

cream filling hall, the development of high-speed production lines, the expansion of site processing capabilities, and investment in site infrastructure to modernise the dairy and improve efficiencies

and competitiveness. All of that should give the new dairy the capability to broaden the range of products it is able to make with milk produced by Scottish farmers, the firm says.

Mackie’s MOVING up a place this year, to number nine in the top 50 Scottish brands in Scotland chart, is ice cream, crisps and chocolate brand Mackie’s of Scotland. The company says it has bucked the trend of producers in its sector by record-

46 l

ing a substantial increase in year-on-year sales. In ice cream and crisp sectors, the firm generated around £30m in domestic retail sales at checkouts. The Aberdeenshire family business remains number-one

take-home tub in the premium ice cream sector in Scotland and number five in the UK. Its crisp operation and collaboration with Taypack has seen growth too, achieved in part by increasing exports, most recently to Russia. Mac Mackie, one of three sibling owners and director at Mackie’s of Scotland, said: “We are delighted to see continued growth and the number of UK customers enjoying not just Mackie’s ice cream but our range of products. “We’re continuing to make progress, taking a few wee bites out of the pan-global big boys like Unilever. “And that’s heartening to see, particularly as we still produce everything we need,

from energy and packaging to the fresh cream for our ice cream, at our ancestral farm in Aberdeenshire. “We’ve also seen our new chocolate factory – which we converted from a tractor shed this year – have a big impact. Sales have increased over the year with new listings in national chains. And with a line of further new products to come we expect to be able to build on this move into the speciality chocolate sector. “It’s clear that consumers are moving away from mass produced impersonal goods and moving towards products made with care and attention, focusing on great flavours, locality and fresh ingredients,” he said.

l December 2016

make up fD p46 Scot Brand 8 and 9 Wiseman Mackies A.indd 1

22/11/2016 15:48

倀爀漀甀甀吀吀䈀䈀一一⸀㜀℀

☀ 匀挀漀琀氀愀渀渀ᤠᤠ 一一⸀㄀刀攀愀搀搀䴀攀愀愀䈀爀愀渀渀℀ 䘀漀爀猀愀氀攀猀攀渀焀甀椀爀椀攀猀挀漀渀琀愀挀琀甀猀琀漀搀愀礀漀渀椀渀昀漀䀀洀挀椀渀琀漀猀栀昀漀漀搀猀⸀挀漀洀 McIntoshStrathmore - SG - linda.indd 1

眀眀眀⸀洀挀椀渀琀漀猀栀昀漀漀搀猀⸀挀漀洀 17/11/2016 15:53

Scottish brands 2016

Seriously Strong IN what appears to have been a very good year indeed for Stranraer-produced Seriously Strong cheddar cheese the brand jumped four places to reach number 10 in our chart and take its place in the premier league of Scottish brands in the Scottish home market. Seriously Strong carries the McLelland name and is flagship brand of Lactalis McLelland, the Scottish operation of one of world’s biggest dairy groups, the Frenchbased Lactalis. And Mark Taylor managing director UK and Ireland at Lactalis McLelland confirmed that the last 12 months has indeed seen a very positive performance by the brand. “Seriously Strong, according to our data, is growing 4.6% in volume terms in Scotland and 4% in value,” he said. And the brand had been given some significant attention, had seen some important developments and more work is on the way, he stressed. “On block we’ve improved packaging. We’ve introduced Velcro packaging – the new generation that goes beyond easy pack and beyond zip lock, it makes the product easier to use. “We’ve relaunched sliced and grated Seriously Strong. “We’ve got a fantastically successful spreadable product. “We’re the largest spread-

Seriously Strong Squares.” Some of those products address new or developing consumer demand – for convenient cooking products for

example and for on-the-go and snacking options. “I think it’s important that we continue to innovate in whatever guise that may come – taste, provenance, occasions and convenience,” he said. One interesting development outside of Seriously Strong itself has been the launch of cheese under the McLelland brand. Now available in Morrisons the brand highlights the family-business origins of the Scottish cheese operation and highlights the historical importance of the Stranraer creamery, which has been involved in cheese making since 1899. And Seriously could see some significant further brand developments very soon. “We did a small brand re-design at the beginning of last year,” Mark said. “We’re in the process of doing something more radical.” Seriously Strong by its very name has been very focused on the extra-mature and vintage end of the market, he said. The company values all the consumers who like those characteristics of the cheese but he reckons there is an opportunity for the brand to have broader appeal. “Early next year you’ll see us come to market with some exciting changes and developments in terms of the overall brand strategy,” he said.

Simon Howie

PERTHSHIRE-based meat supplier Simon Howie is the third-placed meat and meat products firm in this year’s top 50 Scottish brands chart taking the number 11 spot. 48 l

able in the market and we’ve introduced new flavours this year, caramelised onion and a vintage product as well. “And we’ve also introduced

The company calls itself “The Scottish Butcher” and it does indeed have two traditional butcher shops in Perth as well as a foodservice supply operation.

But the heart of the company’s retail business is the range sold through virtually all of the giant supermarket chains as well as Waitrose stores and the Co-op.

The supermarket portfolio includes: Scottish dry cure bacon: a full range of link and lorne sausages; breakfast packs, haggis, black pudding, and burgers.

l December 2016

make up fD p48 scot brand 10 and 11 Seriously and Howie B .indd 1

21/11/2016 11:45

Mackies - SG - linda.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:58

Scottish brands 2016

13 12

Barr WHILE Scottish soft drinks firm AG Barr is best known for Irn-Bru, the numberone Scottish food and drink brand in Scotland, its Barr range of carbonates is also a major Scottish brand in its home market, coming in at number 12 in the 2016 chart. Activity on the brand this year included the launch in June of its summer limitededition Mix-ups drinks. The two Mix-ups did indeed mix flavours together. Cherry and Bubblegum provided Cherry Bubble and Raspberry and Cream Soda formed Raspberry Ripple. AG Barr commercial director Jonathan Kemp said the firm was busy moving a number of the drinks from medium-sugar to low sugar levels. It sees significant demand for lower sugar drinks from the “gatekeepers”, typically mums, who buy soft drinks for families. “A lot of cans now have traffic-light labels on them and we have a very clear desire to move the SKUs that we have. “That’s going very well indeed. As technology is developing and sweeteners are developing you can actually have much better taste than previously.” 50 l

Rowan Glen

DAIRY brand Rowan Glen takes the number 13 spot in the Top 50 Scottish Food and Drink brands for 2016. Dumfries and Gallowaybased Rowan Glen produces a wide range of yogurts and low fat yogurt drinks, including 0% fat, Greek-style, and Rich and Creamy products. The Rowan Glen portfolio also includes butter, cheese, cottage cheese and crème fraîche. In one of its latest develop-

ments Rowan Glen is supplying Asda with its new variety of yogurts which are fat free,

high in protein and have zero added sugar. Rowan Glen says the Pots of Goodness range was developed in response to growing consumer demand for products that are naturally low in sugar and calories, with health benefits over and above the normal nutritional value in dairy products. There are Little Pots of Goodness (4x120g) and a ‘Big Pot of Goodness’ (450g).

Albert Bartlett POTATO specialist Albert Bartlett established itself as top Scottish fresh produce brand in Scotland in our top 50 in recent years and this year it takes the number 14 spot. However, now we have to say “fresh and frozen”, since the company negotiated a return to the frozen foods market after buying and developing facilities south of the border that mean it’s in control of all aspects of production – from its connections with growers all the way through to getting chips into retail freezer units. “We started off with Rooster Roast Potatoes, then Homestyle Chips in two sizes of bag,” said Michael Jarvis, head of marketing at Albert Barlett. “The range has continued to expand, during the year we launched Chunky Chips and we’ve launched wedges made with our Rooster potatoes. “It’s a tough market to get into but we’re really gaining some traction and we have listings in most of the big retailers.” The firm’s fresh range includes Rooster and several

other exclusive varieties including Apache, with patches of colour, and Purple Majesty, which are completely purple. The brand has continued to work with ambassadors. One promotion on Rooster potatoes featured a competition to win a trip to London and have a meal at Michel Roux Junior’s

La Gavroche restaurant. And Albert Bartlett is increasingly involved in online activity. It’s active on Facebook and has been working with some of the most popular and influential food bloggers. It sees online media as one way to reach the millennial generation.

l December 2016

make up fD p50 scot brand 12 13 14 Barr Rowan Bartlett C.indd 1

21/11/2016 11:48

*Source: Consumer test conducted in July 3rd 2015, 152 people.

made in scotland and seriously tasty!

Award Winning Scottish Cheddar 62% of consumers prefer SeriouslyÂŽ Strong Extra Mature*. Visit us:

www.facebook.com/SeriouslyStrongcheddar

LactalisSeriouslyStrong - SG - linda.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:55

Scottish brands 2016

Macb

THE 12 months to May 2016 showed that Scottish flavoured spring water brand Macb has continued to achieve impressive results. Now part of the Cott Beverages portfolio Macb moved from 26 two

Scotty 15 Brand SCOTTISH brands don’t come much more Scottish than Scotty Brand. In the words of head of marketing Michael Jarvis, Scotty Brand is “about any food for which Scotland can be famous”. So the portfolio carrying the Scotty dog logo now covers fresh Scottish produce in season, fresh soup, and salad bowls. It also includes Scotty Brand smoked salmon. And now it features both sweet and savoury baked goods, including traditional Scottish tea time cakes and fancies as well as a three-strong range of sausage rolls. The sausage rolls – pork, pork with a hint of haggis, and pork with a hint of black pudding – are made in Scotland from 100% Scottish pork, Michael pointed out. Most recently, the brand’s first frozen produce was introduced with the launch of Scotty Brand Chippy Chips – the first frozen chips made with Scottish

52 l

potatoes – and Scotty Brand Garden Peas. The developing portfolio and successful efforts to expand distribution have seen Scotty Brand’s listings increased across its range of Scottish stockists including Asda, Tesco, Morrison’s, Co-op, Waitrose, Ocado, Spar, Lidl and Wholefoods. Michael Jarvis, head of marketing for Scotty Brand said: “Scotty Brand has had an excellent year with the introduction of seven new products into two new categories. “Our Scotty Brand Chippy Chips have been an exciting and welcome addition to the Scotty family and are our first introduction to the frozen food market. Alongside our Scotty Brand Garden Peas, we plan to make further listings at the start of 2017.” Michael continued: “Next year already looks to be fruitful, with the first Scotty Brand Tomatoes due to be available from April.”

years ago to 19 last year, to number 16 this time round. The brand continues to be active on social media. On Facebook and Twitter it has been running its “Find your bottle” campaign.

Border 17 LANARK-based Border Biscuits is another company and brand that has continued its steady march upwards in our top 50 chart. It made number 20 last year and now finds itself at number 17. The progress comes after what brand and innovation director Lesley Ann Gray said had been a very busy time for the brand. “Our re-brand launched to the market in January this year,” she explained. “And that was the culmination of a year’s work over 2015. “We did a lot of market analysis. We spoke to customers through focus groups. And then we briefed one of the

Border Biscuits brand and innovation director Lesley Ann Gray: rebrand aims to bring a new generation on board.

top design agencies and did a complete rebrand.” The aim was to bring a new generation on board without alienating existing purchasers, she said. While the brand is performing well ahead of the market both in the UK in general and in Scotland, where its growth of 3.6% significantly outstrips sweet biscuit category growth of 0.3%, research had identified that its consumers are relatively old. So, a major TV campaign introduced the world to its Biscuiteers, a set of characters based on actual jobs in the company, and there was activity in other consumer and trade media too. The firm was busy in product and pack development too. A snack pack with

eight wrapped two-biscuit portions of four varieties of biscuit now provides everyday treats to be slipped into handbags or lunch boxes. Its important chocolate ginger range was extended when Dark Chocolate Ginger with Orange was added to the existing Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate varieties. Next year will be the 30th anniversary of the Border Biscuits Dark Chocolate Ginger, a product that sells more than double the combined total of all its own-label competitors, Lesley said. It already takes part in the annual Ginger January event which celebrates redheads everywhere – and includes “Kiss a Ginger” day. But in 2017 the firm plans to have gingerrelated activity every month.

l December 2016

make up fd p52 Scot brand 15 16 17 Scotty Macb Border B.indd 1

22/11/2016 14:00

The number 1 special treat biscuit in Scotland.* borderbiscuits.co.uk

BorderBiscuits - SG - linda.indd 1 BB0065_ScottishGrocerAd AW 297x210.indd 1

*Source: Kantar, September 2016

17/11/2016 15:13 15:50 10/11/2016

Scottish brands 2016

Scottish Blend

TEA isn’t grown in Scotland, of course, but we do have our own very special water, which, some argue, means we need some special blends. Of those teas designed to suit the water north of the border,

Scottish Blend, which is part of the same tea portfolio as PG Tips, comes out on top. The fact that it has moved up from number 21 in our top 50 chart last year to get back into the top 20 at number 18 this year

is pretty impressive, given the very competitive nature of the tea market at present. Like many other core black teas in the last year or two the brand has featured in price-competitive promotions in the last year.

Highland Spring 19

Galloway GALLOWAY Cheddar is the second of two brands from Lactalis McLelland to hold positions in the top 20 of our Scottish brands in Scotland chart. A third brand, Orkney, also makes it into the top 50 ensuring that the Stranraer-based Scottish operation of the Lactalis group is Scotland’s favourite Scottish cheese producer. Lactalis McLelland managing director, UK & Ireland Mark Taylor said Galloway was performing well in what is currently a very price-competitve cheese market north of the border. In the last 12 months volume sales of Galloway increased by 54 l

28.7% and sales value was up 17.8%. “It’s a family favourite Scottish cheddar that’s been around since 1959,” he said. “It’s gone back on TV this year. “It mainly sells in Scotland but we’re interested to see how it travels within the UK. “It has a very loyal consumer base and it represents very good value if it’s promoted.” However, that being said, the firm reckons that it is also seen as good value at everyday nonpromotional prices and as a result it needs to be on deal less often than is common in the cheese category at present.

HIGHLAND Spring Group, parent company of the Highland Spring brand, stresses the origins of its water in the unspoilt Perthshire hills. But it’s keen also to highlight its commercial performance in Scotland and further afield. The firm says it’s the leading producer of bottled water for the UK market. Quoting Kantar research, it says more households buy Highland Spring than any other bottled water and it attracts the highest amount of new shoppers into the bottled water category. And, quoting IRI research, it says that in the Scottish market Highland Spring has seen value sales increase 8.1% on last year, with its Highland Spring Still 750ml PET sports-cap single pack growing 9% over the period. Much of its marketing activity is aimed at active families, who, it says, are looking for ways to spend more time together and adopt better habits as part of healthier lifestyles. The brand developed

a marketing campaign featuring its partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association earlier this year. A TV commercial aired in April, the Tennis for Kids initiative encouraged children between the ages of five and eight to play tennis for the first time. And an on-pack promotion provided thousands of tennis kits. The firm has also been developing activity to support its sparkling water range. It argues that sparkling water is the only mixer with no calories, no sugar, no preservatives and no additives, and that it is currently benefitting from interest in, and enthusiasm for, healthy living. Carol Saunders, head of customer marketing at Highland Spring

20 Group said: “We’ve been focusing on broadening sparkling consumption by creating new serving suggestions showcasing how sparkling water can be used as a mixer in festive cocktails and mocktails. “Our research shows how important it is for us to feel good, with three times as many people saying they’d rather be happy than have lots of money. “Feeling good starts with healthy hydration. When you’re 100% hydrated, you’re much more likely to be on top of your game – mentally, physically and emotionally.”

l December 2016

make up fD p54 Scot brand 18 19 20 Scot Blend Galloway High Spring C.indd 1

22/11/2016 13:59

ADD A LITTLE SPARKLE TO YOUR SALES

Driving your plain sparkling bottled water sales this Christmas with the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s No.1 brand* *Plain Sparkling Water, Zenith International UK Bottle Water Report 2016

HighlandSpring - SG Ad - linda.indd 027 Sparkling Trade A4.indd 11

17/11/2016 10/11/2016 15:51 14:08

Scottish brands 2016

Hall’s 22 21 Mothers Pride In the top 50 chart this year at number 21 Mothers Pride is still very much Scotland’s biggest-selling Scottish bread brand. The tartan-wrapped bread is available in two versions, medium and thick-sliced. In a very price-conscious market Mothers Pride has been sold at low prices in some stores.

MEAT products producers do particularly well in our Kantar Worldpanel Top 50 Scottish Brands in Scotland chart and this year we’ve seen a couple of meat firms rise impressively up the table. Hall’s had moved into the top 30 last year when it finished at number 29. This year it’s up a full seven places at number 22. The brand’s sales and marketing manager David Gannon puts that down to significant work in the last year on the back of steady progress since it was bought by Scottish family business Browns Food Group in 2013. Priorities had been to take a long-sighted approach, arrange the best production system for the brand within the group it was joining, and re-establish the brand in Scottish stores where he thought it had lost some space to competitors before it had been taken into the group, he said. “We make the sausages at Prestwick, we make the haggis and black pudding over at North Berwick, we do the Hall’s cooked meats at Kirconnel. So, there is a big involvement Scotland-wide. “We’ve launched an entry level £1 range of sausages and puddings that has been part of the success over the

last 12 months. “In that is the Wee Willie Winkies brand. We sell well over 20,000 packs a week in chilled retail across the multiples, convenience formats and symbol groups. For the £1 range we also invested in new packaging, it looks really slick. “We have extended into chilled ready meals, with four lines in Asda, which are doing well. They’re our Scottish Classics – Macaroni Cheese with Ham Hough, Stovies, Mince & Tatties, and Haggis, Neeps & Tatties. We now manufacture them at our Scottish Gourmet facility in Biggar. “On cooked meats we have our Hall’s cooked meats and

we also have a Hall’s Gourmet range that’s just launched in Sainsbury’s. And in the last 12 months we’ve also had frozen launches into Tesco and Morrisons on beef lorne and olives, frozen Wee Willie Winkies and frozen Butcher’s Choice pork sausages as well.” In terms of current new product development the firm is busy, is looking especially at items for food to go, and is examining new packaging possibilities, David said. It has been developing its social media presence and has reached almost 10,000 followers. “We try to be entertaining and bring some Scottish banter to our posts,” he said.

Great Scot SCOTTISH-origin pulses brand Great Scot, now part of Whitworths, maintains a position in the 20s, down one from last year’s number 22 position. In recent years the brand extended the range beyond pulses to items like cous cous.

56 l

l December 2016

Make up fd p56 Scot brand 21 22 23 Hall's B.indd 1

21/11/2016 14:24

Galloway Familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Favourite Scottish Cheddar since 1959!

AS SEEN ON

No.1 Scottish Cheddar brand!* Visit us: LactalisGalloway - SG - linda.indd 1

www.facebook.com/gallowaycheddar

*Source: IRI, Major Multiples Scotland, 52 w/e 8 Oct, 16

17/11/2016 15:58

Scottish brands 2016

Nairn’s 25

24 JG Ross REGIONAL and craft bakers have been making their presence felt in many stores in Scotland in recent years. And none more so than Aberdeenshire firm JG Ross which proved top local bakery brand in last year’s Top 50 Scottish brands at number 28 and which moves up impressively this year to reach the number 24 position. The company has its own range of shops in the north-east, has developed its wholesale business, and has established business partnerships with a number of Scotmid and KeyStore stores.

In recent years the firm has been actively involved in and taken awards at local, Scottish and UK events and competitions. In 2015 it arranged for local bakers to bake alongside a Great British Bake Off winner at Taste of Grampian. In 2014 it took the Customer Focus Award at the UK Baking Industry Awards. And in 2013 it won four Great Taste Awards Gold Stars for biscuits, bread and rolls in its gluten-free products range.

26 Marshalls MAINTAINING its top 30 status for another year is Marshalls, the traditional Scottish presence in the world of pasta. This year Marshalls takes the number 26 spot. The brand is very well known north of the border for its Marshalls Macaroni, which was launched in Scotland way back in 1953. But the range covers many more forms of pasta, including fusilli, penne, spirali, spaghetti, and lasagne. And it also includes semolina and farola. 58 l

There’s also a range of Marshalls products that comes complete with a sauce mix. It includes Marshalls Cheesey Macaroni, yellow curved pasta tubes,with a traditional cheese sauce mix, and Marshalls Saucy Macaroni Cheese, another pasta and cheese sauce mix combo. The Marshalls website includes a large collection of recipe ideas – from shortbread to spaghetti with beef and haggis meatballs – and a cooking blog.

BISCUITS make their way regularly into Scottish shopping baskets and the country includes several successful biscuit companies and brands. Nairn’s, in the number 25 spot in this year’s top 50 Scottish brands in Scotland, is known for its oatcakes but has also been highly active in recent years in the growing free-from market. Emma Heath, head of marketing at Nairn’s, said: “The GB oatcake market is in growth by around 6%, and this trend is reflected in the Scottish market which is up 6.5% and now worth around £6.3m. Branded oatcakes is the key driver of this growth and the Scottish market has a 70:30 split of branded versus own label, which puts Nairn’s in a very strong position as the clear market leader where our branded share is just under 40%. Data tells us that we are attracting new users and increasing frequency of purchase in Scotland, which is a great result and a trend that is mirrored nationally for us. “We launched a number of new products in the last year across both our core and gluten-free ranges. “Super Seeded Oatcake and our On the Go Fruit and Seed Oatcake were both launched in Scotland first. And performance has been very encouraging. “In gluten-free, we have recently launched two varieties of Breakfast Biscuit Breaks and a new Seeded Wholegrain Cracker, too. “We are also just starting the second year of our integrated communications programme with the ‘Nairn’s Naturally Energising’ campaign. “We have continued our partnership with Scottishbased nutritionist and broadcaster Amanda Hamilton, to show how following five sim-

ple principles can help people lead a healthy, balanced lifestyle. “The latest burst is specifically focusing on parents, offering a free six-week programme of activities, recipes and action steps to help the family get active and show that healthy living can be simple and fun. “As a Scottish-based business that is a market leader in Scotland, we do upweight our activities north of the border. This includes sampling, events and brand partnerships. “We have a number of new products to be launched. We’re specifically targeting the ‘on the go’ occasion, which is a trend that shows no sign of slowing.”

l December 2016

Make up fD p58 Scot brand 24 25 26 Ross, Nairn, Marshalls B.indd 1

22/11/2016 13:58

• GOOD FOOD’S BEST FRIEND •

ONE OF THE BEST IN OUR FIELD

That’s not just our view, Kantar World Panel 2016 shows we’re at number 15 in its table of Scottish take-home brands. Whether it’s our commitment to a growing range of Scottish produce and foods – including our new frozen Garden Peas and Chippy Chips, or delicious High Tea Favourite cakes – or Scotty’s hard work and canine charm, it’s a result that’s not to be sniffed at.

Te l 0 1 2 3 6 7 7 1 74 0

L i ke u s a t f a c e b o o k . c o m /s c o t t y b r a n d l t d

Discover more at scottybrand.com

THEY DO MORE.

We’re delighted to be number 14 in the 2016 Kantar table of Scottish take-home brands. We have been a family-run business since 1948 and now supply over a fifth of the UK’s fresh potatoes. Our varieties include our award-winning Rooster potato and the creamy, buttery Elfe. We’re applying our expertise to our frozen range which now includes Chunky and Homestyle Chips, Fries, Wedges, as well as Roast Potatoes. All the convenience of frozen, all the quality of Albert Bartlett.

albertbartlett.co.uk

AlbertBartlet - SG - linda.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:53

1. breakfast 2. open presents 3. feet up

enquiries@hallsofscotland.co.uk www.hallsofscotland.co.uk

HallsDPS - SG - linda.indd 1

17/11/2016 15:57

enquiries@hallsofscotland.co.uk www.hallsofscotland.co.uk

HallsDPS - SG - linda.indd 2

17/11/2016 15:57

Scottish brands 2016

Genius 28 27 Scott’s

PORRIDGE is an internationally recognised traditional Scottish staple food. And Scott’s, which chooses to use the spelling “porage”, is one of two brands specialising in the oats breakfast food to appear in the Scottish brands in Scotland top 50, this year at number 27. The Scott’s range covers everything from the very traditional to the ultra modern in porridge preparation and includes: Scott’s Original; Scott’s Old Fashioned; Scott’s-So-Easy Original; Scott’s-So-Easy Syrup Swirl; and Scott’s-SoEasy Pots. The Scott’s website takes its products beyond porridge with a series of oats recipes.

29 Paterson’s IT looks like it has been a good year for Scottish biscuit brands in the home market. Paterson’s, the maker of traditional shortbread and oatcakes, moved up a place from 30 last year to 29 this time round. Paterson’s is said to sell more shortbread than any other brand in Britain. The range includes traditional shapes as well as special lines and gift products. And the firm also produces oatcakes. 62 l

GENIUS Foods, a leader in the gluten-free foods category is also a leader in our 2016 Top 50 Scottish Brands in Scotland chart. The branded free-from bakery lines from the Edinburghbased specialist supplier jumped a huge 17 places from last year to be recorded by Kantar Worldpanel at number 28 in our list of the most valuable Scottish brands to Scottish retailers. Genius produces both branded (Genius and Livwell) and own-label gluten-free ranges and Genius commercial director Dave Shaw confirmed to Scottish Grocer that it has indeed been a very busy year for the brand. “As we reach the end of 2016, 1.3m consumers in Great Britain are now shopping the Genius brand and we have retained our status as the number-one player in freefrom bakery in Scotland, with a 26.2% MAT value share,” he said. “We have seen morning goods perform particularly well in Scotland over the past year, outperforming total UK, with Genius the driving force behind this, with a leading 61.6% share and the top three SKUs in the segment – Crumpets, Triple Seeded Rolls and Pancakes. “In March of this year Genius was the lead sponsor of the inaugural Allergy & Free From Show in Glasgow. It was such a success that we will be repeating this in March 2017. “In March this year we launched three new products – Seeded Brown Farmhouse Loaf, Plain Bagels and Cinnamon & Raisin Bagels. “The Seeded Brown Farmhouse Loaf features a wholesome blend of linseed, millet seed and golden flaxseed. With NPD driving category

Free-from brand Genius is the highest mover in the 2016 Top 50 Scottish brands in Scotland chart up 17 places to number 28

growth, the launch was designed to further boost our pre-packaged bread range, with which we currently hold a 44.1% market share. “The launch of Genius’ first ever bagels are designed to boost the brand’s breads of the world offering, a sector which has shown steady growth in free-from bakery. The delicious bagels are traditionally made, boiled before baked, and will help the brand appeal to the increasing number of consumers turning to a

gluten-free or gluten-light diet. “The Seeded Brown Farmhouse Loaf is now the largest growing NPD SKU within freefrom bakery in Scotland and the Cinnamon & Raisin Bagels are also in the top 10 largest growing NPD SKUs. “This year, Genius also became the first gluten-free brand to advertise in UK cinema, with the launch of our ‘Animals’ advertising campaign. The campaign marks the largest ever above-the-line investment in free-from bakery.”

l December 2016

Make up Fd p62 Scot brand 27 28 29 Scott Genius Patersons B.indd 1

21/11/2016 14:27

For all enquiries please contact JG Ross Bakers on 01467 620764 or email info@jg-ross.co.uk

macsweenhaggis

63 ads.indd 1

@macsweenhaggis

www.macsween.co.uk

21/11/2016 14:37

Scottish brands 2016

We hae meat

GIRVAN-based meat and meat products brand We hae meat registered one of the biggest leaps up the table in the Top 50 Scottish Brands in Scotland chart this year, jumping a huge 13 places to make it into the top 30 for the first time at number 30. That sounds impressive enough at first hearing. But it was achieved at a time when work at company headquarters actually made it difficult for owners Alex and Carlyn Paton and their team to concentrate 100% on building sales. “We had been planning a significant expansion to the operating plant here. In fact that started in April of this year and we’re due to complete this month,” Carlyn told Scottish Grocer in late November. “That has tripled the size of our operating floor.” But it meant that in the lead up to and in the period of the project the company couldn’t actually prospect for new customers. It was simply too close to full capacity. But substantial growth has nevertheless been achieved by extending distribution through its existing customer base, which includes multiples and the Co-op, and with careful development of new lines, particularly in its range of single-serve pies.

MACKAYS, the highest ranking specialist preserves brand in the top 50 once again takes 31st place in the chart. In 2016, the firm says, Mackays is the UK’s third-largest jam and marmalade brand and one of only two brands achieving growth in value and volume. In 2016 Mackays will become the largest marmalade brand in Scotland. Quoting IRI data, it says in 2015/16 sales of Mac64 l

Alex and Carlyn Paton: Their Girvan-based meat firm We hae meat jumped a huge 13 places this year to move into the top 30 despite the fact that they were delaying prospecting for new customers while a major expansion project was taking place at the site. With the extra capacity ready to come on stream they’re looking forward to a very busy Christmas and a new year when they can seek to grow existing and new business.

One, inspired by the winner of a competition on its Facebook page, was a breakfast pie complete with sausage meat, bacon and beans in a Scotch pie shell with a puff pastry top. The couple say the brand’s success is all down to standards, to quality achieved by doing things the right way. “We’re farmers who diversified into butchery through a butcher’s shop,” Carlyn said. “We’ve never lost sight of that. Even in our expanded new plant we’ll retain our original batch-making processes and production methods.”

The development has taken place with a careful eye for the local rural environment. The couple has invested very heavily in renewable energy and the firm will be introducing packaging which is better from a recycling point of view and tweaking other operational aspects such as lighting. Alex said the whole team was looking forward to a very busy Christmas with the new capacity coming on stream. The festive season has always been busy, he said, not least for sales of the company’s best-selling beef slice sausage.

“It’s because so many people are off work and they’re having a cooked breakfast,” he said. More generally throughout the We hae meat range the firm benefits from Christmas trading up, he added. After Christmas the work will begin on some product ideas they’ve had bubbling away in the background while the expansion has been going on. And they’ll be free and very keen to approach buyers with their new ideas and to speak to potential new customers throughout the retail industry, he said.

Mackays 31 kays marmalades superseded that of supermarkets’ own-label products. New product development this year included Mackays launching Berries and Cherries preserve, Raspberry and Rhubarb preserve,

and Sweet Navaleena Marmalade. Mackays UK marketing is driven by in-store promotions in multiples, as well as digital and social engagement, customer support and extensive use of product-tasting activity.

l December 2016

make up fD p64 Scot brand 30 31 32 We hae meat mackay B.indd 1

23/11/2016 11:28

GoldenCasket - SGGrocer - linda.indd 1 28077_A4 Scottish November.indd 1

17/11/2016 31/10/2016 15:49 14:25

Scottish brands 2016

Mrs Tillys 33 32 Buchanan’s SCOTS famously have a sweet tooth and when it comes to Scottish chocolates and sweets they have a favourite brand ... a brand that’s on the way up. Buchanan’s, part of the Greenock-based Golden Casket group, took the number 36 spot last year in the top Scottish brands in Scotland list but this year has jumped to number 32. The wide Buchanan’s range features 42 flavours and includes toffees, fudges,chocolate-covered lines and award-winning products like Buchanan’s Italian Creams, Russian Creams and Buttered Brazils. The sweets are available in a number of packs and formats including traditional jars and a very successful range of hanging bags. Golden Casket includes several important confectionery brands that serve several parts of the retail market. It’s £onepounders hanging bags, featuring more than 70 lines, serve independent and symbol stores while Buchanan’s bags sell mainly through multiples. The firm also has the very successful range of Millions sweets. 66 l

SCOTTISH confectionery firm Mrs Tilly’s is another company tasting success in the 2016 top 50 Scottish brands. It moves up five places to number 33. The Larbert-based company says 2016 has been a significant year during which it secured a number of new listings with major retailers and carried out a £1.6m investment programme designed to strengthen its capabilities – and facilitate growth in domestic and international markets. Managing director Blair Paterson said: “This has been an exciting year for the business, sales have remained strong and we have successfully expanded our customer base in a variety of new channels.”

Blair Paterson, managing director Mrs Tilly’s.

Dean’s

UP six places on last year to reach number 36 in the Kantar Worldpanel chart of Scotland’s most valuable Scottish brands, Dean’s is one of a number of Scottish-based biscuit brands that have done well this year. And it has been an important year for the brand in marketing and production terms. The company completed work on a major brand refresh, and new packs began rolling out to store shelves across the country. As the changes took effect Bill Dean, managing director

at Dean’s and son of founder Helen said: “Having carried out extensive consumer research last year, the feedback was that although strongly representing our traditional recipes and family values, our pack designs were not effec-

tively communicating the deliciousness of our products. “This is something that the refreshed branding has certainly addressed, with stunning new on-pack photography clearly illustrating Dean’s unique melt in the mouth, hand-baked proposition.” During 2016 Dean’s has been investing in new warehousing near its manufacturing site in Huntly. The developments mean the firm gains significantly more production space, giving it scope to increase new product development activity.

Orkney 38 MOVING up three places in the top 50 to number 38 is the third of cheese company Lactalis McLelland’s trio of charting brands. Orkney Cheddar, a specially protected PGI status food, uses milk from all 19 of Orkney’s dairy farms. Mark Taylor, MD UK and Ireland of Lactalis McLelland, said sales were doing well in

Scotland, up 18.2% in volume and 18.9% in value. “It’s very heavily supported by Morrisons who have listed the product,” he said. “And it’s now listed by Brakes in foodservice. “It has some unique cooking properties which I think export markets really like,” he said. “For example, it’s extremely popular in France.”

l December 2016

make up fD p66 Scot brand 32 etc Buchanan C.indd 1

22/11/2016 14:00

JFKHamlyns - SG - linda.indd 1

Top Scottish take-home non alcoholic brands in Scotland* *Kantar Worldpanel to 22nd May 2016

21/11/2016 12:49

Scottish brands 2016

41 39 Macsween MOVING up one place on last year, Edinburgh-based haggis and charcuterie specialist Macsween is this year’s number 39 Scottish brand in the Scottish market. And managing director James Macsween said the last year had been positive for the brand. “As Scotland’s leading producer of haggis, we produce award-winning products handcrafted to unique family recipes, using only the finest ingredients,” he said. “We remain the brand leader in our category with 40.3% share in the Scottish market. Our business has seen a 30% sales increase in the past year. “Consumers look to Macsween for a diverse range of products that they can eat all year round. Our range of products now includes black pudding, vegetarian haggis and burgers, as well as haggis meatballs. “This November we expanded our meat portfolio to include a range of sausages available in three flavours – Pork & Haggis, Smoky Pork & Beer and Bacon & Black Pudding. “We will be making an exciting announcement before the end of the year, with our latest product due to launch just in time for Burn’s, and have ambitious growth plans for the future.” 68 l

Mrs Unis

BRINGING a touch of spice to the Top 50 Scottish brands in Scotland, the Mrs Unis range of Asian foods is the highest new entry at number 41. Sales and marketing manager Kenny Laughlan said Mrs Unis is now a key player in the supply of Asian products in Scotland and sales are growing year on year in a very competitive market. “We are established in all 61 Asda stores in Scotland, in all of Sainsbury’s Scottish stores, and in September of this year 2016 we started suppling 51 Morrison’s stores in Scotland.” The brand is also available to independents through a number of wholesalers.

OATS brand Hamlyns of Scotland has continued its progress in Kantar Worldpanel’s listing of the top 50 Scottish brands in the home market, rising from number 46 last year to 42 this time round. And the brand team says the progress reflects continuing development of the portfolio. It says it has seen significant increases in sales of its instant porridge pots and sachets, as porridge is increasingly consumed on the go and in the office for breakfast, lunch, and as a snack. The firm reckons porridge pots are also very popular with walkers, cyclists and outdoor

Mrs Unis Chicken Pakora Strips

“We produce quality Asian products, using the best authentic ingredients, all our products are hand-finished and ready to eat,” Kenny said. “We launched four new naan breads – Chicken Tikka, Keema, Metha Naan, and Cheese and Coriander – into Asda in

Hamlyns 42 enthusiasts, truck drivers and site workers who are looking for an energy boost in the middle of an active day.

Grants

THE second new entry in the top 50 in 2016 is the range of canned foods from Ayrshirebased Grants. The main line in the range is

June. We launched six SKUs into Morrisons in September and increased our store portfolio with Sainsbury’s in 2016. “We’re preparing for a very busy period leading up to Hogmanay. Looking at last year’s sales we can see our pakora lines are key for the celebrations over the New Year period.” The brand’s Chicken Strip Pakora is, he suggested, the most expensive pakora on the market. And the fact that it is the firm’s best selling pakora shows that consumers are looking for high quality products and that Mrs Unis is providing them, he argued. One of the company’s pakora lines has a very distinct seasonal sales performance. “Our Haggis Pakora sells pretty well through the year but at Burns Night, sales soar,” Kenny said.

Grants Haggis which is available in several sizes of tin. But there are many other options including a traditional range that includes dishes like

And Hamlyns Oatmeal sales are increasing as oatmeal features in an increasing number of recipes, it says.

Stewed Steak, Irish Stew, and Beef Curry. The gourmet range includes Pulled Pork and Pulled Beef. The company website stresses that its products are made from fresh, local produce. Grants was named Ambient Manufacturer of the Year 2015 in the Food Awards Scotland.

l December 2016

make up fD p68 Scot brand 39 etc Macsween Unis Hamlyns C.indd 1

23/11/2016 11:30

Are you interested in profitable machines which suit your pocket and space? Wishing all our customers a prosperous festive season.

*Terms & Conditions Apply.

Great tasting coffee & hot chocolate to go!

FREE ON LOAN* It's the taste & service that sets us apart! OUR HOT AND COLD DRINKS NEVER STOP SELLING “Customers who bought ice cream machines last month are delighted.”

FREE ON LOAN*

• Brand new ice cream machines from £3550** • Fast dispensing and recovery time • Easy to use

ITALIAN MADE MACHINES

**Excludes VAT

*Terms & Conditions Apply.

TASTE GIVES HUGE PROFIT POTENTIAL!

We also repair and service your machines Contact us for a quotation

PERFECT FOR SMALLER SPACES

To make more profit & enjoy many repeat sales... Call 0141 876 1901 or 0781 520 7976 KaringInt - SG - linda.indd 1

21/11/2016 12:49

Scottish brands 2016 - alcohol

Set to toast a new dynamic Craft and gin bring fresh look to life at the top THE alcoholic drinks sector in Scotland is thriving and whilst whisky brands still dominate this Top 25, we are seeing the dynamics changing to represent the growing popularity of other spirits and beer. Similar to food and non-alcoholic drinks, the market remains challenging and the outlook is a bit more uncertain than it was six months ago. Encouragingly, however, there is strong optimism from those working in this part of the industry. Alcoholic drinks are an important category for the convenience and independent market, accounting for 25% of total sales, with continuing growth helped by an increasing number of shoppers. During 2016 we have seen a growing emphasis placed upon the craft beer sector with many retailers giving Scottish brands an increased presence and focus. Success has seen new and different types of investment being used to help drive expansion plans for companies including Innis & Gunn and BrewDog, as well as collaborative sales and marketing approaches to help microbreweries work with big retailers through The Craft Beer Clan. We’ve also seen the launch of Brewgooder – the first beer label to donate 100% of its profits to clean water projects – and witnessed Tennent’s include gluten and calorie information on its packaging. For the first time since 2013, Scotch whisky exports are growing again, alongside a slowdown in sales in Scotland. It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays 70 l

Amanda Brown, strategic insight director for Scotland, Kantar Worldpanel, looks at Scottish drinks brands in Scottish stores. Whisky brands maintain many top 25 spots but other spirits and craft beers are making their presence felt.

out next year, and also to see how the ruling around minimum pricing will impact the industry and retail environment in Scotland. Gin is also on the rise – with new entry Hendrick’s the first gin to ever appear in the Top 25. New product launches have been critical to driving the success of the gin market as more shoppers buy into this innovative sector. 2016 also saw the launch of the Scottish Gin Map, which highlighted the growing number of Scottish brands. BrewDog is the other new entry, driving sales predominately in the multiples but also in the independent and discount sectors. And we see Innis & Gunn move up an impressive six places.

Top 50 Scottish take-home alcohol brands in Scotland Rank 2016

Rank 2015

Glen’s Vodka

Tennent’s

Famous Grouse

Whyte & Mackay

Bell’s

Grant’s

McEwan’s

Aberlour

▲

Drambuie

▲

Teacher’s

▲

Glenlivet

Glen Moray

Isle of Jura

Highland Park

▲

Glenmorangie

▲

Glenfiddich

Innis & Gunn

▲

Laphroaig

▲

Belhaven

▲

Glayva

Hendrick’s

OVD

Black/Smoky Grouse

Brewdog

Johnnie Walker

Brand

Moving Up

▲

▲ NE

Source: Kantar Worldpanel take-home sales in Scotland 52 weeks to 22 May 2016 v 52 weeks to 24 May 2015. NE = New entry.

l December 2016

make up fD p70- 74 Scottish brands alcohol E.indd 1

22/11/2016 14:39

PMP

£11.99

STOCK UP FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON WITH GLENS. No. o.11 ALCOHOL BRAND IN SCOTLAND!

PMP

£12.99

PRICE MARKED PACKS NOW AVAILABLE ON GLENS 70CL, 35CL AND 20CL AND GLENS PLATINUM 70CL GLEN’S No.1 SELLING VODKA IN THE IMPULSE CHANNEL* * Nielsen Independents data to w/e Oct 10th 2015 †Nielson Total Impulse volume data to w/e Oct 10th 2015

To order contact sales@lochlomondgroup.com www.glensvodka.com @GlensVodkaLLG /glensvodkaLLG Please enjoy responsibly

PLUS! LOOK OUT

FOR GREAT CHRISTMAS DRINK IDEAS WITH OUR NEW GLEN’S CITY COCKTAIL NECK COLLARS... Glens - SG - linda.indd 1

GLENSVODKALLG

17/11/2016 15:53

Scottish brands 2016 - alcohol

Top drinks brands stay a step ahead THANKS to Scotland’s large whisky industry it has more home-produced alcohol brands among its best-sellers than many other countries. But of course the biggest single Scottish alcohol brand in Scotland isn’t a whisky, it’s a vodka, Glen’s, and the number two is the beer brand Tennent’s. And while there’s little movement in the top-most positions of our 2016 chart of the best-selling Scottish drinks brands there are very interesting developments elsewhere in the table where

craft beers and Scottish produced gin are beginning to register home-market sales. Remaining at the top of the tree in 2016 is Glen’s vodka. And, while the Kantar figures measure the performance of the various Scottish brands in terms of take-home sales for all outlets and channels, Glen’s brand owner Loch Lomond realises that convenience outlets are crucial to its success. Managing director UK and Ireland Karl Yates said: “The convenience channel is the heart and soul of the brand and most of our activity is focussed here in Scotland by working very closely with our wholesale and symbol group partners. “One example of activity has been

and predictable margins. “We have been able to do this by keeping our own costs low and our ways of working simple. Unlike many other brands, we do not have the expense and therefore no need to pass the cost of huge advertising budgets or large sales forces on to our customers. “The new bottle and label designs have also been a tremendous success with everyone and has definitely helped the brand image. “Our other core activity has been to develop tailored investment programmes with our key partners to help them sell more of the SKUs

The new bottle and label designs have also been a tremendous success with everyone and has definitely helped the brand image.

Huge sellers but still developing: Glen’s vodka the most valuable Scottish drinks brand in Scottish take-home now includes two variants and is available in many sizes and in PMPs. 72 l

the introduction of PMPs across our convenience bottle sizes. These have been a resounding success. We have managed to offer the shopper consistent great value at low prices, while providing the trade with healthy

that deliver the greatest profit for them. This means smaller pack sizes which fit very well with the convenience shopper. “We are also becoming more proactive with symbol groups and helping them to understand the profit potential of stocking all the Glen’s sizes.” The Glen’s portfolio now also includes the premium line

Number two brand Tennent’s latest innovation is Gluten free T.

Glen’s Platinum vodka and the firm says it is doing well. “Our customer and consumer base is building steadily. We are already bigger in Scotland than many nationally advertised brands,” Yates said. “We have launched in 70cl and a £12.99 PMP. We launched with a multimedia campaign in the Greater Glasgow area. Very much a new experience for the Glen’s brand.” At number two in the drinks top 25 Scottish brands is Scotland’s own giant beer

l December 2016

make up fD p70- 74 Scottish brands alcohol E.indd 2

22/11/2016 15:53

These top selling ales will boost your bottom line. Champion is Scotland’s best-selling premium bottled ale and McEwan’s Export is the nation’s favourite canned ale.*

so stay ahead of demand and stock up now.

*Source: IRI, MAT to 8th October 2016, Single unit value sales.

McEwans - SG - linda.indd 1

22/11/2016 11:40

Scottish brands 2016 - alcohol

Tennent’s. By far the biggest seller in the portfolio of course is Tennent’s Lager and it has continued with its major marketing tieins to music with T in the Park and sport with online activity around five-a-side football. Its latest product development is its new glutenfree beer Gluten Free T, though at launch the brand’s offtrade distribution was limited to Tesco stores. Next biggest Scottish beer brand range is the number 7 McEwan’s, which includes the biggest-selling take-home ale McEwan’s Export and an increasing range of traditional and craft ales. Brand spokesperson Paul Hutchinson said: “In the year that we celebrate McEwan’s 160th birthday, it’s clear the brand remains synonymous with beer in Scotland. Not only is McEwan’s the biggest ale brand in Scotland, but our individual beers stand out too with McEwan’s Export as the number one canned ale and McEwan’s Champion the number one bottled ale in Scotland. Our heritage beers remain true to our roots, and our newer beers, like our McEwan’s IPA have helped us to adapt to attract drinkers with evolving tastes,

McEwan’s is the best selling ale brand and has an expanding range which now includes McEwan’s Export, Champion Ale, IPA and others. 74 l

A clutch of blended whisky brands continue to take high positions in the Kantar top 25 chart.

Aberlour 12 years old – one of an Aberlour range that Kantar records as best selling take-home malt.

By far the biggest seller in the Tennent’s portfolio of course is Tennent’s Lager and it has continued with its major marketing tie-ins to music with T in the Park. contributing to the ongoing success of McEwan’s. “Our recently launched McEwan’s Champion Whisky Edition brings together Scotland’s favourite bottled ale with Scotland’s world famous spirit, creating a beer that proves how longestablished beers can also remain creative and offer something new and different for the wide ranging tastes of the modern beer drinker.” Elsewhere in the chart the major whiskies retain their strong positions with The Famous Grouse listed by Kantar as the best selling take-home Scotch in Scotland with Whyte & Mackay and Bell’s following and Grant’s moving up the chart as whisky number four. The repackaged Black Grouse, now Smoky, edged up a couple of places in the table too at number 23. Malt whisky range Aberlour

jumps into the top 10 rising six places to reach number eight, leapfrogging Jura and Glenlivet to become topselling take-home malt whisky in Scotland in the Kantar figures. Which other Scottish drinks brands did well in the top 25? Well Drambuie jumped four places to move into the top 10. And there were moves up the table also for Teacher’s, Glen Moray, Highland Park, Glenmorangie and Laphroaig as well as Belhaven. The recent rise and rise of craft beer was shown by Innis

& Gunn, a new entry last year, moving up seven places. And Brewdog entered the chart at number 24. And number one Glen’s is no longer the only Scottish white spirt in the table. Hendrick’s gin moved in at number 24. Two craft beer ranges made significant progress in the chart. Innis & Gunn, a new entry last year was up seven places this year and Brewdog moved into the top 25 Scottish alcohol brands in Scottish take home.

l December 2016

make up fD p70- 74 Scottish brands alcohol E.indd 3

22/11/2016 15:53