Aberdeenshire-based food producer Mackintosh of Glendaveny has cut a deal with UK retail giant Sainsbury’s that will see its rapeseed oil hit shelves in Northern Ireland for the first time.
A gift pack containing three infused flavours – garlic, lemon and jalapeno – and pure cold pressed rapeseed oil will be sold in 32 Sainsbury’s stores in Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland in the run up to Christmas.
Sainsbury’s ordered 6,000 of the £8 “taster” packs, which will be spread out among the 42 stores.
The Buchan-based company, whose sales increased by 24% between the second and third quarters this year, currently supplies three of the big four supermarkets with its rapeseed oil, including 20 Sainsbury’s, 109 Tesco stores and 55 Asda stores in Scotland.
Managing director Gregor Mackintosh, who set up the firm in 2009, said: “We’ve been looking to enter the Northern Irish market for some time and are delighted that the increased order from Sainbury’s has facilitated our introduction over the Irish Sea.
“Having our gift pack in 10 stores in Northern Ireland provides us with a foothold and exposure to a whole new market which we will work hard to capitalise on.”
Geraldine Bruce, Grocery and BWS Regional buyer at Sainsbury’s, said: “Sainsbury’s are delighted to be able to extend our range of local products to include more stores and give Mackintosh of Glendaveny the opportunity to break into the Northern Irish market. We are sure our customers will enjoy this product.”
This has been a productive year for Mackintosh of Glendaveny. It won a contract to supply rapeseed oil to ESS Offshore Catering, delivering a boost in sales to the firm, and won a prize at the 15th annual Taste of Grampian exhibition in June in Inverurie for its large stand which gave guests the opportunity to try its range of flavoured oils.
The company said yesterday it will finish a two year £250,000 investment programme – which involved upgrading production and office facilities, installing new storage tanks and buying a new bottling line – at the end of this month.
It can now pump out 11,500 bottles of extra virgin rapeseed oil a day thanks to work already completed as part of the upgrade.
Mackintosh added: “We are now in a position to compete with the biggest producers within the UK market. From day one it was my ambition to bring the business to this point. We’ve designed the whole operation ourselves using the help of a local fabricator to manufacture bespoke equipment. With the addition of a biomass plant we are operating on a 0% waste policy and plans are in place to install further green energy systems that will eventually power 90% of the factory all year round.”