Buoyant festive season demand for Kevin the Carrot’s north-east chums

Business is booming for Aberdeenshire root vegetable supplier Benzies in the run-up to Christmas.

Its carrots and parsnips will take pride of place on many of our dinner plates on Christmas Day.

Supermarkets supplied by Turriff-based Benzies include Aldi, whose 109 stores in Scotland are expected to sell nearly 6,000 tons of its carrots and parsnips this month.

Aldi selling enough Benzies’ carrots and parsnips to go from Scotland to Lapland and back, twice

Renowned for its association with root vegetables, thanks to mascot Kevin the Carrot, the discount retailer anticipates customers in Scotland will have purchased almost six million bags of carrots and more than two million bags of parsnips before 2024 is out.

Laid end-to-end, the festive favourites would cover a distance equal to two return trips by road from Aldi Scotland’s headquarters in Bathgate, near Edinburgh, to Lapland.

Benzies supplies Asda supermarkets too

Benzies is also the sole supplier of carrots to Asda supermarkets in Scotland.

And it started supplying its locally grown parsnips to all 62 Scottish Asda stores at the end of August.

The fourth generation business produces 20,000 to 30,000 tons of Scottish carrots and 2,200 tons of Scottish parsnips every year.

It is owned by managing director Philip Benzie, along with his wife, Hazel, and stepson, Charles Duguid.

The firm employs about 100 people, growing and packaging root vegetables.

Mr Benzie said he and his team were being kept busy this month, supplying supermarkets throughout Scotland.

He added: “It’s always great to hear demand for our products continues to soar.”

Aldi ‘proud to support local suppliers’

Aldi Scotland group buying director Graham Nicolson said: “We’re proud to support local suppliers and bring the very best of Scottish produce to our loyal customers year-round.

“As another Christmas fast approaches, it is a testament to these relationships that we can offer premium quality produce, such as our staple root vegetables from Benzies.”

Benzies has worked with Aldi in Scotland since 2015.

The retailer has a dedicated Scottish buying department, working with more than 90 suppliers north of the border,

It stocks around 450 Scottish products – putting it ahead of its rivals among supermarkets in this country, according to all three NFU Scotland Shelfwatch surveys.