Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Region’s world-class food industry driving green economic recovery

Post Thumbnail

North-east food and drink producers have shown tremendous agility and resilience in the face of disruption to markets, consumers and all aspects of doing business since March 2020.

“The challenge was the total unknown of Covid and lockdown, and the loss of hospitality and foodservice sales,” said Jane Mackie of Rora Dairy.

The business makes live yoghurt using milk produced on the Middleton of Rora Farm, near Peterhead, with locally-grown ingredients and minimal processing.

Jane Mackie, of Rora Dairy

“There was a pause of breath but then orders kept coming in,” Ms Mackie said, adding: “The local and broader Scottish retail markets were very supportive.

“We’d recently secured a listing with Sainsbury’s, which we were very blessed to have. Staff in the business were great, and we’ve pretty much been all go throughout.”

Ms Mackie has participated in Opportunity North East (One) business growth, meet-the-buyer, and mentoring programmes.

She has also used a One Enterprise Fund loan to invest in new equipment, streamline production and increase volumes.

There was a pause of breath but then orders kept coming in.”

Jane Mackie, Rora Dairy

Ms Mackie said: “We did pause investment plans last year but then pressed ahead later in 2020 to increase production capacity.

“We also continued with new product development and recently launched our fresh fudge yoghurt, with more lines to follow this year. Our Greek yoghurt has been on trend for cooking at home.”

Established firms have had to be equally nimble. A household brand across the UK and now approaching its fifth decade, family-run Dean’s produces premium quality Scottish shortbread from its base in Huntly.

The business exports to around 30 countries, including China, the US, Australia and many parts of Europe.

‘Cost inflation in all areas’

Managing director Bill Dean expects fallout from the pandemic to disrupt many aspects of the industry for some time but has also seen the practical benefit of investment in e-commerce, automation and new product development.

He said: “UK and international logistics are still hugely disrupted, with little guarantee on delivery timescales – along with four-times higher shipping costs.

“We see cost inflation in all areas, including ingredients and packaging. Labour and skills shortages are a persistent issue, especially seasonal staff.

“There are many challenges on our plate and will be for some time to come as these issues work through.”

When the pandemic initially hit, Dean’s export, foodservice, and tourism-related sales dropped, and even its core retail sales stopped when only essential goods were moving.

Bill Dean

Mr Dean said: “Fortunately, we had already invested a bit in our online sales channel and fulfilment centre in Huntly, and had jointly resourced a digital marketing post via a knowledge transfer partnership.

“This side grew strongly and by the final quarter of 2020 was doing very well. It also gave us the flexibility to repurpose product destined for other sectors that were closed.”

Dean’s focus on automation allowed it to flex production in busier periods, and further investment will soon deliver a new production unit in a converted warehouse.

Mr Dean added: “There are good opportunities ahead for the sector. We need to do everything we can to ensure businesses can make the most of them.”

This is a world-class industry, with a vital part to play in our future economy.”

Stanley Morrice, One food, drink and agriculture board chairman

Food and drink is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. It provides in excess of 22,000 direct jobs in the north-east alone and more than 20% of Scotland’s total economic output.

Over the past five years, One has created and delivered business growth, market development, export, technology, mentoring and leadership development programmes to give businesses the insights, tools and connections to grow.

The economic development partnership works with more than 150 food and drink businesses across the north-east, has supported in excess of 50 new starts and boasts more than 20 senior industry leaders mentoring high-growth firms.

Region punching above its weight

One food, drink and agriculture board chairman Stanley Morrice said: “This is a world-class industry, with a vital part to play in our future economy.

“The north-east punches above its weight and we have some real success stories – companies including Mackie’s of Scotland, Farmlay, Mackintosh of Glendaveny, International Fish Canners and Thistle Seafoods have grown retail sales and market share, invested and created new jobs through the pandemic.

Stanley Morrice

“At the other end of the scale, we are continuing to see a large number of exciting start-ups.”

Mr Morrice, who also has executive and board leadership roles with Garrets International, Strachans and Van Hulle, added: “Opportunity North East sits at the heart of a cluster of well-connected businesses, with able and ambitious leaders within a sector which is a priority for the future economic growth of north-east Scotland.”


Transforming the region’s food and drink production

Mackie’s secures a cool deal to supply ice cream to National Trust for Scotland sites