Tag: local produce

Regional Food Fund: £100,000 available to promote local produce

Scottish food businesses, producers and groups are encouraged to apply for grants of up to £5,000 to promote and champion produce from their local area.

Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s Regional Food Fund, launches its fifth round with £100,000 available from the Scottish Government to support regional food activity across Scotland.

Since 2018, the Scottish Government has provided over £770,000 to the fund, which has supported 167 collaborative projects, varying from food and drink tourism trails, festivals, new equipment and regional marketing campaigns.

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said: “Food and drink is one of our largest industry sectors, and Scotland’s largest employer with an industry value of over £15 billion. The engagement of regional markets is vital in achieving our industry strategy and growth ambitions for the next ten years.

“Scotland has a highly successful and influential food and drink sector and this fund allows us to demonstrate that through the development of creative food and drink projects.

“These grants allow opportunities to increase the promotion of local produce, the chance for businesses to engage and educate local communities about what is available and showcase some of our most exciting food and drink ventures.”

Euan Armstrong, at Visit Moray Speyside, which was supported by the fund said: “The Regional Food Fund has contributed to Taste Of Moray Speyside’s overall brand presence by assisting in the development of various events and promotional activities.

“The feedback from businesses participating in Cocktail Week and Farm To Fork Week has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Lesley Wilkinson of Forth Valley Food and Drink, another recipient, said: “The Regional Food Fund has been instrumental in bringing our vision to life.

“It enabled us to produce a series of compelling short documentary films that celebrate the rich and diverse food and drink scene of the Forth Valley.”

Head of Regional Food at Scotland Food & Drink, Fiona Richmond said: “The Regional Food Fund is now entering its fifth round, a real testament to the importance of this programme.

“In the past, the fund has helped bring to life food and drink festivals, promotion campaigns for Scottish produce, market weekends, cook schools and many more collaborative opportunities showing the quality of produce and the journey from field to fork.

“The Fund encourages collaboration within regions and the supply chain, shining a spotlight on unique food and drink stories and experiences for us all to enjoy. The desire for local produce is strong, and Scotland Food & Drink are proud to continue our support to regional food and drink initiatives.”

Eligible businesses and groups are encouraged to apply for a grant and to work collaboratively with others to continue to engage communities and achieve regional food and drink success.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on 30 August 2024. 

Edinburgh Scotmid stores add chippy-style products as a permanent listing following triumphantly tasty trial

Scotmid is giving customers across Edinburgh the chance to make the perfect Chippy Tea at home all year round, after making new supplier We hae meat’s, chippy style battered pork sausage and battered black pudding products a permanent listing in 125 of its stores across Scotland.

These sought after Scottish delicacies, produced by the Ayrshire-based business, are now available from Scotmid’s stores across the city.

The listing’s long-term success follows the family run business’s recent accolade of being named a ‘Scotmid Scottish Favourites’ winner – a competition run in partnership with Scotland Food and Drink launched during Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight in 2022.  After a triumphant three-week promotional listing back in February, which proved a triumph with customers, the products are back by popular demand on a permanent basis. 

Jessica van Tromp, Local Sourcing Manager at Scotmid said: “Our customers love these products! We hae meat’s commitment to excellence has paid off and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for this exciting Scottish business.”

Founded in 2007, We hae meat is run by Carlyn Paton and her husband Alex, on the family farm in Ayrshire’s beautiful Girvan Valley. With a commitment to developing products that are made from traditional recipes, while minimising their impact on the environment,  the business implemented a comprehensive carbon management plan aimed at reducing on-site emissions in 2016.

On securing the permanent listing, Carlyn Paton said: “Knowing our products are available in over 100 Scotmid stores is a huge achievement for us.

“We are so proud that our family-run, sustainable-focused business can provide tasty products to more customers than we’ve ever reached before across the country.”

Since then, prioritising sustainability and showcasing dedication to operating in an environmentally responsible manner has been We hae meat’s focus. A notable achievement in its sustainability efforts is the on-site renewables plant, which plays a pivotal role in reducing its carbon footprint.

This plant generates 100% of We hae meat’s hot water requirements and 80% of its electricity demands. By harnessing renewable energy sources, the company not only contributes to a greener future but also showcases their innovation and forward-thinking approach, ultimately providing stores and customers with convenient, tasty and sustainable products. 

We hae meat recommends that their chippy-style products are eaten with oven chips and peas – but the question stands on if they should be mushy or not!

The Edinburgh stores are:

  • Crewe Road
  • Pilrig
  • Sighthill
  • Rannoch
  • Balerno
  • Barnton
  • Leith Walk
  • Leven Street
  • Moredun
  • Colinton Mains
  • Westburn
  • Easter Road
  • Newhaven
  • Newtongrange
  • Warrender Park
  • South Queensferry

Margiotta chain expands with help from HSBC

Edinburgh’s leading independent convenience retailer is set to expand thanks to £725,000 funding from HSBC UK.

Margiotta is set to open up a new store in the city’s Shandon area on Harrison Gardens after using the funding to purchase and fit out the 2,000 sq ft premises, which was previously owned by an architecture firm.

The store will be the family-run business’ second outlet in the Shandon area of Edinburgh. The new space will be used to host food and drink from local suppliers, such as Fortitude Coffee and Heather Hills Honey, as well as a wide range of homeware products. The existing store will remain as a newsagent confectioner with the addition of homemade gelato, paninis and artisan coffee for sit in or take away.

The new premises is almost double the size of its current store in the area and will enable Margiotta to significantly increase its offering of locally sourced produce, as well as kitchenware items.

The new store is due to open in summer this year and is expected to create 16 – 20 new jobs.

Franco Margiotta, Founder and Managing Director of Margiotta, said: “Both we and our customers value local produce from quality suppliers, so we’re looking forward to being able to expand our product range with our increased footprint.

“HSBC UK’s support has helped us to grasp the opportunity to buy this new space, and explore a new venture as we bring to life our first café-style venture at our older store.”

Ash McBrearty, Corporate Relationship Director at HSBC UK, said: “It’s fantastic to see an independent business born and bred in Edinburgh grow and thrive. We’ve enjoyed working with the Margiotta family to help them expand their retail portfolio and diversify their offering.”

Margiotta currently works with over 45 local suppliers.

The store was established in the early 1970s by Franco Margiotta and his brother. Together they opened their first shop in Marchmont selling food and wine. The family business has gradually expanded over the years and Margiotta has 10 shops across Edinburgh and East Lothian, with its 11th store soon to open on Harrison Gardens.

Funding to help convenience stores to stock local produce

A funding programme to promote the sale of local produce in convenience stores across Scotland is underway.

The Go Local initiative, funded by the Scottish Government, will see at least 21 grants paid to convenience store operators, allowing increased sales of fresh, healthy, locally sourced products to customers.

The overall fund of £190,000 will be used to develop retail space in shops and the appointment of a dedicated specialist with extensive retail and sourcing experience to maximise consumer choice and available display space.

The Go Local programme, administered by the Scottish Grocers Federation (SGF), is now in its second year after an evaluation of the pilot phase showed the success of the initiative had far exceeded expectations.

Industry leadership organisation, Scotland Food &Drink will assist the project with local sourcing support.

A study found stores participating in the Go Local initiative each added an average of 30 square meters of added space, allowing a 34% increase in the number of local products stocked.

Outlets who took part in the project also saw a 40% increase in sales of local produce, while it is estimated additional local economic benefits were in excess of £157,000 per store.

Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “This funding comes at an important time and will help food and drink producers be part of our sustainable recovery and overcome the challenges presented by Brexit and the pandemic.

“We know that consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from and are looking for high welfare and production standards.

“A diverse and successful convenience store sector is ideally placed to give customers the greater choice of locally-produced, healthy produce they are looking for, while at the same time helping to achieve our net zero targets by reducing food miles.

“These grants and the specialist expertise on offer underlines our commitment to supporting this important sector and I would not only urge store operators to apply for funding, but for customers to continue supporting their local shops.”

SGF chief executive Dr Pete Cheema OBE said: “We are delighted the Scottish Government has continued its investment in the Go Local project, enabling convenience retailers to increase their range of local products.

“The sector has punched above its weight during these difficult times and the fact is it local shops who have made the difference.

“The results we have seen already have been impressive with a clear local multiplier effect, which benefits retailers and Scottish manufacturers, while demonstrating that convenience stores can also play a crucial role in the recovery and regrowth of Scotland’s food and drink industry.”