North east companies Mackie's of Rothienorman, Keith's Roehill Distillery and Amity Fish in Peterhead win at second Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
MACKIE'S of Rothienorman has won a gold award at a national food and drink awards.
Aberdeenshire food and drink mainstay Mackie's has been named one of the best in Scotland for its traditional ice cream at the Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards.
Mac Mackie, Managing Director at Mackie's of Scotland, said: "We’re really pleased to have received this award, the Mackie’s team on the farm and across the UK work really hard to make sure every scoop of Mackie’s ice cream is of the highest possible quality.
"This quality is reflected in the taste and texture of our ice cream, and it’s great for our flagship product, Traditional, to be recognised by this award."
Mackie's won the gold food award in the large producer category, a category which pitted them up against other major Scottish companies.
The Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards (SRFDA) were created to get more Scottish food and drink products onto retail shelves.
Now in their second year, the awards had 30% more entries than the inaugural contest.
More than 50 expert judges from all disciplines judged hundreds of products over a month-long period.
Bruce Langlands, former head of food and drink Harrods and Selfridges, was chair of a judging panel.
He said: “I’ve been in this industry over 30 years, and I’ve seen a good few products cross my desk in that time, but I can honestly say the I’ve seen some of the most impressive products I’ve ever seen during the judging for this year’s SRFDAs.
“The standards that are being set are quite phenomenal and Scotland’s food and drink sector is clearly in very good hands.
"I really believe that many of this year’s winners will go on to secure new listings in Scottish retail outlets and, when that happens, we can take pride in the small part we played in helping that happen.”
In total, 141 products made the shortlist for the 2022 awards.
Elsewhere in the north east, Keith's Roehill Distillery won a coveted bronze award, while Amity Fish in Peterhead made the competitive shortlist.
To replicate the consumer experience as closely as possible, judges had the products delivered to their doorsteps, allowing them to experience the products in the same way as consumers would.
SRFDA Director Helen Lyons said: “When we launched the SRFDAs during Covid we had no choice but to do judging remotely.
"What we learned however was that the judges really enjoyed it because it gave them the unique opportunity to experience the products in the same way a consumer does.
“We are delighted to see the passion and energy in the Scottish retail food and drink sector is replicated in the winning products.
"We hope their SRFDA accolade helps to grow future sales.”
