Scotmid Co-operative and Scottish bakers are celebrating after officially opening the 100th in-store local bakery in Scotmid Balloan in Inverness.
Scotmid has been undertaking a major project to add bakeries to its stores across Scotland and Cumbria, in a drive to support more local bakers and provide an improved range of bakery products for customers.
100 stores have now been fitted with bakery counters with help from a local bakery partner, offering cakes, savouries and baked goods, while other stores now stock locally-made, artisan breads. Store staff have also received special training from the bakers as part of the partnership.
Scotmid has now established partnerships with seven Scottish craft bakers, including Ashers Bakery of Nairn, Aulds of Greenock; The Breadwinner Bakery of Edinburgh; Goodfellow & Steven of Dundee; J.G. Ross of Inverurie; Stephens Bakery of Dunfermline; and Stuart’s of Buckhaven. Scotmid also has a new partnership with English baker Bryson’s of Keswick, for its Lakes and Dales Co-operative stores in Cumbria. The 100th bakery in Scotmid Balloan has been set up in partnership with Ashers Bakery of Nairn.
Chief Operating Officer, Colin McLean, cuts the cake to celebrate the 100th bakery.
Stephen Brown, Bakery and Local Sourcing Manager for Scotmid Co-operative said: “We are absolutely delighted to be opening our 100th local bakery and feel honoured to be working in partnership with eight of the UK’s top bakers. Adding bakeries to our stores has been great for customers, the local communities we trade in and the bakeries too. Our customers enjoy the convenience of having freshly baked bread, cakes and hot food at their local Scotmid. Together, we’re bringing the local baker back to the High Street.”
Alister Asher, Joint Managing Director of Ashers said: “Ashers is delighted to be working in partnership with Scotmid as they expand their bakery sector. Customers appreciate local fresh bakery suppliers in a convenient location. We’re proud to be Scotmid’s 100th in-store bakery.”
Alan Marr, Managing Director of Aulds of Greenock said: “Aulds has been privileged to be involved in this pioneering partnership with Scotmid, which allows freshly baked bakery products to be available to Scotmid customers in their stores. The partnership has seen both companies invest heavily in equipment and personnel and has allowed the Aulds product to be accessible to a large number of new shoppers in new locations, and hence improved both the Aulds brand awareness and market share. We are delighted to have been able to work with Scotmid at this time and look forward to the partnership going from strength to strength as the bakery offer for Scotmid’s customers continues to develop in terms of range, interest and excitement.”
Kris McVey, Director of The Breadwinner Bakery said: “Over the last year we have been working hard to supply selected Scotmid stores with our freshly made artisan breads. By keeping our focus within Edinburgh, we are not forced to mass produce. This means we to continue to use traditional simple methods using and allow time to natural enhance our products. Our relationship has also meant that we are able to focus our time and energies on developing and making the best products possible – and Scotmid support us by with their expertise in retail.”
Martin Goodfellow, Sales and Marketing Director of Goodfellow & Steven said: “Working with Scotmid over the past year has been a great experience for us. Most other retailers buy in bakery products through an intermediary or through a centralised distribution network, which means that providing true freshness is simply not possible. Scotmid, however, is providing their customers with a genuinely fresh, daily product from seven of the very best of Scotland’s independent family bakers, delivered daily direct to their stores seven days a week. Customers love it, it has increased footfall significantly in the stores and from our own point of view, it has raised awareness of our company and products to a whole new customer base. Congratulations Scotmid on your 100th local bakery store!”
Graeme Ross from J G Ross said: “J G Ross would like to congratulate Scotmid on reaching this fantastic milestone. We are extremely proud to be one of Scotmid’s selected craft bakery partners. It is very refreshing to work with a retailer that shares the same passion for quality, freshness and customer service. This partnership not only allows us to reach out to customers in areas we don’t currently have our own retail shops but also enables us to offer a wide range of freshly baked rolls, cakes and hot savouries from early morning to late at night. Scotmid’s investment, commitment and response rate is outstanding, enabling us to introduce a new line into a Scotmid store as quickly as we can to one of our own stores. We look forward to continuing to work with Scotmid on this exciting and innovative project.”
Ewen Chisholm, Sales Director of Stephens Bakery said: “It is refreshing to see Scotmid embracing change and going down not just a local route, but a quality local route, taking the very best bakery offerings across Scotland and developing a true partnership with these bakers. Our relationship with Scotmid has allowed us to gain new customers and market share, whilst also developing additional footfall for Scotmid, which makes very clear the mutual benefits of what we see as a pretty unique partnership. The creation of the Bakery Support Team by Scotmid represents a substantial investment in resource, whilst many others are scaling back. As Scottish Baker of the Year, we have had a great year during 2013, and we would like to thank Scotmid for the opportunity we have been given so far and look forward to successful future trading. Stephen’s could not have enjoyed such a rapid expansion without this partnership and our brand awareness has really grown within geography we did not trade in prior.”
Alan Stuart, Managing Director of Stuart’s of Buckhaven said: “Stuart’s of Buckhaven congratulate Scotmid on reaching the 100 store landmark in their partnership with a select group of Scotland’s leading family bakers. We are delighted to be part of this innovative and successful operation. It has given Stuart’s a platform that enables us to bring our products to a much wider audience and helped us adopt a strong and positive outlook on the months and years ahead. We look forward to strengthening our ties with Scotmid to both our benefits as well as our mutual customers.”
James Crossley, Sales Manager for Bryson’s of Keswick said: “Scotmid have shown themselves to be incredibly supportive of local suppliers, understanding our needs as much as the needs of the customer. We look forward to developing this relationship further throughout their stores in Cumbria.”
Scotmid’s local bakery project started in August 2012. The first partnership was set up with Stephens Bakery of Dunfermline. The first Scotmid store to have a local bakery was Polbeth.