Scottish craft bakery firm The Kandy Bar has passed ownership outside of the McAllister family for the first time in its 97-year history.
Husband-and-wife Craig and Lesley McPhie have become the new custodians of the north Ayrshire business, as Stephen and Rona McAllister retire.
The name derives from back when the business was just a small sweet shop in Saltcoats, albeit one that also sold Scotch pies. Third-generation baker Stephen and his partner Rona officially took over in 1991, overseeing a period of significant growth to its current estate of four retail shops plus a deli and café.
Kandy Bar’s range of savoury and sweet bakes includes the likes of sausage rolls, pasties, bridies, morning rolls and tattie scones, along with fruit tarts, Empire biscuits, doughnuts, cakes and buns. These are produced at its main premises on Hamilton Street in Saltcoats.
The firm has picked up multiple accolades over the years, with 2016 being particularly triumphant as it won both Scottish Baker of the Year and the World Scotch Pie Championship title.
“After more than fifty wonderful years, the time has come for Rona and I to step back and enjoy our retirement,” commented Stephen McAllister. “Finding the right people to continue the bakery’s story was one of the most important decisions we have ever had to make. From the moment we met Craig and Lesley McPhie, we recognised that they shared our values, our passion for quality and our commitment to looking after both our staff and our customers.”
Craig McPhie brings more than 40 years of experience in the food manufacturing industry to his new role as MD at The Kandy Bar. A fully qualified master baker and confectioner, he ran McPhie’s Craft Bakers in Glasgow for decades, the business his father Jim founded in 1978.
McPhie has also held a number of senior leadership and governance roles, including director of business development at Pars Foods, chairman of Bako Northern, and president of Scottish Bakers – following in his father’s footsteps in the latter honourary position. He became a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Bakers in 2018.
“We have not simply acquired a bakery. We have accepted responsibility for a business that generations of customers, dedicated staff and the McAllister family have built over almost a century,” said McPhie. “We see ourselves as custodians of that legacy, and it is both an honour and a privilege to continue that story.
“From day one, our commitment is to preserve everything that customers have come to value while supporting the talented team whose dedication has made Kandy Bar Bakery what it is today,” added the new owner, noting that any investment would be made “carefully and respectfully”.
The story of retirement calling an end to generations of ownership under family of the founders is similar to that at Northern Irish manufacturing Irwin’s, which was recently sold to local businessman Sam Rusk.
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