Retailers are powering the growth of quality Scottish food and drink
SOME weeks ago I discussed the Scottish culinary table with a friend from a continental neighbour where good food and eating well is de rigueur. Unfairly, I thought, her attitudes to Scottish cuisine were out-dated and transfixed on some, dare I say cliché, belt-busting beauties like the (in)famous deep-fried confection.
As we debated the difference between a nation’s ability to produce some of the finest fare in the world and its penchant for tasty foods, often too high in fat, salt and sugar for the palates of those in government, I started to convince her of the transformation that has taken place in Scottish food and drink in recent years.
Obviously much of the credit for this bounty must be given to the hundreds of innovative Scottish businesses dedicated to the production of high quality, high value and nutritious food.
However, the success of these businesses, their ability to get their products to consumers and ultimately our own ability to eat and enjoy their delicious creations relies on one vitally important additional ingredient: the retailer.
There has been much written and said in recent weeks, often by those that would consider themselves authoritative on such matters, about the role of retailers in supporting Scottish producers.
Many of the comments, whether by accident or design, have ignored basic truths and defied common sense.
The facts are Scottish retailers have long understood just how important regionality and provenance are to their customers and have been working closely with suppliers to ensure that a wide variety of high quality Scottish food and drink is available in store.
Across a wide and comprehensive range of produce including beef, chicken, lamb, pork, fruit and vegetables, fish and seafood, eggs, milk, right through to Scotch Whisky and other spirits, the major grocery retailers have committed, where possible, to sourcing 100 per cent of the best Scottish produce for their own label products.
This is a significant commitment to Scottish food and drink, with the major grocery retailers each supporting between 100 and 180 Scottish suppliers and stocking a staggering 1600 different local products in store with total value of sales of up to £10 billion.
In store, retailers are using price promotions, marketing and advertising to advance existing Scottish brands but also to promote and establish the new kids on the block. This is in addition to making it easier for customers to identify and choose Scottish, where they wish to, through clear country of origin labelling.
The major retailers are the only food companies that have agreed to these principles.
Another fact: recent government interventions on product price, promotions and marketing have been the tip of an iceberg that has hindered rather than helped retailers to sell more Scottish food and drink.
That is why, today, leading grocery retailers will be meeting with Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment, to discuss how the government can more effectively support retailers to get on with the business that they know best: serving customers and satisfying demand.
It is vital, in this the Year of Scottish Food and Drink, that the government does everything it can to support the retail sector to continue to sell billions of pounds of Scottish fare.
Scottish retailers are the main route to market for Scottish producers and the major multiple-retailers play a crucial role in exporting Scottish products and produce throughout the UK and to other countries.
Retailers do this not out of some obligation, it does not require any soul searching as some have suggested. Rather, retailers support, strengthen and advance Scottish food and drink brands because the products are of high quality and because they’re ultimate loyalty is to their customers who, in turn, demand these products.
Put simply, it makes perfect business sense. David Martin is Head of Policy and External Affairs at the Scottish Retail Consortium.