Scottish family chocolate brand invests in relaunch after record sales

Food producer Mackie’s of Scotland is investing in a product relaunch after a record year of chocolate sales.

The firm has notched up more than 700,000 chocolate bar sales so far this year which has resulted in an 8 per cent year-on-year increase. The best-selling product was honeycomb milk chocolate, while the fastest growing flavour was orange milk chocolate.

Bosses expect this growth to continue thanks to increased availability in Sainsbury’s, Asda and the Co-op, as well as many independents and direct sales via a new online store.

The brand is re-launching its chocolate range with new-look packaging to build on the sales success.

The brand is re-launching its chocolate range with new-look packaging to build on the sales success.

Stuart Common, sales director at Mackie’s of Scotland, which also produces ice cream, said: “We have seen record sales over the last year, and we now aim to build on this success with a fresh new design.

“The wrap design features a countryside illustration inspired by the view from our home-farm - a beautiful way to pay homage to our heritage and show that this is farm-made chocolate from Scotland.

“The packaging also includes the fresh new brand logo introduced on our ice cream range earlier this year.”

He added: “During recent times, buying local Scottish products has become increasingly important for consumers, which we hope will help us win over even more Scottish chocolate fans.”

The firm’s “premium” chocolate bars are made on the family farm in Aberdeenshire in a converted tractor shed factory, which is powered by renewable energy.

“It’s been a really exciting year for Mackie’s as we launched our fresh new brand look and a redesigned website catering for e-commerce, which allows for direct sales to any customers who do not have our chocolate available in their local shop,” added Common.

“The new bars will be hitting store shelves in the coming weeks. We hope they are as popular and well received as the new look branding on our ice cream tubs.

“The new designs also feature an attractive range of merchandise from mugs to tote bags which will soon be available on the website.”

Mackie’s flavours of chocolate are reminiscent of the firm’s range of ice cream flavours.

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