Murdoch Allan craft bakery has secured a £1 million contract to expand its number of product listings at all 57 Asda stores across Scotland.
The Aberdeenshire-based family firm already supplies the supermarket chain with Aberdeen butteries and morning rolls. The latest deal sees it add 11 more bakery lines including tattie scones, muffins, Scotch crumpets, Scotch pancakes, burger rolls, flake-topped rolls, skinny rolls, Strawberry tarts, caramel yum yums, all butter shortbread rounds, and choc chip shortbread rounds.
The expanded partnership with Asda has created five new jobs at the bakery’s factory in Hatton village, around 23 miles north of Aberdeen. It comes hot on the heels of Murdoch Allan’s appointment last month as the new bread rolls supplier for all 104 Aldi stores in Scotland. Its freshly-baked wholemeal and Scottish morning rolls now form part of the core bakery range at Aldi, with over 30,000 units expected to be supplied per week across the country.
Regarding its latest deal, Murdoch Allan managing director Paul Allan said they were “proud to be building on our relationship with Asda”, adding that the agreement welcomes an extra £20,000 in sales per week.
“This isn’t just a boost to our team but is it also helping support our suppliers across the rural economy,” continued Allan. “The partnership further demonstrates our commitment to serving our locally produced, high-quality products across Scotland and our drive to become the leading provider of baked Scottish goods to national supermarkets.”
The MD also revealed they were striving to create innovative new products such as ‘skinny rolls’ made using enzyme technology with no added sugar or fats, making them a healthier choice for customers.
Ashley Connolly, Asda’s local buying manager for Scotland, said they were “pleased to stock Murdoch Allan produce”, which echoed its pledge to supply customers with top-quality goods.
“We’re proud to source the very best in Scottish food and drink, and we are always looking to expand the range from quality Scottish suppliers. Murdoch Allan has a rich history and continues to be a very popular choice for households across Scotland, making its traditional Scottish range a perfect fit for us,” Connolly added.
An Aberdeen institution
Founded in 1991 by baker Murdoch Allan, the company has grown to currently employ around 150 staff across its estate of six bakeries across the county including in Hatton, Fraserburgh, Turriff, Peterhead, and Mintlaw. The well-established Thains bakery in Aberdeen city was added to the firm’s portfolio in 2015.
Murdoch Allan’s range of sweet and savoury bakery items include its Steak Pie – winner of the Diamond Award at the 2022 World Scotch Pie Championships – and local favourite Aberdeen Butteries, as well as Pittodrie Pies, enjoyed by thousands of Aberdeen FC fans during halftime at home games. Aside from its recent deals with Asda and Aldi, it also supplies supermarkets in Scotland including The co-op, Sainsbury’s, Costcutter, Scotmid, and Morrisons, as well as independent retailers.
Paul Allan has spearheaded remarkable growth in the business since taking over management duties from his father in 2002. Turnover has more than tripled over the past five years from £3 million to estimated revenues of £10 million in 2023. This despite the challenges of COVID and huge rises in the cost of ingredients, utilities, and transport, noted the company.
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