A Scottish family business has achieved the latest in its aspirations, selling products in more than 1,000 additional UK stores in the first few months of the year.
Asda, Morrisons and Tesco are increasing Mackie’s of Scotland’s ice cream distribution, making its Honeycomb, Raspberry Ripple and Traditional flavours more widely available across the UK than before.
The sustainably-powered ice cream company, which makes all of its ice cream on the family farm, has enjoyed the greatest growth with its wildly popular Honeycomb flavour – with Tesco boosting its distribution by adding more than 500 stores south of the border.
The deals, worth more than £1 million, come after a very strong year for the business. The firm’s turnover rose from £17.7 million two years ago to reach £20.8 million last financial year, while also increasing its UK market penetration – the number of households who purchase the product – by 13%.
Stuart Common, Managing Director at Mackie’s of Scotland said: “It’s fantastic to see new consumers buying Mackie’s products, and particularly pleasing to then see them being rewarded with ever increasing flavour choice and availability.
“Not only are these listings hugely valuable from a business perspective but it’s important to us that ice cream lovers around the UK can fuel their cravings that bit easier – whether they are Mackie’s fanatics or completely new to our product.”
Mackie’s has been building on its heartland following in Scotland, where it is the nation’s favourite, by increasing its consumers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This focus has been paying dividends, with its consumers in these areas rising from 939,000 in 2021 to 1,424,000 in 2022 alone, according to Kantar Worldpanel.
Stuart added: “More distribution helps our brand and business grow by helping welcome Mackie’s consumers new and old to more of our delicious products.
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen a meteoric rise in sales of our Honeycomb, which we make by mixing molten pieces of our hand-made honeycomb into each tub.
“It’s great to know that the team’s hard work in making our high quality products is appreciated by our consumers across the country, and really exciting for us to be seeing such growth in the business as a result.
“Of course, we have to thank our loyal customer base for continuing to support Mackie’s in all the wonderful ways they do. We’re very happy with how 2024 has kicked off and will continue to strive to hit our growth goals across the rest of the year.”
Last year, the family firm landed a nationwide listing for Honeycomb with Waitrose, and the flavour is now stocked in 245 of its outlets in a deal worth around £500,000, building on the success of a nationwide Sainsbury’s distribution deal the previous year.
As well as being the largest independently owned ice cream manufacturer in the UK, Mackie’s is one of the UK’s top ice cream brands, with its one litre Traditional tub among the best-selling premium ice cream products in the UK.
Mackie’s produces all its ice cream using fresh milk and cream on its fifth-generation family dairy farm, Westertown, near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire.
