Brand Shetland has taste for growth

AN ARTISAN food company based on Shetland is looking to capitalise on significant growth in demand for high quality Scottish produce after a six-month pre-launch branding project by a London-based design consultancy.

Jill Franklin, with a brand named after one of the Shetland islands. Picture: Contributed

Shetlandeli, whose first handmade products include Muckle Flugga piccalilli and Valhalla ale chutney, worked with designers from Pocknell Studio, whose other clients include Planet Organic and the City of London Corporation, to develop the brand identity for the new business.

Jill Franklin, who founded Shetlandeli after years of making her own award-winning chutneys and pickles, said: “To have Pocknell Studio apply their creative inspiration to the Shetlandeli brand and its products has been an exciting process.

“They have captured the essence, tone and personality of everything Shetlandeli stands for and I am thrilled with the results.

“Shetland is a really important part of the identity of Shetlandeli – not only the location, its produce and its people but its language too.”

David Pocknell, principal at Pocknell Studio who has previously worked with clients including BT and Jaguar, said the aim of the work had been to create a brand design and packing which stands out on the retail shelves but was also seen as a desirable product to have on a dinner table.

“Referencing Shetland’s heritage was key, but so was articulating that Shetland is a contemporary, modern, vib­rant place with the closest links to Scandinavia that can be found anywhere in the UK.”

All the names of Shetland­eli’s products are local words with Taing onion marmalade – named after a small uninhabited coastal island – set to launch next summer.

Latest figures show sales of Scottish food and drink have now reached £14 billion and the industry and government have set a growth target to reach £16.5bn in turnover by 2017.

Last month, a Bank of Scotland survey showed that growth in Scotland’s food and drink sector is expected to acc­elerate in the next five years. The report, which surveyed a range of more than 100 Scottish food and drink businesses, found that two-thirds of companies are expecting to increase their workforce by creating almost 2,000 jobs bet­ween them by 2019.

If replicated across the industry, this would result in the creation of an estimated 10,000 additional jobs.

The jobs boom will be driven by growth, with three-quarters of companies in the thriving sector forecasting up to 15 per cent growth in the next five years.

Exporting and overseas markets remain key drivers for growth in the sector according to the survey, with 58 per cent said they were planning to try and win new international ord­ers in the next five years although lack of time and res­ource was still a stumbling block for many companies in breaking into overseas markets.